Elder Bennion- Chandler, Arizona Week 8

  This has been an exciting week with many ups and downs (I'm noticing I say that alot at the start of emails so I may need to have less ineresting weeks). Either way I'm loving it down here and every day I wake up ready to give it my all, and every night I clock out the moment my had hits the pillow.

     This week I got a haircut; my hair is short and its still an adjustment, but at minimum I feel like I look the part of your average Elder now. It is nice though as even in the fall, it gets hot out here and the shorter hair is a boon in that sense.

      We've been trying new methods of finding this week including playing the guitar to try to find interest but thus far nobody is terribly interested. We've been changing tactics and the new plan is to find more ways to serve people and reach out to friends of local members. People are a lot more willing to give you the time of day when they hear about free labor. Thusfar We've given a few people our number to call us if they need anything and fingers crossed we'll get to help them out.

     I love getting to meet and talk to the people out here, every one of them is FILLED with stories, character, and best of all, sometimes a bad joke or two. It is so fun to visit families in the ward and get to know them and teach a quick lesson we made for them. I can't wait to get met so many more people both here and in Brazil

     Speaking of which, still no word on the Visa, but I am keeping up with my Portuguese. I get an hour each day to cram as much new stuff in as possible and practice. This week I got to teach a practice lesson on the plan of salvation to a member who served his mission in Brazil and it was so cool getting to teach a full lesson with an invitation and all and get some much needed feedback on how I can improve.

      In what is possibly the most important news of all, I get to run a Halloween one shot (one session adventure in Dungeons and Dragons) for the four other Elders in my house, as we are supposed to stay indoors Haloween after 6:00. I am excited to dust of the old skills and put my fellow Elders through the castle of a Vampire.

     Overall, I have been thrilled to serve the Lord this week even though I was kinda dying with a sore throat for like half of it. There's always a bright side and even of its just enjoying swallowing without dying, I'm here for it. I can't wait to write yall again next week with what I've been up to.

Spiritual Thought: There is a story in witch two boys are walking one day when they see a field with a jacket and a pair of old boots. Looking into the field they see a man working the field. The younger boy proposes they hide the man's boots and hide to watch and see his confusion. Looking out to the field, from his clothes the older boy deduses the man is poor and desides to try a diffrent experiment.  Both boys place a silver dollar in the man's shoes and lie in wait to see his reaction. After not to long the man comes up and puts on first his jacket and then his first shoe before stopping and finding a silver dollar inside. Amazed the man examined it in total awe. He then went to put on his second boot only to find a second silver dollar. Overcome by emotion the man dropped to his knees and offered a prayer of gratitude; he talked about his sick family and how greatful he was to now be able to afoard bread for them. He asked that the blessings of heaven be poured out apon whatever souls answered his desperate need. The man then got up and headed home. Soon after the boys began to head home themselves and said one to another how glad they where to have helped. 

      Often times helping others takes sacrifice, two dollars was a large sum to those boys and yet when they left this encounter, they had riches far beyond two dollars, for they had treasure in heaven money couldn't buy. It is one of the great ironies in life that to get the greatest toward you must give up what you think you need and desent lower then those around you to lift up others. This is how you find without knowing you have more then you could ever ask for and stand higher then you could have ever dreamed. If you wish to feel the joy of the saints, love one another as Jesus loves you, try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gental and caring in deed and in thought, for these are the things Jesus taught.

     - God be with you till we meet again,

                   Elder Bennion

Elder Bennion- Week 7 Tempe, Arizona

   I have had quite the eventful week including a lot of good byes and introductions so I'll get right into it.

     Tuesday I woke up just before the crack of dawn to begin my transit. After about an hour of being shuffled around the same building we got on a bus, a train, another bus, a plane, and finaly arrived in Pheonix's Airport. The most important part of this voyage was the food, namely I got shakeshack (non MTC food!) for breakfast. After arriving we met the Mission Presedent and his wife: Presedent and Sister Law. We got loaded up into unmarked white vans and spent a few hours loitering around the mission home and eating pizza. We finaly headed off to the Law's home to enjoy tacos and a couch (not at the same time). We ended the day by hotel-ing it up.

     Wednesday we woke up grabbed breakfast and were assigned our areas and companion(s). As I am waiting for my visa, I have been assigned to a trio with two experienced Elders, namely Elder Corless and Parmenter. We got adjusted at our home, went shopping so I could eat, and began preaching the word to the people of Chandler, Arizona. We got strait to work planning and executing lessons for members of the church in the area. 

     The Rest of the week we where blitzing between member visits, follow ups from member visits, eating, and "engaging" people on the street. People in Arizona mostly have churches so we don't have a lot of luck, but we're cooking up some plans to bring the people to us; stay tuned for the lemonade stand and sing a long to come.

     Sunday I learned how long three Sacraacrament meetings can feel but I can't even be mad, all the talks where straight fire and we had some CRAZY music numbers. Low-key got sick so had to spend a few hours wrapped up In a blanket of misery but where back now.

     In reflection, I lucked OUT this week, I got the best comps and where scheming up some plans to convert!

Spiritual Thought: I'm gonna keep it simple,  seclnd great comandment: Love your Neighbor. It's realy easy to see people as obstacles or numbers, but just remember that's a divine child of God with infinite potential. I cannot fully understate how important it is to love people no matter what. God's plan is to bring us back home, but what's the point of getting home if there's no love there. If we keep those grudges and aren't willing to give that next chance we ignore God's will for our own. It's not easy but it is worth it I promise

 - God be with you till we meet again,  

               Elder Bennion 

Farewell to the MTC

 And thus it begins, tomorrow I fly out to the far off land of Tempe Arizona! If you don't believe me that its far away I'll have you know I have a whole -20 minute flight (40 but a time change). Needless to say those Elder going to Engola in my district have it easy with meer 72 hours of travel. 

     I can't wait to hit the field and most importantly eat something not from the MTC Cafeteria or a microwave. In all seriousness, I am immensely grateful for my time at the MTC, I've got "survival" Portuguese meaning I can put some of my own sentences together and don't need to rely on memorized responses. While waiting to play Volyball this week I was able to keep up a conversation in portugese for a solid 15 minutes with another portugese Elder from a different district. This week we participated in "Fala Sua Língua" (speak your language). During this we tried to speak exclusively in Portuguese and I feel it helped me immensely improve. 

     I cannot understate how much I love and respect each member of my district (shout out 13-E). We had an incredible class with Irmão Dalglish where we each got to share the "why" of our missions and I'm so inspired by each of my fellow missionaries and want to be like them when I grow up. 

      While on the subject of people who have kept me going, I need to talk about my incredible teachers. Irmã Martinez started almost every day with a great class and on our last class,  she talked about her incredible experiences on her mission. Irmão Stone was the districts rocking (pun intended) Portuguese tutoring. Without him I certainly wouldn't be able to make a good language study plan without him. And to top it all off, he taught me how to say lightsaber in Portuguese, Sabre de Luz. Finaly, the both spiritual and literal giant (he's like 12 feet tall) Irmão Dalglish. Irmão Dalglish is incredible and he was a worker of miracles as he keeps us awake and interested despite teaching the 6-9 PM class in Portuguese. I cannot imagine my stay at the MTC or how on earth I would learn Portugese without my teachers.

     In other exciting news, for the first time in half a decade (by my estimation), I tried out a differentt hair style (pics below). Thanks to the talented Elder Anderson I rocked a middle part for a day. 

Spiritual Thought: Often times it feels as though we are required to do hard, often unfair things. After being sent to travel to Jeruselem the brothers of the prophet Nephi complained that it was a hard thing that had been required of them (1 Nephi 3:5). Dispite this Christ understands life is hard; we have problems and he has a solution. In His sermon on the mountain,  Christ states "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mathew 11:28-30). This is one of my favorite scriptures yet it seems to be at odds with the many hard things required to follow Him. This answer to this seeming contradiction comes in Nephi's response to his brothers. He states that he trusts in the Lord's for He will give no commandment save the Lord will provide a way for the work to be accomplished (1Nephi 3:7). At the start of my mission I was excellent at making it about me, "I am a picky eater", "I don't speak Portuguese", and "this is hard for me". I have learned it's not about me and its not my work or labor. After focusing on Christ and helping those I will teach, I have seen my problems either shrink or disappear. I find I can eat a lot of diffrent kinds of food, I am rapidly improving at Portuguese, and although I have been asked to do something hard, I have never been happier in my life.

Week 5- MTC

  Olá from the Missionary Training Center! This has been an interesting week yet agin so prepare to be all like, "Whoh, Elder Bennion was right, this is interesting", or not, but I hope its at least a little interesting. 

      Beginning with the big news, I got temperararaly reassigned to Teme, Arizona this week! I'll still get to Brazil in the Lord's time, but for now my Visa is cooked and so I venture to the strange land of Tempe. I'm realy excited to head out, I've already seen the nearby Pheonix Temple and it looks gorgeous, I can't wait!

     In other exciting news, there are now two of me. For the past few weeks whenever I headed to quior I would bump into Brother Bennion, well this week we did family search (LDS family tree app), relatives around me and where 4th cousins. To make things even cooler we have the same name, David J. Bennion (diffrent middle names but same initials still).

      I loved going to the Temple this week and doing sealings, I'd never done it before and it was so cool. Sadly I don't get to go this week but that just makes me more excited for next week.

     General Conference was incredible, I took about 8 pages of notes and would love to hear about all of your favorite talks. On top of that divine intervention came from Sister Beare who blessed my room with Conference Cinimon Rolls.

     Portugese continues to improve, this week the stupendous and not at all short Elder Beare and I crushed our Helping Others Apointment (practice lesson), we stayed in Portuguese for the whole 15 minutes and uneerstandibly taught a lesson, I have no illusions I'll be fluent by the time I'm in Brazil or anything but nevertheless I'm feeling good.

      Once again I'm filled with gratitude to my District who continue to put up with me and haven't thrown me off a cliff for making bad jokes yet. 

    For the last bit of news I got to breifly reconect with a former classmate at BYU, Elder Cox who's serving a stone throws away in Brazil.

Spiritual Thought: This week I was touched by a scripture mentioned specifically Matthew 25:34-40: "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me". What an incredible scripture, I think the World can always benefit from more kindness and understanding. This week I would challenge each of you to look for ways to help others each day, The Lord will put people in your path who need your help if He can trust you to follow through and minister to them. When talking to Peter, the Savior asked if Peter loved him, when Peter confirmed he did, Christ responded "feed my sheep" (John 21:15). Sorry for dropping like 6 verses on you but I feel they are important.

 - God be with you till we meet again,    

                   Elder Bennion