This week flew by

Family,

I'm not sure what my emails were like in my previous areas, but I can't help but rave about the Tongans each time I email you. I just want everyone to know how special they are and how great of humans they are. I know each race has their flaws, but they're so insignificant to me when it comes to the Polynesians. I really don't know what it is, I just love them!

This week flew by because of all the things we had to do, it was insane. I swear we never had time to catch a breath! I'm normally caught up on my journal at all times, but this week has not had enough time between 6:30-10:30 for me to catch up on all that has happened. Last Monday, we had a little activity with the missionaries in our zone, and when you've played volleyball with the Tongans, playing with Palangi's (Puh-long-ee's, White people), it's nowhere near as fun. They're so skilled at that sport, it's great. Our zone has been getting a little casual though, so we're trying to play less sports together. For some reason, as soon we put on normal clothes, our minds tend to ease off the rules, especially when we're around each other. It's hard not to get distracted around other missionaries since we encounter similar problems and frustrations on the mission. I've found out a cure for it though: Reading the Book of Mormon!

President Hobbs said that our mission would be happier and brighter if we were to pick up the Book of Mormon more often. I then made it a goal to read the B of M 20 minutes a day outside of our personal and companion studies. All day long I tell people "Read you scriptures to resolve your problems... turn to the scriptures, they'll help you!" But I don't think missionaries often take their own advice, so I'm experimenting with that and I believe it to be so true, I don't even need to hesitate to know that it will help so significantly in our lives. I love that book so much. Yesterday at church, a speaker got called to work in the Silverlakes ward and Brother Moa (Mo-uh) is the high councilman and asked us to speak in their ward with him. We had 20 minutes to prayer and I felt the need to share the Book of Mormon. I love that book in the way it helped me make Christ more of a reality in my life. I felt as though he was a stranger when I was 18, but then I noticed my relationship with him evolved and slowly I was able to recognize his power that was evident in my life in my study of the Book of Mormon. I know we need that book to confirm spiritual truth and to manifest the reality of living prophets on the earth today. What a monumental and inspired book for our dispensation! 

The hola and the wake for Na started this week and I'm honestly not sure what the difference is in those two things, perhaps you can look them up and inform me. But we were there every day this week at 7:00 and then were there till 9:00 for our curfew. Our dinner was there everyday and that Tongan food really grows on you, that's for sure! They had some really good crab and sop suey as they call it. No rice, but they did have kumala (koo-ma-la, which is a sweet potato) which was great! In the picture I have attached, their is a big tent over the driveway where they laid down the blue straw carpet stuff and then the orange is where the garage starts. We all sat in a circle (indian style cause that's how their culture is) and here's how it works (I'll try to explain this as best I can). The Felila's have a spokesperson as well as someone from our ward. The ward brings in a bunch of quilts, blankets, and a ton of food for the family and places it in the middle. The Felila spokesman then denies all the gifts and then the ward takes it back and from then on I'm not sure where it goes. That happens at every Tongan funeral, but I haven't asked why. Nonetheless, it's still really cool to observe! See how giving the Tongans are? So great! Then the viewing came around and they do it much different and much longer. It lasted about 4 hours (but we only went to an hour) and there was a lot of music and a lot of speakers. The next day she was buried in Ontario where her father is, so no, I was not able to go. I wish I could've though. It was a neat experience and so different but fascinating to see how it works. I'd say the Polynesians (the LDS ones at least) are more focused on making it a celebration of her life, rather than a time to weep and mourn. They're so understanding of her position now in the spirit world. They did such a great job with everything this week and I am very happy I was able to experience it all. Na was always one to build people up and everytime she was at the house, she would be singing Let it go on her ukelele. That's my memory of Na. She was a very talented woman with a beautiful singing voice.

Thursday was our big zone conference and that was a very long meeting ha. Our training went really well though and apparently, we're the companionship that sends in the most referrals in the mission. We have a lot of time on our hands to tract and find people, so we're more than happy to do it! 

On Friday, we helped a family named the Moala's move and for some reason, the person who built the house built the laundry room upstairs and the moving truck they had did not have a ramp ha! Vita (Vee-ta) was so mad. He kept saying "Elders, when you get a house, don't ever move!" I'm sure Koriann and Ben feel the same way. Moving does seem very stressful. Luckily all I have to lug around is 3 suitcases. However, I think I've collected a lot of stuff these past 7 months, so that'll be interesting trying to pack it all in when the time comes. 

Hema is doing really really good! We taught him the Plan of Salvation and he isn't married so he was a little concerned about the kingdoms, but Brother Lousiale (Lu-see-all-eh) explained it very well. Hema has a son who is 17 named Sefo (which is Joseph in English) and he was saying how he's lazy and will only listen to his friends. Sefo is the most well-mannered kid in the youth, so I assured him that he's just a teenager and that he will grow out of that. Right then, Elder Bartlik and I at the exact same time thought about the scripture 1st Corinthians 13:11 and boy is that scripture accurate to my life. I feel as though I am in that process, but I love that I've matured past the point where my friends were everything to me, and I can look back on my life and feel minorly embarrassed that I became so negligent to the things that mattered most. The gospel and the mission especially has opened my eyes to the most precious things and the most valuable things that are worth holding on to. And that's another reason why I love the Tongans; Their life is revolved around the family and I love it. They are so loyal! 

On Saturday, we were on an all day exchange with the AP's and I was with Elder Sudol, who once was my district leader in Upland. I missed that elder, it was good to be working with him again. We had a really good day and we had lunch with Agnes Liava'a. She is such a good cook, it's awesome! I'm so happy to see how we've built such a good relationship with her. I have a true testimony of fasting, because I saw how it opened the door to letting Siaosi and Latu get baptized. We continue to see them every Tuesday and they are doing great. Siaosi turns 12 in May and will be receiving his Aaronic priesthood (: Agnes really enjoys having us over. She gets excited when we have lunch appointments ha! This Saturday, we're going to Mimi's cafe, which is one of her personal favorites. She introduces us to all the good food places. It wasn't until this week that it was pointed out to me how much I talk about food ha, this ward has given me a much deeper appreciation for food! Yet, I haven't gained any weight! whoo! The rest of the day we tracted and met some cool people and then had dinner at the Fotu's and had a really good lesson there. Their family is awesome. 

Sunday was pretty good. We had dinner at the Bishop's (which we normally do every Sunday) and his daughter Mele (Mel-eh) is so sweet, and a fantastic cook as well! We then heard that one of our members is in the hospital so we went to Apple Valley to give her a blessing. Her name is Nesi and we're trying to work with her husband, so we get to see her normally every week, she's awesome! We're praying for a speedy recovery for her! Then we got to see a lady named Pam in our ward who is Palangi but married to a Tongan. She's so funny. 

I'd say that's a good summary of our week. 1 year ago today was my last day in Hesperia and then I went to Alta Loma. I didn't think I'd love a ward more than that one, but I was surprised to see that change so quickly (: It is very true that missionaries (especially in the Tongan wards) are so well taken care of, you really don't need to worry about us. Some days we are a little sensitive and homesick and frustrated, but it's a learning process. In Hesperia, I really felt as though I was just sticking it out, but it's amazing to be able to say that I LOVE serving a mission and that it's far better than what I had expected. My mission has been so surreal and so quick-paced, there's so much good that goes on and so many times the Spirit teaches me that this is the true and real church of Jesus Christ. I love being Elder Bennion with all my heart and am confident in the fact that the Lord has an individual plan for His children and though I'm sure He himself is very busy, He always makes time for us and is so willing to help us when we need Him. I love my Father and know our relationship will never falter as long as I'm obedient to my maker and faithful to my covenants. He has blessed me so richly and inspired me and empowered me through His Son, and that is how I'm able to do hard things. He is how we can find strength beyond our own. I love you all and am very happy to hear from you. Have a fantastic week!

- Elder Shawn Lyle Bennion

Lunch with Agnes!

The Moala's

Last picture with Elder Thompson before he goes home! 

Victorville A zone

The hola setup.

"you can't do that, I'm a missionary!"

Family,

I am happy to hear the vacation went well and that Mason received his Melchizedek priesthood, how exciting that was for me to have all of your there and have Dad bestow it upon me. Not that it's about me though; I am so proud of him! As I am out here and have many more opportunities to use it out here, I am able to see how real it is and the effect it has on families and even strangers in the world. We had 2 people stop us at Winco today and they expressed how different we were than all of the world, and not just because of the way we dress. In stake conference last month, someone spoke about how in public, you can tell when members are faithful to their covenants, because they have a light in and around them, especially in California. That must be why people were so drawn to the Savior and similarly how Ammon was able to make such a good impression upon King Lamoni. Obedience to the commandments creates such a happy demeanor within us and it shows in a lot of our daily pursuits. People can seem so unhappy with the way their life is in California, it's kinda sad, especially when they reject the antidote to their issues. Thankfully we know where to turn to when we need heavenly help.

We had a pretty good week this week and I am glad to report! On Wednesday we had exchanges so I went to Barstow and throughout the day, the Lord blessed us their area with 3 new investigators! It's a very humble part of our mission, if you know what I mean. We should be going to Calico ghost town next week in Barstow for a P day activity, it's not a real ghost town, but a tourist kinda place, but we hear it's pretty fun! We have a senior couple serving in Barstow and they spoil us missionaries, good grief. The person who signed up to feed us moved and so the Mower's took us to Pizza Hut for dinner, they are awesome! I learned that Elder Mower is the maker of the company "lifetime". They make the folding chairs/tables/fitness stuff! super cool, right?

We've been pretty busy this week between a lot of tracting, teaching, and preparing a training for zone conference this Thursday. Zone conference is when we get together with 2 other zones and President and Sister Hobbs and the AP's have the zone leaders give trainings on what we feel like our zones are struggling with. It's a pretty cool meeting, and we're pretty excited to give ours. We fasted for help with it because we want it to come out perfect. For some reason, fasting is much easier on a mission. It's probably because we're just busy all the time or something!

The highlight to my week was actually yesterday when we got to see a family named the 'Iongi's. It's Bishop's nephew's family and they are a really funny family. It was definitely the Spirit that brought us there because it's been a struggle trying to set something up with them, and it worked out great. Before we left, we took a picture with them and I was on the end next to Janet and then she put her arm around my waist and I squirmed and was like "you can't do that, I'm a missionary!" I got really red apparently. It was super funny, we were all busting up.

Conference was good

Family, 

I'm sure it's the same for you all back home, but I have just been swayed back and forth and back and forth when it comes to my emotions. Joyce has dwelled in the back of my head all this week and then something else has been bothering me all weekend, it mad

e me a bit distracted for conference which is a bummer. With that being said, I don't want it to set the tone of this email, so I will try to snap out of it for the time being.

There's a family named the Fotu's in the ward that are moving, thank goodness they're still staying in the ward. I bring them up because they're moving in with their nephew Peter and I just think it is so cool that no matter how full a Tongan's home may be, they always will have room for their family. Also, Tuku (John) is moving to Hawaii and I'm really gonna miss that guy! I'm excited he has an opportunity to be there though. He's gonna love life even more now!

We visit a family regularly named the Otuafi's and I love them SO much. I can't pick favorites in the ward, but I really enjoy being over there. When Po, Lini, and Ngalu are all together, oh man, they're a riot. They had us over for dinner and lunch this week and I tried Musepi. It's rice and spam wrapped in seaweed.  It was very nice of them. For the last p day of the transfer, we may have a luau and Po offered to cook Tongan food for the luau, they're just so great! They all went to Rancho High which is the Poly school and they said that when there was any bullying problems, they would call on the Tongans for help ha! They would also hide the school security guards bikes in the girls bathroom haha, man, they're just so funny. Ngalu got to go to conference in Utah and said he was gonna try really hard to meet the prophet ha, I don't think he succeeded, but that would be super cool!

I believe I told you about Hema; He is a relative of Sione Moa, and we recently started teaching him and he is progressing so well! He will get baptized for sure, I just don't know if I'll be there for it. He made it to conference though and he said we are welcome over anytime. He's a very kind person who has very righteous desires to be baptized. We'll need a miracle to happen in order for him to get baptized this transfer, but the Lord hasn't let me down in the Tongan ward, so at this point I believe anything is possible!

Conference was good. I was very excited to be watching 10 hours of conference,
it's so refreshing to hear from our prophet and apostles. They did things a little differently this year, but everyone did great as expected. I don't ever grow tired of hearing President Uchtdorf and when Elder Holland told us that story of those 2 boys hiking, my palms got super sweaty ha! I for some reason really love M. Ballard, so I was excited to hear him talk. (I just hit a weird button on the keyboard, so if the text comes out weird, it's not my fault. Boo this is annoying.) 

Either way, I'm happy to be in the Tongan ward still. They invited us to the park after conference to have an Easter egg hunt and a barbeque. We stayed as long as it felt productive, so we didn't get to stay for long unfortunately. I would've loved to participate in the activites. I love that in their culture they always include their families and are always looking for a reason to be together. We need that more in the American culture! Hence why this whole conference was geared toward the family. I love things in the work and the ward and am looking forward to all the great experiences that await me this week. It's hard to think that sooner or later I will have to leave these wonderful people. Elder Bartlik keeps telling me to prepare for it and I just have to brush it off each time ha. They've become so largely apart of my life in such a way that I had not anticipated. I've been so blessed to know them and am so happy for all the ways they've taught me to be a better person. I know that from the beginning of my life, the Lord has been so merciful to me and I know that He'll never cease. I think we contemplate how in the world we can pay Him back for all the ways He's shown us He loves us, so we try serving others, and then we just get even more blessings for doing so, which makes us even more indebted to Him! It's so interesting. Sometimes they say missionary work is 'missionary fun' and though I don't care to use that term, it actually describes pretty well how I feel about the ward ha. So that's my week, the Lord will bless all of us in the ways we need it if we are faithful to Him and His commandments, I know that to be 100% true. Happy Easter!

- Elder Bennion

"Without the bitter, the sweet isn't as sweet"

I guess the phrase "Without the bitter, the sweet isn't as sweet" would be my only reaction to each of your emails about Aunt Joyce. I'm more in shock than anything that this occurred, but I think it was best that I found out through email rather than President Hobbs calling me. I'm sure he was going to call me tonight, and then realized you all would be sharing with me the news via email, but I'm glad it worked out that way. Each time he calls me late at night, I always expect the worst, and I don't think the news would have reached me so pleasantly this weekend.
I can hardly believe what kind of changes I've experienced out on the mission, this was quite a surprise to me. At first I was confused and then it turned to grief at the thought of Dad losing another sibling. I feel as though I didn't know Aunt Joyce well enough, but now what a treasure it is to me that I received a letter from her last summer that really 'tickled' her she said. I should've been smarter and less narcissistic before I left on my mission to take the time to thank her for her service to the Lord. I know the things she had to say could've helped me prepare better for this journey. Send my condolences to each of those struggling with the loss of Aunt Joyce, and remind them that earthly words can only do so much and to seek out the solace that comes from the prophets this upcoming weekend.

My good news would have to be that President Hobbs said in my email this week that he tried to move me to a different area this transfer, but he didn't feel right about it, and perhaps this was why. I would've been torn to have to bear this in a different area. Elder Brent H. Nielson visited our mission this weekend and he shared with us a different perspective to the Atonement of Jesus Christ that answered my prayers so immaculately, I was engulfed in the talks we were assigned to read and study prior to his visit. I've been having this paranoia that I'd forgotten what the Atonement feels like. I claimed to understand it, but I couldn't make sense of how to use it when I felt that I wasn't doing anything majorly incorrect. That's when I learned from Elder Bednar that the Atonement is to make bad people good, and good people better, to eventually become the best saints. I also learned this very important concept that will be helpful to those suffering. In all scriptural cases in the Book of Mormon, I learned that each character that understood the Atonement never asked the Lord to make their troubles vanish; but they asked Him to be given the strength to bear through whatever it was that they were troubled with, because if the Lord were to directly take those away from us, we wouldn't be able to be stretched to such capacities that enable us to become better people. In some cases, we pretty much have no other option than to rely, beg, or plead with the Savior for His strength that can be granted to us, and by so doing, we will find strength beyond our own. That revelation I received from this talk has helped me so much this past week and will continue to for the rest of my mortal existence, I am sure of it.

This week we had a really good balance of finding people to teach, and teaching the members/investigators in our ward. This week we also had a long meeting in Rancho and I survived a root canal! whoo! They're not as terrifying as they sound, but I definitely would avoid them at all costs. We started teaching a guy named Hema, who is Brother Moa's cousin. It's not very often we get new investigators in the ward who are actually Tongan, so this is a pretty big deal to us! He was raised catholic, but he has said that he wants to be LDS. He really loves when we come over and is excited to be taking the lessons that are preparing him for baptism. I'm hoping that by the end of this transfer, it will happen, because he's one of the 'dry Mormons', but not for long! The Lord blessed us with the growth of our teaching pool that involves Hema in it; we are very excited about it! We also had a really good lesson with one of our favorites, Ngalu Otuafi. He was in Sacramento for about a month, but is back and now has his Melchizedek priesthood! He will also be going to Utah for conference this weekend, which I myself am so stoked for. I love conference and I've been looking forward to it since October!
On Saturday, we had that meeting down in Rancho for most of the day, and then when we got back we went to dinner at Tui Aholelei's mom's birthday party. She turned 80, which is a big deal in their culture since a lot of Tongans don't make it to that age ha. Her family is mostly Methodist and there were SO MANY Polynesians, it was so great. There was food everywhere, I had some really good pig and octopus and Tongan cake. We took another set of elders because we went to the meeting together and they didn't want to eat any of the food, so we ended up going to Wendy's afterward too ha. The Tongan food is growing on me a lot actually! There was also a wedding on Friday for the Bishop's daughter and that was good too.

I may sound repetitive, but the Tongan ward is really great! There's never really a dull moment around him, they love to joke around, so I often have some type of smile on my face. The ward always takes such good care of us for dinner; it makes me sad to hear other misisonaries don't get fed every day ha. The Lord is still making our ward fruitful, I love seeing the progress in the members who want to make a change in their lives. I look forward to much more interaction with their culture while it still surrounds me. I've embraced so much of what the Tongans are like, maybe I've been around them a little too much (; just teasing, but I think you'd be surprised that when it comes to our punctuality with the Bennion family parties, we behave very similar to Polynesians; always late! haha. I love you all, and really hope everything's okay back home with the Lukers, and of course Dad and Grandma Bennion. I will pray for them and hope the Spirit will find a way to comfort you all at this given time. Take care everybody, have a great conference weekend, pay close attention to what the Lord is trying to tell you. We always need to be progressing in this life and He has the best counsel for us (:

- Elder Shawn Lyle Bennion

Round 5 with Pictures :)

GOOD NEWS! I survived another transfer and the Lord finds fit for me to be in the Tongan ward for another 6 weeks!!! (: WAHOO! to be honest, I was at ease all week that for some reason that I wasn't going anywhere. The Lord has been very unpredictable in our mission as of recent, but I just had a feeling I was staying. 7.5 months in a Polynesian ward, what a blessing!

So, this week was a weird one. For P day, we played a super fun glow in the dark dodge ball game, that was awesome. On Tuesday at our scripture study, I started feeling odd. We came home that night and right before I went to bed I was throwing up, and it was not fun. I forgot how unpleasant it is to be sick. I thought I'd be feeling better by the morning, but as soon as the alarm went off I knew that I was gonna have my first sick day in the field. I felt awful all day long. I didn't even touch my church clothes! the only time we left the apartment was when the Aholelei's dropped off our dinner. I was drinking gatorade all day long and just trying to sleep, it was very unfortunate, I felt like death. Apparently it was a stomach flu going around our mission, I hope to never have another sick day out here, cause it's not like I can watch movies all day long like I normally would back home ha! We had a really good day planned too so that was a bummer. But I was progressively getting better each day.

On Thursday, we went to see a family, but then this girl was moving out of her apartment and said we could help out! It's not very often that people agree to letting us help them, so it was pretty cool. I think it's a little surprising how easy the gospel can come up. Of course we wear the clothes that show right away what our passion is, but it makes me wonder what it's going to be like back home to share the gospel and how people will react. This lady was very accepting of the church and said we could even send missionaries to her home in Arizona. I'm so glad that we could catch her at that time, even if we don't get to see her progress in the gospel, it was a blessing to be able to make her burden light.

Saturday was the relief society dinner and it was good! The table we sat at had so much seafood, oh boy. I had a very tasty lobster though and a traditional puaka (pig). It's such a greasy good, it's hard to eat very much! We went around other tables and mooched, and I ended up getting some meatballs and kumala (sweet potato) as well, that was good. There were a lot of cultural dances that we didn't get to stay for because of our curfew which is a huge bummer, but apparently there were a lot of non members there, so that's good!

Yesterday was ward conference and that was pretty good! We had a big ward council which was good. Tongans whether they're very active or not, make sure to give respect where it is deserved, so we had more people than normal come to church since the Stake President was there. Then for dinner we went to the Wills for a birthday dinner and then saw a family and that was pretty much our Sunday! The Lord is blessing us for our efforts, because we are going to start teaching Brother Moa's cousin, Hema, because he said he wants to be baptized! I am very excited because since these 5 baptisms, the ward has been a bit dysfunctional with Satan trying to interfere, but things are getting settled. The ward has been very busy with birthdays, activities, and an upcoming wedding, so we'll get to see them more relaxed and happier ha.

I'm still loving the Tongan ward and am happy I'm here for even longer now! The Lord still has work for me here to do, and it looks like it may be Hema keeping me here, we will see! I got the Tongan flag in the mail, so now our apartment is Tongan-approved! I can't really think of much more to ask for, I've been very blessed in simply knowing the ward and been so well taken care of for 6 months now. I like to daydream of our family meeting the ward so you can get all giddy about them like myself ha. They just make me fiefia! (happy).

We've got a week ahead of us. We already gave two blessings today and this Friday is a wedding, and then Saturday is all day zone leader stuff, including a meeting in Rancho with a quorum of the 70! Good things are always happening, we just have to show our faith first and then they will follow more frequently (: Love you all, talk to you in a week!!!

- Elder Bennion

Be Happy!

Family,

It seems as though many of you are living very busy lives, which I am very understanding of. Life never stops, that's for sure. Just as the Lord's work will always continue to prosper, especially as missionaries give up their lives for the Lord's will. I marvel at how Christ was able to do it for so long with such daunting tasks. I've never been harmed (unless you count the dog) and drastically mocked the same way he was (no one will of course), and the persecution he persevered for the opportunity for men to live with the Father once again is substantially astounding. Hopefully the joyful burden of taking upon ourselves the name of Christ will impact at least one person, but if not, our sacrifice to the Lord is what He is seeking after. I'm not sure as to why it's so comforting to know someone knows identically how I feel, but it really puts me at ease and I'm thankful our Savior is so reliable in times of need.

We had kind of an odd week. I'm not sure how, but it seems as though Satan is trying full-force to prevent our ward from progressing. Perhaps it's because 5 baptisms have happened since I've been here and there were a handful of people that were working to get their Melchizedek priesthood this weekend that he couldn't tolerate it, I'm not sure. Ever since this transfer, I've witnessed some odd things happen in the ward that haven't happened before and it stresses me out ha. There's been a lot of pressing time this transfer where I wanted to just take a break, but we watched an incredible video this Tuesday in zone meeting. Elder Eyring has a talk floating around about how diligent Christ was, and of course I agreed, but do you realize what he did after he was crucified? He didn't rest up from the crucifixion; he ministered and preached the gospel to those in the spirit world! He never stopped doing his Father's will, even after bearing every single pain, sin, burden, etc that's ever been felt! What a champion. I don't know about you all, but when I pass away, I expect that eternal bliss that Alma talks about ha! But of course our passion for the gospel won't fade in the spirit world unless that event happens on earth, so I imagine we'll be very, very busy there as well!

The ward has caught on that I've been serving here for a bit now, but it catches them by surprise when I say that I've been there for 5.5 months and I could and would love to stay another transfer if it were up to me. The Lord has been so unpredictable in our mission recently, so I hope and pray that He doesn't send me back to a Palangi ward just yet. Everywhere else just seems so dull compared to the Tongan ward "/ I've had such a great and unimaginable time serving in this ward and I'm filled with gratitude for the way things have been since I arrived here. 

I can tell that the Lord really wants His children to be happy, because His decision in sending me here has been the highlight to my entire mission, and undoubtedly will continue to be. I love the Tongan people and am able to detect that the Lord has sent me here to learn very valuable things that I will always cherish from them and the continuous way they have such a profound impact on my Spirit. I love you all very much and am delighted to hear from you, as always. Have a great week, miss you!

- Elder Bennion

Highest Stress Level

Family,

I feel as though I've hit my highest stress level of the mission (next to the time you reach when you only have days till your departure home), so forgive me if I seem a little off, there's just so much going on, it's kind of hard to keep up with! Thank heavens we've been blessed with P day!

It's such a blessing to be serving in the Tongan ward, otherwise I think I'd be making this harder than needs be ha. They're just such delightful people to be around, and since we don't see them as often anymore, I look even more forward to our dinners, activities, and church. I'm not sure why this transfer feels so different, some days I do better with than others, but I should've seen this coming because President Hobbs really wants our mission to increase our faith, so the Lord must be doing just that! I understand He sees a bigger picture than I do, it's just too bad that we as mortals tend to be so narrow-minded when things may seem inconvenient or a burden to us. I love in Hebrews 11:6 it says that without faith, we cannot please God, and faith seems to be the beginning to many things. I do have faith in the Lord and I do know that as I lose myself in His work, that's when I'll stop worrying about all the minor details and changes and be able to be of better use for our Father. It's a privilege to be doing what I do and be surrounded by a plethora of our Father's finest children. Although I do miss you all back home lots!

For the first time in my mission, a dog bit me! As I was shaking someone's hand to leave, a stinkin' Chihuahua/Pomeranian bit me ha. It didn't hurt, it just kinda startled me. It's always the small dogs that are most vicious! However, A huge husky crawled from under a fence when we knocked on a door and it looked like it wanted to eat Elder Bartlik and I. He was smart enough to suggest we don't linger at the door for very much longer.

This transfer has just been so wacky! It can be summarized by tracting, meetings, dentist appointments, and illness (Elder Bartlik, not myself.) There's a guy named Noke in our ward who was baptized in Tonga, but he lost his records, so I've been teaching him for 5 months and then all the sudden the bishop says he wants to be baptized. I was excited, yet doubtful at the same time. I really don't think he's ready. He has to come to church 3 times and then we'll take it from there and see if his faith is sufficient for baptism. It's a really big commitment! 

I want to share something interesting that I realized in Gospel Principles: We were talking about prayer and then I thought about how it makes mom really angry when someone hangs up on her. I then thought about how real our communication with God is and that when I used to pray and get nearly furious and ended up stopping mid-sentence, to God it was almost as though I was hanging up on Him. It was humbling to me that if we have the decency to call upon Heavenly Father for His help, we should finish what we intended to mention.

We have 2 more meetings this week and stake conference this Sunday, I'm expecting good things from this week. I can't believe it's already March, it seems as though you all survived another Utah winter! I know it's not completely gone, it's probably still really cold there, but you're so close to the spring weather! it was really cold this week! All weekend it was in the 50's with wind as well. I don't handle the cold very well out here, it's actually pretty pathetic ha.

At this point, all I can do is thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with the opportunity of serving a full time mission. I really do enjoy what I do and I enjoy the trust our Father has placed in me to take upon us the name of His Son. I know that all of us as members of the church have to always be on our best behavior. We don't want to taint the name of Christ and missionaries are kind of like a dulled, flawed replica of the Savior (but not really, we're even less than that), but I know that the Lord will always continue hastening His work and continue to bless me as I try to remain obedient and diligent. I know that there is a time and a purpose to everything under the Heavens and we don't need to try figuring them out, we just need to get to work! I love you all and hope everything is splendid back home. 

- Elder Bennion