BYE BYE CHICOLOAPAN
Hello EVERYONE!
This email will be short. This week was full of so many miracles and a big part of them came from the temple trip we had! The temple is a HOLY PLACE!
Some highlights:
-The big news I got this week was that I will have transfers tomorrow. This was both really exciting and SUPER SAD. The sad part is that I LOVE Chicoloapan and the people here. The miracles have been so amazing in this area and 5 weeks just is not enough time for me in this area. Luckily I have been invited back for a lot of baptisms, so Chicoloapan will be seeing a lot of Elder Bennion! The happy part is that I am going back to the area I was trained in! Tepelcates is going to be so much fun! Also I will have a new white missionary, so it will be fun helping him know what a mission will be.
-I honestly did not know you could find people you love in five weeks, but Chicoloapan. The kids here are SOOO amazing. Also handshakes are the best
-Our temple trip had 33 investigators and it was so much fun to see all of them grow a stronger testimony through letting truth into their life!
Spiritual thought:
A few weeks back I was reading in Acts in the Old Testament. I absolutely love Acts! One of my favorite parts of Acts is the transformation of Saul to Paul. In chapter 9 the beginning of this transformation takes place. These are some of the specific verses I loved.
Verse 11,13,15-16: "11 Ananias a disciple of Christ receiving directions from the Lord, And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake"
I LOVE these verses.
Ananias was OBEDIENT! He did not understand the plan, but he trusted in the Lord. He put his faith above the faith of his eyes and his ears. There are times on my mission where I definitely feel like a certain person is not ready to receive the gospel. Whether it is lack of ability to read, mental disabilities, or just extreme life differences like it was the case with Saul. But in these moments I now hear the words of the Lord "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name" "he must suffer for my name's sake". The Lord knows and when we follow his guidance we can find the Saul's who need to become Paul's. Recently I was reading a story on Church News (). The article talks about an experience of a missionary not feeling like this family was ready, but felt a persistent prompting. The daughter of that family now has become the Stake Relief Society President and married a return missionary who has served many callings in the Church. After he shares a few lines that I feel like capture the story of Saul and Ananias. "I remember feeling as a missionary, “Are these people even ready? Do they even understand what they’re committing to?” And it wasn’t for me to decide, it wasn’t for me to judge, the Lord knew. And He inspired me to go talk to them and He knew they were ready. And so sometimes when we feel these feelings of, “I don’t know if this person is ready to receive or outwardly, I don’t think this person is ready.” It’s not for us to decide, the Lord knows and He’ll help inspire us when He knows they’re ready."
So to all missionaries reading this. Both full time missionaries and missionaries at home. Find the Chosen Vessels of the Lord. Let him guide you in his work. There is a timing to all things. If Ananias had tried sharing the gospel with Saul three days earlier he probably would have been killed. So be patient and LOVE!
Verse 11,13,15-16: "11 Ananias a disciple of Christ receiving directions from the Lord, And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake"
I LOVE these verses.
Ananias was OBEDIENT! He did not understand the plan, but he trusted in the Lord. He put his faith above the faith of his eyes and his ears. There are times on my mission where I definitely feel like a certain person is not ready to receive the gospel. Whether it is lack of ability to read, mental disabilities, or just extreme life differences like it was the case with Saul. But in these moments I now hear the words of the Lord "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name" "he must suffer for my name's sake". The Lord knows and when we follow his guidance we can find the Saul's who need to become Paul's. Recently I was reading a story on Church News (). The article talks about an experience of a missionary not feeling like this family was ready, but felt a persistent prompting. The daughter of that family now has become the Stake Relief Society President and married a return missionary who has served many callings in the Church. After he shares a few lines that I feel like capture the story of Saul and Ananias. "I remember feeling as a missionary, “Are these people even ready? Do they even understand what they’re committing to?” And it wasn’t for me to decide, it wasn’t for me to judge, the Lord knew. And He inspired me to go talk to them and He knew they were ready. And so sometimes when we feel these feelings of, “I don’t know if this person is ready to receive or outwardly, I don’t think this person is ready.” It’s not for us to decide, the Lord knows and He’ll help inspire us when He knows they’re ready."
So to all missionaries reading this. Both full time missionaries and missionaries at home. Find the Chosen Vessels of the Lord. Let him guide you in his work. There is a timing to all things. If Ananias had tried sharing the gospel with Saul three days earlier he probably would have been killed. So be patient and LOVE!
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