A Merry Mission Christmas

Hey y'all!

This week was a lot of fun! I hope y'all had a Merry Christmas!

Monday we had a fun pday with the Dutch Fork sisters and our recent convert W. cornrowed our hair! It was a party! Then in the evening we went caroling with the Dutch Fork Sisters!

Tuesday we had our district meeting! Sister Welch and I did a musical number. We did the arrangement of "O come O come Emmanuel" by the piano guys. I was on piano and she was on violin. Then we went on exchanges. I was in Chapin with Sister Cook (who I came out with!) we helped out at the mission office and then in the evening we had a really good lesson with B. on baptism!

Wednesday: we did service at J.'s gym again helping him set up Christmas lights. In the evening we had a good lesson with C. 

Thursday: we did our weekly planning. Then we had a super good lesson with A. (the girl who's grandma called us last Sunday to teach). We taught restoration and it went really well. Then our zone went caroling at the state capitol in Columbia! It was a party!

Friday: we went caroling at an old folks home with the Dutch Fork and Irmo sisters! Then we saw C. and talked about the power of music and we sang for her! Then we went caroling again with the Dutch Fork sisters!

Saturday: Christmas Eve!!!!! We spent most of the day will J. (the recent convert) and her daughter K.! We went out to lunch and then went shopping! So it was a ton of fun! Then we had dinner with the members whose property we live on! It was a lot of fun! Then we had a sleep over with the Dutch Fork and Irmo sisters!!!! It was awesome! 

Sunday was Christmas!!!! We had a combined sacrament meeting! Sister Welch and I did another musical number in sacrament meeting! I played the piano and she played the violin again. This time we did "What Child Is This". It was super cool because after the meeting several people came up to us and told us that our song brought the spirit so strong that they cried. Then we had lunch with the branch president and his family. Then we face timed our families!!! It was so good to see them and hear their voices :):) then we had dinner with the B. family! Then we stopped in to see J. again. We sang a few songs for her! 

So it was an awesome week and a fantastic Christmas!!!! 

 

My Spiritual thought: of the week is John 3:16-17. "

 

16  ​For ​​​God​ so ​​​loved​ the ​​​world​, that he ​​​gave​ his ​​​only​ begotten ​​​Son​, that whosoever ​​​believeth​ in him should not perish, but have ​​​everlasting​ ​​​life​.

​​​​​17 ​For God ​​​sent​ not his Son into the world to ​​​condemn​ the world; but that the world through him might be ​​​saved​."

 

 The reason we celebrate Christmas is because Christ was born in the world to save all of us. I am grateful for my savior and all He does for me each day. I know He loves all of us so much. 

I love y'all and hope yall have a blessed week!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :)

The master Corn rower

 

 

 

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

Hey y'all! 

I hope you had a good week! Honestly this week went by so fast I can't even believe it!! 

Monday: we played sports with the sisters in my district! And we (well actually mainly just me) edited our district skit. I love video editing!! In the evening we had a really good lesson with B. where we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ! He is just the cutest kid ever! 

Tuesday: we had Christmas zone conference! So much fun! It was combined with the Columbia zone!! We had a couple trainings. And the trainings the Assistants gave was honestly the training I have been waiting for my whole mission. It was amazing! We talked about finding and a few other things and the spirit was so strong and it just reminded me how awesome being a missionary is! Then we watched all the district skits! Our missionary kid history skit was a hit! So fun! Then we watched a movie. I was expecting some good church type movie. But then president pulls out a hallmark movie called "Christmas in Conway." Before he told us a few religious lessons we can pull from it and then said "but basically it's a chick flick" and he was right! Haha!  But it was set in South Carolina so that was fun! But it was weird watching a chick flick... in the evening we saw C. and R. and showed them the Christmas video. 

Wednesday: we did the same service at walmart that we did last week. The we saw members the Johnsons and showed "testimony of the Book of Mormon" video! Then had branch missionary meeting!

Thursday: we planned for our week and then went out finding!!! Not much else went on this day haha! :)

Friday: we went and helped out at We Care again! Then we saw a less active named Angie and invited her to the branch Christmas party! In the evening we had a really good lesson with Melissa, Robin, and Petie.   We showed the video where it's the guy who's family got killed in an accident by a drunk driver and he talks about endurance and forgiveness! So that was awesome! We also sang a Christmas song for them! 

Saturday: we saw J. and S. We talked about the purpose of trials in this life and  how we can rely on Christ through them. In the evening we had our branch Christmas party! And of course Sister Pickett and I wore matching Christmas sweaters! Always a hit ;) 

Sunday: M. and P. came to church. We were also super excited because A. (who we saw on Friday) came with her daughter and stayed all three hours! Also another super exciting thing happened on Sunday! So there was a less active family that moved in recently. And their 14 year old daughter is not baptized. But she has been coming to church the past few weeks. During the afternoon we got a phone from the family asking us to come teach the 14 year old, A., the lessons and set an appointment up! It was such a big answer to our prayers! We totally felt like the part in the "Best Two Years" movie when they pray that the guy will call them back and right then he phone rings and when it's him the missionaries look up and the Hallelujah chorus plays in the background haha!! But it was awesome! Then we went and had an early Christmas dinner with the J. and their less active son. 

So it was another great week here in Chapin! 

 

My spiritual thought comes from a quote I read this morning by Abraham Lincoln (I picked this just for you Katie!). "I have bee driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day." I have really seen the difference that prayer makes each and everyday. I have no idea where I'd be without prayer and the support I receive from my Heavenly Father! 

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

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :) 

Christmas Tree Happiness

 An Ornament fell on her head!

 

The Three Pack Reunited

With Dutch Fork Sisters and their new cars

With her little buddy!

 

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!!

Hey y'all!
This week... haha well... basically all I did this week was perform musical numbers ;)

Monday We had pday where we filmed our district skit for our Christmas zone conference! Then in the evening we practiced with Elder Jacobsen. They came up the night before the leadership meeting so we were able to practice again, but since they are coming all the way from Charleston they were running late so that took up our whole evening haha!
Tuesday We performed the musical number at MLC (mission leadership conference). Elder Jacobsen and I did this really awesome medley/mashup of "O Come O Come Emmanuel" and "I wonder as I wander". And it went super great! So good in fact that President asked us to also sing "What child is this" that we sang for the senior couples meeting! So we did two songs haha! In the evening we went to a member's house because they were having a Christmas party and wanted us to talk to their nonmember friends, sadly none of them showed up haha!
Wednesday We went with the Dutch Fork sisters to push people in wheel chairs around Walmart for service. Then we went to practice with some other sisters for a different musical number. Sadly then sister Pickett got super sick so we were in the rest of the day :(
Thursday Sister Pickett was still really sick. :( In the evening we went to our Relief Society Christmas party. At that I also did a musical number. I did a solo singing "Mary did you know?".
Friday We had our zone meeting! Sister Pickett and I and two other Sisters sang a medley of "Mary did you know" and "O Come O Come Emmanuel" #BenOnThePickettFence after the meeting we went and helped out with the mail at the mission office. Then in the evening we went to a little branch gathering.
Saturday We got to do missionary work! We saw W. and had a really good lesson with her where we taught the gospel of Jesus Christ! Then we did our weekly planning. In the evening we went out to dinner with J. and S.n and then talked about the importance of service!
Sunday: J. and B. came to church! It was so exciting!!! Yay :) We also had a really good lesson with M., R., and P. We read out of Moroni 7 and talked about getting answers to our prayers!
So it was a good week, but seriously feel like I spent the whole week singing haha!

And in honor of that my spiritual thought of the week is going to be from the first presidency message in the hymn book. It says "Inspirational music is an essential part of our church meetings. The hymns invite the Spirit of the Lord, create a feeling of reverence, unify us as members, and provide a way for us to offer praises to the Lord." I love music so much and I know that it can invite the spirit in such a powerful way!
 I love this gospel more and more each day and know that it is true and ever lasting!
Y'all have a blessed week!
Love always,
Sister Amy Bennett :)

When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God!-

Hey y'all!!!

And actually I'm still rocking the short sleeves, so it doesn't really look like Christmas here... but it's December and people have put some decorations up so I'm trying to imagine the snow haha ;)

This week was another good week! (which tends to happen a lot ;) )

Here is the run down:
Monday was a fun p-day! We went and hung out with the Dutch Fork Sisters and said goodbye to Sister Burt because she was getting transferred, :( sad day! Then in the evening we saw a less active named W. B.! She is basically just like Mamma Oddie off of "The Princess and the Frog". So that's pretty fun! She's had 3 people in her family die in the past month and so we watch a video called "Mountains to Climb" and talked about the reason for trials in our lives. Then we went and saw W.! We read out of the Book of Mormon with her. We read where she was at in her reading, which meant we read right in the middle of Second Nephi. Gotta love that Isaiah!

Tuesday: So Tuesday morning the Zone Leaders called us saying that President called them asking for Elder Jacobsen (the zone leader I sang with at the mission home a few weeks ago) and I to do a musical number at the meeting President has with all the Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders (which is taking place tomorrow). The one problem was Elder Jacobsen got transferred to be a zone leader in Charleston and so we had to go practice with him on Tuesday before he got transferred ha ha! So we put together a little musical number that will hopefully be pretty good haha! Then we met a lady named K. and showed her the Church's new Christmas video!!!! #LightTheWorld Then we saw TJ again and also showed him the Christmas video (we've been doing that a lot this week and LOVE it). We also had dinner with a former investigator named A.!

Wednesday: We helped out at We Care again! That was really good! Then we went and had a lesson with a lady named N.! Sister Pickett and I finally got to teach a full restoration! That was a first for our companionship and it was awesome :) In the evening we saw B. and J. again! B. is just as cute as ever! We taught him the Plan of Salvation using cut outs and then had him teach it back to us. Teaching 9 year olds really is just the best!

Thursday: This week the Chapin, Dutch Fork, and Irmo wards did a combined "Nativity Celebration" where they had a ton of nativities set up and then had live music going. So on Thursday we spent a good chunk of the day helping set up for that. Then in the evening we had a really good lesson with M., R., and P.!!! We also showed the Christmas video to them, hehe :)

Friday: We had weekly planning. Then we went and did service at Jerry's boxing gym again! And then we went to the Nativity Celebration. Okay here's where it gets fun! Sister Welch (Dutch Fork) plays the violin and had this great idea that we could do a harp/violin duet as part of the live music at the celebration because the member in the Dutch Fork ward was bringing her harp anyway. (Which was a fantastic idea!) The funny part was that we didn't get to practice before hand. So literally the first time playing these songs ever was in front of people! It went mostly good haha! I only had to ask Sister Welch where we were once ;) But it actually went really well all things considered! So it was a blast!

Saturday: We saw W. B. again in the morning and... also showed her the Christmas video ;) Then we had lunch with C.! Then we went to the Nativity Celebration again! We played the harp and violin again and it went much better the second day! Then we went to go see J. and B., but when we arrived, J. wasn't back from work yet.

Sunday: Church was good! Then we had lunch with members, the B.s, and J. and S.! So that was fun! In the evening we went and watched the Christmas Devotional with M., R., and P. In good old Bennett fashion we had quite a few technical difficulties, but we got it all figured out and probably watched about half of it, haha! But they did make these amazing gluten and dairy free cookies, of which I ate way too many! They take such good care of us! We also got to watch it wearing snuggies. Which made me decide I should never own a snuggie because I'd be way too tempted to leave the house wearing it, haha!

So we definitely had another really great week!

Well along with the churches Christmas initiative of service for my spiritual thought of the week I want to share Mosiah 2:17, "And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." I have LOVED all the service opportunities I've had throughout my mission and continue to have every day! Service truly is such a blessing and makes the world a better place!

Well y'all have a blessed week and a fantastic start to your Christmas season!

Love always,
Sister Amy Bennett :)

Service at the Boxing Gym

 

Snuggies during the Christmas Devotional

 

When we rely on Christ and are strengthened by him, we really can do anything

Hey y'all!!

I hope y'all had a fantastic Thankful Thursday (aka Thanksgiving haha!). We had a great week here in Chapin! 

Monday: We had p-day! We went to Irmo and hung out with quite a few of the Sisters in our Zone so that was a ton of fun! In the evening we saw M., R., and P.! We taught about the importance of prayer and how prayer can impact us daily. 

Tuesday: We had district meeting! And you'll never guess.. I did a musical number haha! This time Sister Pickett and I did a duet. We sang "In Christ Alone" and it was awesome! #BenOnThePickettFence Then in the afternoon we went out finding. We met a lady named T. and then a guy named TJ we talked to both of them about the Book of Mormon! Then in the evening we had a Relief Society activity where we were making freezer meals! So that was a lot of fun!

Wednesday: In the afternoon we went out trying a lot of people. In the evening we saw C. and watched the video "Hope of God's light" with her! Then we saw C. and R. With then we talked about how our trials help us to grow closer to Christ! 

Thursday was Thanksgiving!!! It was a fantastic day!!! We were orginally going to a combined zone sisters activity so we were picking up the dutch fork sisters and right as we got there we got a texted saying the location had changed so it was going to be too far away for us with the amount of miles we had left this month. So we just hung out with the Dutch Fork sisters instead! One of the sisters earlier on her mission had made a Book of Mormon version of Candy Land so we played that and it was awesome! haha :) Then we went and had dinner with some ward members, the J.! They were super nice and we had a lot of fun! We also went and had dessert with the Z.s! So it was a fun and full day!! 

Friday: We went and helped out at the mission office, which was a blast! With Christmas coming closer they are getting more mail so they have missionaries come in a help with the forwarding mail process so it was a lot of fun! We then went and had lunch with J. and talked with her about prayer! We then started to plan for our upcoming week! Then we went out to try some people for the evening! Funny story was that our appointment that night had forgot we were coming and were in the middle of watching Big Hero 6. I recognized it just by the sound of it as soon as the opened the door! Haha! So we rescheduled with them.

Saturday: I had accidentally been fed wheat somewhere in the process of this week and so I was out. We stayed in most of the day Saturday. I don't think I've slept so much in a single day my whole life. Sister Pickett is a saint and had such a good attitude about it! In the evening we went and saw a lady named P. And then we saw M. and P.! We had a good lesson with them talking about baptism!

Sunday: We had church, which went well! M. and P. came, as usual! So it was great :) We finished planning for our week after church. And in the evening we saw J. and B.! We taught B. the Restoration and had a really great lesson and we set the goal for him to be baptized December 31! So it was awesome!

So we had another great week!

 Spiritual thought: Something I've been learning a lot about on my  mission is the topic of Grace. So I wanted to share a quote I found on it by President Utchdorf that I really like, "A powerful expression of that love is what the scriptures often call the grace of God- the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which we grow from the flawed and limited beings we are now into exalted beings of truth and light, until we are glorified in truth and  know all things." My mission has really come to show me that when we rely on Christ and are strengthened by him, we really can do anything. And that is what the scriptures mean when they talk about Grace. 

I love this Gospel and I know that it is true.

I hope that y'all have a blessed week! Love y'all!!

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :) 

Happy to be staying together for another transfer

A Pretty Gazebo

Playing games on Thanksgiving!

 

 

Patience requires actively working toward worthwhile goals

Hey y'all!!!!

This week was awesome! It was basically a party everyday haha!

Let me tell y'all about it:

Monday during p-day we went to the state capitol with the Newberry Sisters and that was a ton of fun! We took lots of awesome pictures!!!

Tuesday: We did service for C. again! She is so cute and a lot of fun to be around! She has also started reading the Book of Mormon! Then we had interviews with President Turner and that took up a good chunk of time (with travel and the interviews, etc). In the evening we were supposed to have our branch missionary meeting, but it got canceled last minute and so we were a little at a loss of what to do. So during dinner we made cookies and in the evening we went around delievering cookies and nice notes to several of the less active members.

Wednesday: In the morning we had our District meeting! I was a part of the musical number... again haha! but this time I was playing the piano accompanying Sister Welch on the Violin! So that was awesome! Then we had exchanges! So I stayed in Chapin with Sister Brewer! We saw J. and talked about the temple (because she was going to do baptisms on Friday!). Then in the evening we saw M., R., and P.! We had a really good lesson with them really focusing on the Atonement and how it applies to the trials we go through. The spirit was very strong. 

Then Thursday we got a ride from a member to go to Irmo to unexchange. But on the freeway there was a huge traffic jam and the most exciting part was we almost ran out of gas in the middle of the traffic jam haha! But we made it safely! So that was exciting! Then something super cool happened! On Monday we had gotten an email from the zone leaders saying that the BYU women's soccer team was playing in South Carolina and that we had permission to go!!! So on Thursday the west columbia and columbia zones went together to the BYU women's soccer team game! And it was so much fun! The best part was that both Sister Yancey and Sister Staheli were there so my threepack was reunited!! It was awesome!!! 

Friday was fun as well! We did service at We Care in the morning. Then we planned for our week! Then in the evening the women's soccer team did a fireside and the same two zones got to go to that as well! It was really inspiring and it was a lot of fun!!! On the way home we got stuck in another huge traffic jam! It was crazy! But we made it home safe too haha!

Saturday was back to normal proselyting!! We saw P. and talked about the importance of following the spirit. Then we met her neighbor P. and talked with her about the Book of Mormon. Then we saw a less active named C.! The one hard thing with that visit was her TV volume was up super loud and she had lost the remote and it was one of those TVs that couldn't even be turned off without the remote. So Sister Pickett was next to her and I was on a chair in the room accross from her and I tried really hard to contribute, but I honestly couldn't hear anything over the TV. Oh well haha! Then in the evening we saw W. and we talked about the Book of Mormon and missionary work with her again! Then in the evening we saw A. and T. and did a gratitude family home evening with them :) 

Sunday was good! WE had church! A. and T. with their two kids came! Also M. and P. were there! Then we had our Branch missionary meeting! Then in the evening we saw Jazz and her family and we had a good lesson talking about Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us. 

So it was a really great week that was a party haha! 

Spiritual thought: Something that I have learned a lot about on my mission is what patience truly is and why it is important. There is a quote I really like by President Uchtdorf that says, "I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen- patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort." Patience is more than just sitting on the couch waiting for  good things to happen. It is getting up and working hard and using Christ's atonement and then trusting in the timing of God. 

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

Love always,

Sister Amy Bennett :) 

 

Visit to the Capitol... I am on the far right

 

 

 

3 Pack reunited at the Soccer game

BYU soccer game fun!

 

 

 

Ben on the Picket Fence

Hey y'all!
Sister Pickett and I decided we should start a band and name it "Ben
on the Pickett Fence" yup, we think we are hilarious!
Man this week was crazy! Where to begin? Probably with Monday haha ;)
Monday was super awesome! The sisters in the Dutch Fork Ward knew a
member in their Ward who played the harp and they worked it out where
I was able to go play the harp for over an hour and it was seriously
the best pday of my entire mission! I was so excited! And I managed to
only get one blister so that was a miracle! Then in the evening we had
a super good lesson with J. and B. We brought W. along and
she and J. clicked right away! It was awesome! But we talked about
the sacrament with them and it was really good.
Tuesday was crazy! We had our district meeting in the morning. And the
zone leaders came to visit our district meeting and it got work out
some way or another where I actually did a musical number with one of
the zone leaders. We sang "What Child is this?" While I played my
guitar. The other crazy thing was that President Turner (the mission
president) randomly decided to come to our district meeting as well.
After the meeting he said he wanted to talk to me and Elder Jacobsen
(the zone leader I sang with). He asked us what we both had going on
that day at 3. And let's just say that when your mission president
asks what you have going on your answer is "what ever you want me to
have going on" haha ;). Well anyway he said that there was a training
meeting for all the senior couples in the mission at his home going on
and that he wanted us to come perform that song as a musical number
for them. So of course we cleared our schedule and went to the
mission home at 3. When we got there he said, "when was the last time
you were able to just sit and relax for a half hour completely guilt
free?" And then explained he had told us the wrong time and that the
meeting was at 3:30 and so we just sat talking with the zone leaders
and President for a half hour haha! The second time around with the
musical number went well too! And then in the evening we had our
branch missionary meeting! So it was a crazy day haha!
Wednesday we went and volunteered at We Care. Then on the way home we
had to drop by the store. At the check out stand there were three
elderly sisters behind us and one of them passed out and the other two
sisters started freaking out because apparently this sister had done it
before and had died and was revived. So then 911 was called and
honestly thought I was about to watch someone die. But the ambulance
came and she seemed to be okay. But it was cool timing for us to be
there because we were able to reach out and comfort these sisters.
After that we went and had dinner with M. and P. at J. and
S.'s house! We talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon.
Then for the evening we actually went and helped out with young men's!
They were going to the mall and doing "random acts of kindness" and so
they would spin a wheel and do the little act of kindness that it
landed on i.e. Give a stranger a complement. Since it was going up
and talking to strangers and that's basically all we do as
missionaries they wanted us there to help out, so it was a lot of fun!
Thursday we went and did service for B. This time we helped her
out with her yard and actually the Elders from the Newberry Ward came
and helped us out so that was really good! After that we helped W.
do some family history! In the evening we saw a guy named J. and
talked about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Then we saw B.
and Z. They actually moved on Saturday so that was our last time
seen them :( but we talked about temples!
Friday we planned for our upcoming week! Then we went and did more
service for C. and R.! Then in the evening we saw M. and
P. and talked about the importance of scriptures!
Saturday was a day that was one of those days that better helps you
appreciate the good days. Haha ;) but we did get to see A. and
T. in the evening, a recent convert family who kinda dropped off
right after her baptism. We talked about the importance of God's love
for us!
Sunday was awesome! Sister Pickett and I spoke in sacrament meeting!
M., P., C., R., A. and her daughter were there! It
was awesome!!! In the evening we saw the K.s, members of the
Branch, and we also saw a lady named S. and we also talked about
the Book of Mormon with her!
So it was a good, but eventful week! Haha!
Spiritual thought is a quote by President Boyd K Packer. “It was meant
to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some
depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal. Teach
our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while,
or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will
straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life” part
of the purpose in life is to have challenges and those are only there
to help us grow closer to our Savior Jesus Christ!
I love y'all and hope y'all have a blessed week!
Love always,
Sister Amy Bennett :)

Rain fun

The District

P-day harp