Week 12: Chandler Arizona

The date is set, the tickets bought, this time next week, I'll be writing from Brazil! This week I received my travel plans and I fly out tomorrow morning to arrive Wednesday afternoon in Fortaleza, Brazil. I am so glad to have had the chance to serve here in Arizona and meet all the fantastic people here. That being said, I'm definitely glad to head out to Brazil, nice as practicing with members is getting immersed in Portuguese is definitely important. This week we had an awsome meeting with my district and we held a "funeral" as one Sister was done with her mission. Definitely gonna miss all the awsome missionaries here, its so incredible to work with such incredible people. In other critical important news, I actualy won a game of chess against another reliving human being. This may not sound terribly impressive but if so you've never played me in chess, I happen to be outrageously awful at chess. But I was able to decimate Elder Parmenter (once out of the 3 games we played). So yeah, next grandmaster right here. When I arrived in Arizona with an umbrella, they called me mad, but this week, it rained and they where all proved fools as I stood dry under my umbrella and they stood wet under the unforgiving sky. I'm exaggerating, it wasn't that bad and Elder Parmenter had a Poncho, but still, I got to use my umbrella! Spiritual Thought: I have been thinking about lighthouses this week, mostly in terms of metaphors. Life has many challenges and often we can feel alone, lost, and powerless as waves crash against us and threaten to pull us down into unthinkable depths. Rain and storm buffet us and in these times it is easy to declare all is lost, but when we need direction, if we are willing to look and listen, the lighthouse is there. The job of a lighthouse is to help bring ships to safety, to direct them against unseen perils. The keeper of the lighthouse knows the waters and the shore, he has a plan and knows how to navigate around the dangers. Similarly if we look unto Chist, we can see what we need to do. He has a plan for us and knows what we must face and understands the pains we have suffered as He felt them. Look unto Him, He wants to help you and askes only your cooperation in return. I know that if we take that first step of turning towards the lighthouse, He will see us to shore safely. - God be with you till we meet again, Elder Bennion

Week 11: Chandler Arizona

The prophesied day has come, the day of dread and terror, my visa is ready to go. In all seriousness, I finaly get to head to Brazil; I should be there before the end of the month. I'm real glad I've been keepin up with the Portuguese and also releved I get to start actualy making some real progress. So yeah, Brazil, here I come! Missionary work this week is GOING! We have five diffrent people where teaching and I actualy got to teach lessons to non-members this week. I can truly say there's no greater feeling then watching people come closer to the Savior and feeling the peace and love of Christ. My Portuguese studies are going great, I got to do a practice lesson this week with a member who was pretending to be a non-member. I've never had anti-LDS argument presented to me in Portuguese during a practice lesson before but I was able to answer questions and get through the lesson with my broken Portuguese. It was a great time and afterward we got to talk about what its like in Brazil as she served a mission there. I love being a missionary, it's the hardest thing I've ever done but I've never felt stronger, smarter, happier, and more confident in teaching. I can wait to tell yall about my adventures this week come next Monday, till then, até logo! Spiritual Thought: I was reading in my scriptures this week about the prophet Moroni. Moroni lived a hard life and saw everyone he knew and loved killed in war with another nation; what I found so interesting was how Moroni responded to them, he prayed for them, he wanted them to find the peace and joy he had in Christ. Jesus taught to love our enemies and I had always assumed it was about separating us from the world or showing our devotion to Christ, but what Moroni understood is that loving our enemies is how we find peace. There is power in giving up the strifes of this world and as Presedent Nelson said, thinking celestial. I know that God loves us and wants us to find joy in this life, all His comandments have that goal in mind, we only need trust Him. - God be with you till we meet again, Elder Bennion

Week 9: Chandler, Arizona

 Feliz Dia de Bruxas, in english, happy Haloween (Day of Whiches if you want that exact translation). This week has been spooktacular and I'm ready to get into it. 

     The work continues and where actualy getting people to teach wich is SO exciting! I loved teaching of Christ and I've definitely seen how the gospel has something for everyone.

     Portugese keeps on, on top of daily study the members of my wards have been kind enought to help me practice and so I get to teach two practice lessons a week which is so great. Im trying to try to think in Portugese more and more and I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere. Mind you I'm under no illusions I won't be cooked when I hit Brazil, but you do what you can. No use stressing when it can't be helped.

     This week we had our ward Halloween pary wich for yall not in the know, is known as "trunk or treat" because you decorate your trunk and hand candy out to kids. We made 10 comandment headstones cuz they lokey already looked like graves. We handed out like 10 pounds of candy and got to dress up. If you can figure out who Elder Parmenter and I where feel free to reach out, but no points for Elder Corless who didn't dress up :( muito triste. 

     Haloween night I got to play Dungeons and Dragons and put my roommates against the evils the the vampire Count Strahd Von Zarovitch. After a great night of rolling dice and bashing the undead, the lord of undeath fell from his castle. I didn't realize how much I missed playing D&D but now I'm so ready to get back to work!

Spiritual Thought: There is a story from one of my favorite books of a man who raced a great storm. He raced it over mountains, plains, and whole contents. He ran and ran, out running the storm dispite imense hardship and pain. At the end, his body, having given all it can, falls and his life ends. When the storm catches up it pauses, the man ran all he could and the storm understood that this had to be done. We all race our storms and it is often hard or even impossible. No matter how strong our will, we will always find times that no matter what we feel despritly short, but he kept running and so can we. The story ends with the man's spirit rising to run evermore, to race the storm without tire or pain. If we do what we can we will find our storms things of the past. Trust in God, He uses weak things and makes them strong, He perfects us and that storm we tried desperately to keep ahead of today can be a small problem tomorrow.

     - God be with you till we meet again, 

                 Elder Bennion 

P.S. yeah, that's a picture of me with Szeth and his Highspren and for the record, nightblood had a smoke machine so it was indeed bleeding black smoke.