WEEK 45: ZL!

So this was a little crazy, busy and had a lot of change! Monday was normal with Pday playing basketball and dinner ending with calling some referrals and street contacting.

Tuesday night we got a call from president stating that Elder Hutchinson would be a mission office elder, and that I would go into a trio with the other Gardena elders. Crazy!

Wednesday Elder Hutchinson said goodbye to some members, then Elder Roe came and picked him up and I went with the east Gardena elders, Elder Wassum and Mayberry, now double covering the east and west in a car. We did weekly planning, and then we went on splits with 3 different members which went super good!

Thursday was the international zone interviews so we had to run that all the way till 4pm. Then had dinner and went straight to a lesson with Charlotte. We went through the 3rd lesson which went super good! At the end we talked about how to recognize the spirit and then reset her baptismal date for the 28th!

Friday was ZTM which went really good! President and Sister Haynie came to it and afterwards president called me out into the hallway which he then called me to be a zone leader! So now i am the international zone leader with Elder Mayberry. We cover the whole mission and go to a stake report each Sunday in different stakes. I’m over all the Chinese, Korean, and Farsi elders and sisters. It’s pretty crazy!

Saturday Elder Wassum went to be a zone leader in Lawndale. We had a lesson with Napoleon and read 1st Nephi 6 and really broke it down. Then brother Vanisi came and installed an AC unit into our apartment. Hallelujah! Then had dinner at the Nakilas and taught Maimai the 3rd lesson of her new member lessons. Then went into the east side and saw a guy named Edgar and set a baptismal date with him for September 18th.

Sunday we went to the Gardena and the Nuumau ward. Then went to Palos Verdes for a stake report there and I saw Elder Griffin! He's the PV zone leader. Then went to a lesson with Walter and brother Woolwine came with us. Walter is now in Alma! He's progressing really well. Then had dinner with the Florciks. Was a busy day!

Overall it was a busy week! Now a zone leader and covering the whole Gardena ward boundaries. A little stressful but it's good! Busy. I’m loving the mission and having a great time!

Love Elder Bennett

WEEK 43: DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE...

Monday: We had Ryan and Phelina (investigators) come to the church in the morning to play bball. Ryan had challenged me to a 1 vs 1 haha. Before they had to leave we had a church tour and showed them all the different rooms and where they go for the 2nd/3rd hours. Was really good! Then we had the branch elders and the Palos Verdes elders come play basketball. Was super fun! By 6 my legs were dead haha. We had dinner, then we're about to go to an appointment and she cancelled.. So we street contacted/called potentials for the rest of the night.

Tuesday: Had a lesson with our investigator Napoleon. He is an older African American guy who basically acts like a member, comes to church each Sunday, has a super strong testimony, everything but can't get baptized because his girlfriend whom he has grandchildren with refuses to get married because it's "for the church". So he's in the process of moving to Idaho to live with his daughter so he can get baptized. He super cool though and everyone in the ward knows him. He's been coming to church every week for the past 2 years. At this point we just read a chapter from the BOM with him then break it down afterwards and he ends up teaching us haha. He's read all the standard works. In the evening we had a lesson with 2 less actives and their unbaptized 8 year old. They just came back and want their son to get baptized! So we are teaching him the lessons.

Wednesday: Had our ward scripture study in the morning and had a new investigator show up with Napoleon! So that was awesome. The scripture study is perfect because it's run by a ward missionary, he has a projector with a bunch of slides going through the BOM, anyone can show up and follow along, make comments and such, and it's also a potluck so most everyone brings food! Trying to get more investigators to come. In the afternoon we stopped by Rebecca (Phelina's Mom) and read 3rd Nephi 11 with her.

Then on our way to our dinner we were going through an intersection on our bikes, and this lady who was going straight as well suddenly decided to turn and smoked Elder Hutchinson! Knocked him off his bike, he skidded to the other side of the cross walk on his side bag and everything. I thought he was gonna be dead haha. But he's fine! Only thing is a good scrape on his elbow and a hole in his pants. Bike was perfectly fine as well! Miracle! We got the ladies info/insurance and then suddenly we heard sirens and 2 police cars showed up, 22 fire trucks, a patrol officer, and an ambulance haha. Someone must have called 911 when they saw the accident cuz we didn't call. So it was pretty intense! I called our dinner and said we were gonna be late because my companion got hit by a car... Lol best excuse for a missionary I'd say!

Then in the evening we had a member come to see our BD Edwin. He's so close to being baptized just is still unsure. Pretty sure it's the Catholic in him. Family opposition. Read through the baptismal interview questions with him and he's fine with all! Just a matter of time.

Thursday: Weekly planning for most of the day, had a lesson with a LA, and a RC. Then had our ward mission leader and a ward missionary come to see our investigator Charlotte. Taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and it went great! Spirit was there and the members bore awesome testimonies!

Friday: Had district meeting then I went on exchanges with the ASL north elders. Was really fun! Quiet but fun.. Haha. There is just a special spirit there as we teach those with disabilities the plan of salvation. We had to exchange back in the evening because our apartment has bed bugs!!! So we then took brother Vanisi to see a less-active with went really well.

Saturday: Pioneer Day! Our stake had a BBQ, live music, and pioneer activities going on at the church. Super fun! Edwin came and it was fun watching the stick pull. Afterwards we went and saw a member who just found out she has cancer. Her husband isn't a member. Shared the plan of salvation with them and gave her a blessing afterwards. They are an old Japanese couple and are so sweet! Sad to see her energy go away. Then we went and saw Napoleon again with our RC Anneliese. Read
Alma 46! Then spent the rest of the night attempting to kill all bed bugs. Bought 91% alcohol and sprayed every bit of the room down, vacuumed everywhere. None were in my bed, they were all in my companions box spring. It was nasty!

Sunday: Edwin came to church! Was super good and the talks were awesome. Brother Villalon (Filipino) talked about the Filipino pioneers. Cool to hear the history of the church there. His wife was the first convert in her village. Got baptized in the ocean. After church we had lunch then went and tried to street contact/visit potentials and less actives.. It was sooooooo hot!!! Idk what the
temperature was but Gardena was a ghost town. No one on the streets, no one opened their doors, and the only cars were on the main streets! Not many people here have AC (doesn't make sense) so they were all hibernating. We literally walked around/knocked on doors for 2 hours and saw 2 people. Had dinner at a members house (no AC) and he served his mission here 15 years ago! Cool to see his mission photo album. After dinner he came out with us and saw our investigator Theresa. Shared a message with her and it went great!

Overall it was a great week! Always eventful when someone gets hit by a car haha. Love y'all!

Love Elder Bennett

WEEK 42

Well this week went super fast and it just seems to be getting hotter and hotter.. Thank goodness it's not humid but being on bike compensates for that haha. I've definitely gotten used to being sweaty in a Sunday shirt haha. This week went really good though! Transfers came and went, elder Hutchinson and I are staying together another transfer so same old! First time I've stayed with a companion. 

We had a really good week with some awesome lessons! Can’t remember if I mentioned them already but one of our families has a dad that’s Muslim, brother who is Christian, and a mom, daughter and brother in law who are Catholic. Our lessons get intense sometimes but are always super good! It's been a cool experience as they debate against each other over religion and we pipe in and solve it haha. They are just an awesome family though and they love us so much that they had us over for dinner Friday night! Had lasagna, breadsticks, salad and strawberries/cheesecake cream for dessert. Then had a lesson afterwards. Shared the plan of salvation and the Christian brother said "I'm mind blown right now." The Muslim Dad said "I'm reading the Book of Mormon tonight" and the other three all said they feel that it's all true haha. Spirit was super strong and they all felt it. Amazing as we bear testimony of eternal families and the POS that the Holy Ghost touches everyone who hears. It was the first thing I gained a testimony of. The Muslim dad and Christian brother enjoy listening but as far as baptism they won't hear it haha surprise surprise. But Rebecca, Phelina, and Ryan (Catholic) are all open to baptism and said they will pray about it and are open to it once they feel ready!

We also have another investigator who is a Methodist and very smart. Old guy but is a retired English professor. We brought one of our members who is his same age and also very smart and man did they got along well. Taught the restoration and it went great! Last time it was just us and we offered him a BOM at the end and he just said “no thanks." This time he asked us for one. The restoration really grabs people's attention if they listen with an open heart.

As for other events this week, when we were riding home late one night i went over a curb that I didn't see, I stayed on my bike but my toe smoked the curb so hard that it almost put a hole in my shoe haha. I was sure my toe would be broken but it's doing ok now haha. We also did a transition lesson with the YSA sisters. We had an awesome investigator named Tony who was 23. We set a baptismal date with him for the 14th of August just before we handed him over so it will be cool to see what happens! And I got a flat yesterday, and elder Hutchinson's front tire got slashed so it was a rough sabbath haha had to walk a lot!

Overall I'm doing great! Loving the mission and my testimony gets stronger each day! Love studying the scriptures now. FYI there are 516 verses in the New Testament supporting the godhead, 141 being in John. Sad that people still get it mixed up! Makes the apostasy just that much more evident. Love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love Elder Bennett

Scripture- Alma 40:11-12

WEEK 40

Monday

For Pday we had to run around a lot and pick up things. Elder Hutchinson had to do a few errands and we didn't get to the church till around 1. Played basketball with Elder Lupeni and the ASL elders. Also played a game called chair soccer which was really fun! Btw if all those who email me could email me Sunday morning, that would be awesome because I can read your emails Sunday night and pre write.

After Pday we had dinner at a Hawaiian families house, then went and saw our investigator Edwin who is preparing to be baptized on the 10th. It was super cool as he talked about how he felt at church. Says he just feels a peace as soon as he walks in the building, and the rest of his day always goes better. When he prays about baptism all he feels is a good feeling! We are going to take him to the visitors center on Friday. We then biked home and got home at exactly 9:30 and our apartment was about 95 degrees! I'm gonna have to get used to the heat before I'll be able to sleep good at night haha

Tuesday

Well it was my birthday! Don't feel any different. Still a teenager so I guess nothing has changed! Does feel weird to think that without the age change, I would be just going out now. Don't know what I'd have done this past year if I'd been home haha. This morning we went to find a referral that we had gotten, got to the apartment building and none of the doors were marked. And there were about 60 apartments...

So we were in the courtyard debating if we wanted to tract the whole building when a guy walks out of his door, and says "Are you looking for Tony? Because that's me." Haha so he invited us in! He has talked with a number of missionaries on the street before but finally decided he'd give them his address and listen. The lesson was powerful and he had tears in his eyes as we shared the first vision. In his prayer at the end he asked God to help him find all the truth that he knew was in the Book of Mormon. He super sincere! Then we met with our investigator Napoleon who is cohabitating and trying to move out. He has come to church for the past 2 years every week. Just doesn't have the money to move out! Then we saw a less active named Andy who just recently sold an app to a company for 18 million dollars... He always tries to tempt us into driving his thunder bird, charger, corvette and porche haha. But we haven't given in! Then for dinner we ate at the Vanisi's who are always helping us with the flat tires we get. Brother Vanisi is awesome! They bought me a cheesecake from kings Hawaiian, and gave me a card. Awesome family! It was his birthday on Monday and we got him a card. It was a great day! Other than the 3 gun shots we heard as we were getting into our apartment. Good old LA!

Wednesday

In the morning we went to our wards bible study at the church. We had a few recent converts and investigators there and it went really good! Afterwards we had lunch, then I went on exchanges with Elder Monger who is in the ASL program. He is 90% deaf so it was tough to communicate but he is awesome! We spent the day visiting less actives in their branch and we even went to long each because their boundaries go part way into that mission haha so I left my mission! Then we went with the branch president to see an investigator who's nephew is deaf. He has a ton of questions like our investigator Marquel. Things like "Why did Moroni take the gold plates back?" And "What archeological evidence is there of the Book of Mormon people?" And "How does he differentiate between us and the JWs when they claim they know their book to be true through the power of the Holy Ghost?" So it was a fun lesson! Haha but we tied it back to read, ponder, pray and president Sutton bore a powerful testimony. It seemed to catch Michael (the investigator) of guard as president Sutton bore testimony and the spirit just flooded the room. He accepted the invitation to read, ponder and pray after that! Then we went and got subway to end the night. Crazy that we now have a new mission president!!

Thursday

This morning we went to the "Meet the President" meeting and met President and Sister Haynie! They are from Washington and turns out that sister Haynie is a Peterson, who was born in Magrath, grew up in welling and taught school in Magrath? So that's crazy awesome! They said they both have visited Magrath many times. They are both awesome and they have an amazing spirit about them. They both bore their testimonies to us and it was just so motivational! President Haynie has met a ton of general authorities, from Spencer W Kimball, to Henry B Eyring. They are gonna be great. We then had lunch, did weekly planning, had dinner at our ward mission leaders house, then visited a few less actives! One quote from sister Haynie that stood out to me was "We need to have a current testimony. Not one that happened with a spiritual experience long ago, but one that has been reaffirmed regularly." Amen! Haha

Friday

Had no district meeting today because of the meeting yesterday. We were supposed to go to the temple with our investigator today but he didn't get back to us! Wasn't picking up his phone, or texting us back. So that stunk. We ended up making a route of potentials and less actives to walk to so we could get some street contacting in. Didn’t have too much success finding, but then a car pulled up with an African American couple in it and they asked us if we were LDS missionaries. They then asked "Could you please come and teach us? Our address is ...." Then drove off so that was awesome!! Definitely a tender mercy. We then had dinner at the Parkes, then street contacted some more. We found a guy from Mexico who hasn't seen his family for 20 years. He has been living in LA and has been just sending the money he makes here to them. He was super excited at the idea of eternal families. It was a good day! Got 2 new investigators, and a few new potentials.

Saturday

Our first 3 appointments fell through today... So that was frustrating! But then the ZLs texted us to meet us at the church and get our mail and I finally got my birthday package! Woo! Which definitely made the day awesome haha. I'll admit it was pretty rough getting it back to the apartment on bike.. But worth it! We had an awesome experience though as we went to see a less active who we hadn't met yet. I called her on the phone to see if we could come by and she said "Well sure but I'm going to another church." So I said "Sweet we will see you tomorrow at 3!" So we went over, and she had invited a friend over to listen as well who isn't a member. It was a little awkward at first, but they warmed up to us quick and we started talking about the Book of Mormon. She got baptized 20 years ago, and said she knew it was true then, and so we asked her how she knew, and she said she felt the spirit when she prayed about it. So we then asked her what it felt like. And she couldn't remember. We then talked about how Satan is always trying to make us forget spiritual experiences, or brush them off. It was like a lightbulb turned on in her head and she said, "So I need to read and pray about it again to feel the spirit again." Plus Rudy (the friend) had some good questions. He is Catholic and has met with missionaries before but said he felt enlightened this time. Said he learned a lot and felt something different. Told us as we left "Don't think you wasted your time. You helped both of us. And now we can spread the word as well.” Miracle!

Sunday

Fast Sunday was great! Testimony meeting was awesome. Had a lot of "different" testimonies but they were sincere and the spirit was there! We then went and visited a guy who is a literature teacher, and Methodist preacher.... Quite daunting as we listened to him explain his accomplishments, but it was amazing as we bore testimony his attention became focused and you could tell he felt the spirit. Amazing how the gospel can excite the minds of the most intellect, and the most unlearned. After that we had dinner at the Lee's and she made apple crisp and had vanilla icecream!! My favorite (well peach is but close enough). Then we went and saw a less active who bore his testimony today. We had a lot of people today tell us his testimony touched them. He fell away from the church after highschool, but came back when his wife joined the church. It was a great day and a great week! Hope you all have a great 4th of July!

Love, Elder Bennett

WEEK 38

This week was good as always! I'm still getting used to being on a bike but I'm getting there haha. Elder Hutchinson is a beast so I’m always struggling to keep up with him! Doesn't help that my bike won’t shift to the highest gear haha. Our area is doing well and we set a baptismal date with a guy named Edwin! He is super cool and even came to church on Sunday! He speaks better Spanish than English but wants to learn English. So I translate here and there (my Spanish is coming along). We are teaching a couple other people as well who are coming along well! There is this one guy Marquel who is our “tough" investigator. He is African American and seems to be mainly interested in Polygamy/blacks and the priesthood. We showed him the declarations in D&C and he says he has more questions now. Overall though he is receiving but he hasn't started reading the Book of Mormon yet. It’s so hard to help people realize that all their questions stem down to if the Book of Mormon is true or not.

 We did finally find a lady who we have been trying to catch at home forever! Her name is Gena and she is super cool! Half Japanese, half Filipino. We stopped by her house Thursday night at 8:50 (last stop of the night) and she was home! She is super interested and invited us over for dinner the next day but she is single and has 2 daughters and we explained how there needs to  be a male and she said "well bring a member of your church then!" Haha so we did! After dinner we shared the restoration and she loved it. She had no idea that Mormons read the bible. She said it all makes sense and that she is “beyond excited" to read the Book of Mormon! So she seems super promising!

  Maimai got baptized on saturday! It went great and the spirit was super strong! They had a lunch afterwards with a bunch of Samoan food which was soooo good! We were both stuffed. Seems like as soon as we are close to finishing our plate, they put another in front of us haha. I love Polynesian people!

  This week went great other than that Elder Hutchinson got 2 flat tires so that took some time to fix, we also did service for a lady who needed her fridge taken up a flight of stairs so that was fun! We are getting hair cuts today, and playing basketball with the ASL elders. I can't remember if I mentioned it last time but there are 2 ASL companionships, 2 of the elders are completely deaf so it's really cool to see sign language all the time! Both companionships are in my district. I never realized there was an ASL ward! All done in sign language, even blessings, confirmations, everything.

Well I'm having a great time on the mission! Loving every day. It’s crazy that my birthday is only 2 weeks away! My last year as a teenager will be spent on the mission haha. Also we will be getting a new mission president on the 30th! Interested to see how he is! Well love you all and hope you have a great week!

Love, Elder Bennett

WEEK 37

So I got transferred to the Gardena 1st ward and am in Torrance! I'm on bike and am now a district leader. My first few days on bike I’ll be honest.. It was rough haha. Just no endurance! And it feels like the wind is blowing the opposite direction no matter which way we go haha. But this area has been great! It's been getting up in the 80s and being on bike it feels like 90s. The rough part is that I’ll probably be on bike for at least another transfer in this area so bike during the summer here I come! My companion is Elder Hutchinson from New Hampshire and he is super cool! He is 26 and has been out 4 months. We get along great! We have a baptism coming up this Saturday for a girl named Maimai who is 10! She is Samoan so there is gonna be a feast afterwards! Also I met a member named Brother Matalei who served his mission in Samoa. He said he had a companion from Alberta Canada named Doug Broadhead who wrote a song called mesisamoa! Small world! Told him I grew up with his son who is on a mission in Australia. Also in my last area I forgot to mention that Brother Lambson served his mission in the gulf states and knew an elder Bly from Alberta Canada!

  

As far as the work goes we are just busy biking everywhere trying to find all the potential investigators we can and set up appointments! It's been pretty successful so far. We have found a bunch of people and set a baptismal date yesterday with one! The ward is awesome and they are mostly 40+. Lots of old people which works because they are all retired and can come out to lesson with us! Haha we get fed every night too so it's sweet! I'm alive and well and only my nose has been burnt so far!

  

Some cool things that happened were we saw a car hit a fire hydrant. The person was fine but the car was totaled. Plus the fire hydrant started spraying water about 30ft in the air so I'll send some pics!

  

I'm doing great and having fun! Love you all!

Love, Elder Bennett