Hope everything is going swell o'er there in America! For me, everything is marvellous in Liverpool! Mhmm, yep, yep, thats right; I'm staying here for another transfer!! SOOO happy!! As very grateful I am to stay here another transfer, my thoughts are on the future.. I now pray to stay til Christmas!! Oh goodness, that would just be amazing! Lets see, what else is new? Well, my past companion went to another area, and I got one named Elder Sanches! He.. has been in the field for a half a year, and.. is from Portugal, but also lived in the Grand Canneries in Spain! He is very nice, diligent, and goofy. Bahahaha, yeah, get this.. He has this technique when he gets hurt. This happened just the other night.. After planning, he accidentally whacked his knee on the corner of a table. And well, in my family, we have a crazy habit of laughing when others get hurt, and so.. yeah.. I started to laugh, but what he does is he exclaims "Ooo! Ow! It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt! It doesn't hurt!" Ahaha, just to try to trick his mind..? Oh my goodness, I'm busting up so hard just going over the memory of it.. He's a funny one, that is for sure. As for the work, we are pushing on, finding new people here and there, but the others we used to teach have gotten busy, so they aren't progressing as much as they once were. Its okay, all in good timing, which is what I've have learnt lately and will share a thought on soon.
So what else has happened worth mentioning..? Well, here's like the top 5 that come to mind that happened over the past few weeks.
1. Transfer Meeting. I just love seeing all the other missionaries that I have served around. It always feels like a family reunion, and I just love them all so much. Its crazy! So many fond memories and inside jokes. Its the greatest. I never thought of making so many great friends in the mission field.
2. We visited with a wonderful Brazilian family here in the ward, and they were waiting for a Portuguese missionary to come so they could teach their friends! So yes, five referrals received in one sitting. A whole family. Wowza. The most I've ever gotten. Plus, they even got us Domino's pizza! "Woohoo!" (Elder Sanches says that exclamation all the time.. love it.)
3. Elder Sanches and I visited a member neither of us know. Got a surprise English breakfast for tea, which is great. Elder Sanches even said he "eat" black pudding. (He's working on his English..) So when it came time to eat, I was purposely avoiding the black pudding (cooked pig's blood), and then the member realized he forgot to get us a drink. As he turns around, I move like a lightning and dish my black pudding over to my companion's plate. His face was priceless. Hahaha, I was dying... inside. I had to hide my laugh through fake coughs. Afterwards, he was telling me he barely got through his black pudding. I guess.. he meant to say he has "eaten" it before, but doesn't necessarily like it! That is when grammar mistakes brings disaster.. for him though. Aha!
4. Halloween! I actually did something to a degree for it! A great member invited us, and other missionaries over, to eat food and sweets. A rule over here is to be in a members home or in your flat by five because it really isn't too safe in the evenings. Fine with me, had a great time there! :)
5. We've found a brilliant new investigator! Pablo. He is new to the area, and had been looking for a church to go to. It was a crazy experience when we found him. So! I had gone through the area book, written down names under the potential investigator area to go by sometime. We walked SO much that night to get to that home, and when we knocked, the person who answered wasn't the one we were looking for! So what do we do? We teach/talk with his friend! That friend's name is Pablo. He has a date for baptism in the middle of December and loved church yesterday. He's a great man.
So yes. Here is a topic that I have enjoyed studying lately, and that is about timing. Its great!
'.. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone.' Or more simply, TRUST. This goes along with this gem I came across: "What do we do when doubt seeps into our hearts? Are there really answers to those hard questions? Yes, there are. In fact, all the answers--all the right answers--depend on the answer to just one question: do I trust God above everyone else?" '[The Answer to All the Hard Questions' By R. Val Johnson] The writer continues to share these following principles that can help our trust in God. "God Knows Infinitely More Than We Do. God Shares Some of His Knowledge. We Can Trust in God’s Love. We Need to Seek Spiritual Affirmations. We May Need to Wait Upon the Lord." How wonderful it is to have an all-loving, Father in Heaven who desires what is best for us.
So, at times, we need to faithfully wait. "Wait for the opportune moment", Capt. Jack Sparrow repeatedly says. At times, the biggest effect will happen in a certain circumstance, and when we try to force things upon ourselves or others at the wrong time, it won't be as effective, if at all. Elder Oaks informs us that, "We should remember that when is just as important as who, what, where, and how." Its about doing the right thing, at the right time, and also for the right reasons. How is this all possible? Seems kind of daunting..? The quick answer is: the Holy Ghost can reveal it unto you! Hence, you need to always be doing the things you should be, because you never know when the time is now, and will pass you by if you haven't been seeking the Spirit. Doors open and close in life, and if you miss the opening, and it closes, who knows when it'll open once more.
Elder Oaks encourages us that, "We prepare in the way the Lord has directed. We hold ourselves in readiness to act on the Lord’s timing. He will tell us when the time is right to take the next step. For now, we simply concentrate on our own assignments and on what we have been asked to do today. Wise are those who make this commitment: I will put the Lord first in my life and I will keep His commandments. The performance of that commitment is within everyone’s control.
If we have faith in God and if we are committed to the fundamentals of keeping His commandments and putting Him first in our lives, we do not need to plan every single event--even every important event--and we should not feel rejected or depressed if some things--even some very important things--do not happen at the time we had planned or hoped or prayed. You do not know what will happen. Do your best on what is fundamental and personal and then trust in the Lord and His timing."
Everything has its time. My trainer shared the importance of that just over a year ago. He said, "When it is time to study, study. When it is time to teach, teach. When it is time to sleep, sleep." Overall, this life is the time when we need to prepare to meet God. Now. One day at a time. This last quote I love SO much, because of the truth that lies inside of it. "Why waste your time, your talents, your means, your influence in following something that will perish and pass away, when you could devote yourselves to a thing that will stand forever? For this Church and kingdom, to which you belong, will abide and continue in time, in eternity, while endless ages roll along, and you with it will become mightier and more powerful; while the things of this world will pass away and perish, and will not abide in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord our God.” [President Charles W. Penrose] To finish, think of what the Millennium will be like. One thousand years of missionary work and family history work. One. Thousand. Years! Thats indeed a very long time. So, if you haven't gotten started on what the Kingdom of God will be doing for those thousand years, do you think you should prepare to do so now..? Its what truly matters. When you realize this, that is when things get even better. Life gets more rich. Your level of joy is increased. Your very nature becomes more what it is destined to become, and your ability to help others realize this is strengthened.
Time is very precious,
- Elder Bennett
