The Miracle Contact and General Conference

 Weekly Summary:

This week went by in a blur. I don't know exactly how to talk about this week though because there was not really any big event (Besides general conference) it was just a bunch of personal growth through scripture study, learning more about prayer, and reading talks (which I highly recommend doing all three haha). I would like to share though that my Spanish is improving! People now talk to me thinking I understand everything which is most definitely wrong, but my ability to make an educated guess and say a small prayer that I do not make a fool of myself has made my responses more fluid. It has been really fun being able to insert myself a little bit more into conversations and for people to start respecting me as a capable human being haha. Besides that update, this week I have started leading the lessons when we teach kids and it has been SUPER fun. I try to be really creative during them to fill in for my lack of ability to communicate all of my ideas. And the kids have really loved it. (Any missionaries out there who are struggling to teach the word of Wisdom to some kids shoot me a text because I had a lesson that had the kids rolling on the ground laughing and they retained it super well!) I also just want to say missionary life is AMAZING! There is no place I would rather be. Every morning I get the opportunity to teach people about the gospel without any social consequence. I just love it. And yah I do miss the good old BYU life but I feel like Satan always tries to get you to fall for the classic "Grass is greener on the other side" scheme, BUT DON'T fall for it. It is just important to love where you are. Love the struggle in your everyday life and learn how to grow in them through Christ!  And now for the big part of my week! The thing that has been on my calendar for a while (drumroll please) GENERAL CONFERENCE! For those of you who watched it you know just how amazing it was! And for those who have not watched it, I strongly urge you to do so haha. I finally fulfilled my lifetime goal of not falling asleep during it haha (Something about their kind voices just always seems to loll me to sleep). During the conference so many of my questions and prayers were answered. I know that Russel M Nelson is a Prophet of God! That he receives modern day revelation to help guide us through these troubled times. I could talk a while about this General Conference (Especially the new For Strength of Youth and personal revelation. Contact me if you want to talk) but I will just list my favorite talks and leave you with that they all are around 10 minutes (which at 2x speed for all you college friends is around 5 minutes). You do not have to be a member of the CHurch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to listen to these messages. They are things that we all struggle with! I bolded some of my favorite talks that I think are relevant to non members as well as members. Especially if you believe in Jesus Christ.

• A Framework for Personal Revelation by Dale G. Renlund
• Beauty for Ashes: The Healing Path for Forgiveness by Kristin M. Yee
• And They Sought To See Jesus Who He Was by James W. McConkie
• Wholehearted by Michelle D. Craig
• That They Might Know Thee by Jonathan S. Schmitt
• Honestly the whole conference just WATCH IT haha

If you think you do not have time to watch it. Maybe just listen to one of these. Or this is a link of summaries of all the talks that you can find which talk could help answer your prayers.

https://www.thechurchnews.com/general-conference/2022/9/27/23375377/general-conference-october-2022-talk-summaries-session-highlights-announcements 

Spiritual Story:

On Thursday we were walking through a street market trying to find this one food tent. As a companionship we decided we needed to smile whenever we are on the streets. What you forget to realize is as a missionary people are looking at you 24/7. They are making judgments about you instantaneously. As representatives of Jesus Christ you hope that they are all good judgements. Sadly though some people are intimidated by us. So on Sunday of last week we decided to make some goals to help people see the joy the gospel brings to our lives. One of the main things we came up with is how we present ourselves in the streets. We decided to always have a smile on our face and say "Buenes Tardes(or Manana or Noche)" every time we passed someone. Often people do not say it back, but who knows maybe one person needed a friendly smile or a good morning. I sure know Jesus Christ would approach each person with a smile. We started this new approach to the day on Monday and let me tell you, Smiling all day is hard. I never knew my cheek muscles could be more tired. But it is amazing how much happier I feel when I smile throughout the day. At first I am faking a smile but after each person I talk to the smile becomes more and more sincere. I love it!(I invite you to smile more) One day we were smiling and walking through a street market. We said "Buenes Tardes" to this one woman. We kept on walking when she said "¡Espere! ¡Detengase!" (which means wait! Stop) Obviously we turned around. She went on to tell us that she has been afraid to talk to missionaries, but when she saw our smiles and heard our welcoming voices she felt like it was finally time to stop and talk. We were shocked because this type of stuff never happens. She said she wants and needs to learn more about the gospel. She has a nephew who joined the church and is serving a mission right now and even though she is not very close with this nephew it caused her to want to learn more about the gospel. So we set up an appointment for the next day. Words can not describe how big of a miracle this was! When we got to the apartment complex, the next day, there was a huge wall and gate. We knocked on the security office and told them that we had a lesson with a resident inside. He asked for more details, so we called the lady(Her name is Beatriz) and she told us her apartment number and everything. The security guy (Also owner of the complex) then told us we needed identification. This dude was acting like he was the head security guard of Fort Knox. We never carry our ID around because we do not want it to be stolen. He said he did not trust us and refused to let us in. We then called Beatriz and asked if she could come down and let us in. When she arrived the security guard still would not let us in! Finally she said "I am allowed to invite who I want into my house". He finally gave in and let us in. We were welcomed into the apartment complex with scolds...but the work goes on haha. We finally got into the house and it was a really nice house. She had two daughters Katherine and Barbara (which for those who know me, teaching a family has always been the thing I have been most excited about! And this was my first one.). We began to teach the lesson which Beatriz was receiving really well! But Katherine, who is twelve, looked very disturbed. We asked the typical question "What are your thoughts on God". It allows us to gauge what we need to teach. The younger daughter Barbara gave an answer that God is hope which was beautiful and music to our ears. Beatriz gave an amazing definition of God as well. Then we asked Katherine and Katherine said "God is not real and if he is real I hate him and he has abandoned me." (little info on this family is that their father died in the army 5 years ago). We have heard these words before, but coming from this little 12 year old was one of the most heartbreaking experiences I have ever heard. But despite her thoughts she decided to stick around and listen to us. I went on to share how God is our Heavenly FATHER. I told them how just like our earthly parents, God has an immense love for us and he wants a relationship with us. I shared how important families are to God and how he loves us all individually. My companion went on to share God's loving plan called The Plan of Salvation which talks about how we will all have the opportunity to see our family again in heaven. By the end of the lesson Katherine was not fully changed, I bet she still has some anger towards God, but she was happier. She was laughing with us, asking me funny American questions, and even asked questions about prayer. It was amazing to watch the joy that the knowledge of Eternal Families can bring. If you do not know about Eternal Families and want to learn more please contact me and I would love to share. This Gospel truly is Perfect. God has thought everything through and wants us to feel joy. I don't know why Katherine's father was taken from this Earth, but I do know God has a beautiful, individual, and eternal plan for Katherine. Please keep Katherine and her family in your prayers. They need every single one of them! Also if you have any recommendations to help Katherine feel the love of God more in her life PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE!

Small Funny story:

So something I never experienced in the good old USA is the difficulty of pronouncing the last name BENNION. When I introduce my name to people they ALWAYS have no clue how to say it. Even when I try to make it easier and pronounce it like a Latino word they have no idea. While at a ward event last week someone said just pronounce it like Venom (you know the bad guy in Spider Man) but instead of a V switch it with a B. This person had great intentions but the follow through has been not the result I was looking for. People decided to forget the second advice of switching the V with a B and just have decided to call me Elder Venom. Which to my ear Venom and Bennion sound NOTHING alike. I already have a struggle when people are calling out my name but this has brought the difficulty to a whole new level! Luckily I love Marvel enough that whenever I hear the word venom I hope that someone is interested in talking about Marvel, so that usually gets me at least to turn hahaha.