Week 93- New Trainee: Elder Brown

It is confirmed that June 19th will be Bennie's homecoming.  Our church is at 11 am! I hope you all will be able to come. 

Okay, I'm way wasted on time, and I'm letting Elder Brown use my iPad to email too, so speed round, ready go!  

Monday was good.  We had the whole sleepover thing, then we went to the Chamberlain’s for dinner!
It was super fun!  

Tuesday we a lesson with M- in the morning, then we went and took our car in for emissions check and oil change. Elder Williams packed in the meantime.  Then we had dinner with the Hale’s. I love the Hales.  Afterwards we dropped by the laundromat and saw A-. Good day!  

Wednesday morning I was terrified.  So nervous about training.  I was worried I was gonna get a really prideful, or weird or whatever new missionary, but I got Elder Brown.  Elder Brown is the coolest kid I could ever ask to train.  He's super chill, and really similar to me, and we get along super well and I love the kid to death!!  As soon as the trainees walked in the room and I saw him I knew I would get Elder Brown.  Wanna know why?  Cause his hair was awesome.  Heck yeah!  We had three lessons his first night!  Dinner with Brother Palmer, J- and A-!  

Thursday we started the 12 week training program!  It's kinda hard and a drag, but it's really good.  Then we had Trainer & Trainee meeting, then Zone District meeting, then met with Brother Spoltore, then met with A- and played basketball!!  

Friday was legit!!  We had Red Lobster for lunch because Elder Summit helped some lady move couches and it turned out she was the manager of Red Lobster so she gave him a $50 gift card!!  All four of us went.  Oh forgot to mention, Elder Vermuelen is my new roommate-- went to high school with him.  He always calls me Bennie by accident at first.  We visited with the Gourleys after that.  Then tried some tracting and got denied hardcore.  Good first experience for Elder Brown.  Hahaha.  Later we had dinner at A-'s and helped her pack up a lot of her stuff.  

Saturday we were gonna go to the temple for Elder Brown’s first time, but it was closed early!!  So we drove home and did service for Brother Palmer.  Finally we had dinner at the Cheney’s.  Last that night we did ward coordination at Brother Heath’s.  

Sunday we had church, and then we went to the Chamberlain’s and spent Easter with them!  We got
to hide the eggs for all the kids which was super exciting! 

Sorry this week is more large plates than small (Book of Mormon reference), just a crazy day.  Know I'm doing super well and I love you all!!

Week 92- Staying in White Plains

Hi Everyone-

Save the date either June 19th or June 26th for Bennie's Homecoming here in Orem. We will keep you posted as the date becomes finalized.  

Holy cow!!  What an eventful week it's been!!  I already told you about Monday right?  Okay, well start with Tuesday.  So, I had my last dentist appointment for out here on Tuesday.  Elder Summit and I went up to that so that Elder Williams could go to his doctors appointment in Virginia on the same day.  It was a lot shorter than I expected so on the way down we dropped by the ASL apartment and hung out with them for a while.  I was able to meet Elder Blood, the new ASL Elder.  He's cool, he played lacrosse for Herriman! Then we went to Sister Mays’ for lunch!  It was so fun!  She has started my blanket...  That's weird.  We did some stuff in Elder Summits’ areas for a bit, then went to A-’s. She loves Elder Summit and me, so that's awesome.  We had dinner at The Granges’.  They're grandma is coming into town from Utah, and Sister Grange asked if I wanted her to grab anything from home for me. I said I don't really need anything, but I could probably send some stuff home.  So, that's gonna be happening.  Bye-bye winter clothes. Then we went over to Bayside to see Elder Van Wagoner off.  It was a sad night. We got in super late.  

Wednesday was temple trip.  It was really good. We then had a lesson with S-.  This week we shared the Easter video.  Then we did stake coordination with Brother Heath and had dinner with him.  We had splits with the Priests (16-18 year old boys) that night.  It was really good!  The group I was with practiced teaching A-.  They learned what they needed to do to improve their teaching, so I don't know what else I could ask for!  One of them is going to be turning in his mission papers in April, so I'll let you know where he's going!  When we were going over the lessons with the Priests beforehand I got a call from President Cooke.  In general that's not a great thing, but he asked me to train a new missionary.  So yeah- that's happening.  

Thursday we had apartment checks with the Kelly's.  Their last one!  They've been checking my apartment since Day 1 so it's really weird to have them leaving!!  They took us out to breakfast after.  We had a couple fun zone games for St. Patrick's Day.  I won a t-shirt.  Then we did some tracting followed by some basketball.  It was a pretty good day.

Friday I skyped into the Trainer Meeting in the morning.  So apparently it's really happening.  My whole stress this week was where am I going to be training!  It was so terrifying that I might leave and white wash train (learn a new area while training a new missionary.)  Summit and I went on exchange that day too.  We dropped invitations off to a few people in their ward for a fireside, then visited a family whose house is right on the Potomac River.  It was super cool.  I got a picture.  Then A- took us to dinner.  It was super fun!  She found a Batman pen that had a flashlight on the end, but the flashlight is the bat signal.  She got it for me and I love it and it's amazing.  

Saturday was so long!  We did service almost all day.  Yup--it's getting to be that time of year again.  We helped move a treadmill and some dressers for one member.  Helped clear out a bunch of dead logs and sticks for another member.  My arms got super cut up during that one.  I forgot to take pictures, but it was gnarly.  Then we showered and changed out of our service clothes. We taught little J- after that.  It went well. Then we all went to the ward talent show!  Elder Summit and I did Shakespeare's Star Wars and it was amazing!  So so much fun!  Then the transfer info call out came that night, and I'm staying in White Plains.  Which means I'll train here my last two transfers and finish my mission here.  Most likely.  

Church on Sunday was good.  Everyone we told was shocked I was staying and Elder Williams was leaving.  For some reason, they all thought I was his trainer too.  Haha, oh well.  Then we went home and prepared some numbers and stuff for the day.  We went to lunch at the McSorley’; they made us super good hamburgers!!  Later that evening we drove up to the Visitors’ Center for Why I Believe.  To top off the night- we had 10 missionaries stay over after that for our party and excursion this morning.  It was tons of fun.  We played games, then woke up at 4:30 to take sunrise pictures at Point Lookout.  It was so much fun!  Then we played more games this afternoon!  I hope you all have a good week and I love you so much!!

                                              Shakespeare Starwars

Monday Morning Sunrise at Point Lookout

Week 91- The Spirit’s Help

This week was solid.  I felt really long.  So I talked a bit about Monday last week.  We finished that day out by going to The Chamberlains.  I got to cut Max, Spencer and Noah's hair!  They all wanted "The Swan cut."  It was lots of fun.  My first time doing someone's entire head!  

Tuesday we had exchanges.  I took Elder Talbot in my area.  We got Chipotle for lunch!  We ate it at the Laundromat while teaching A-.  C- cried when we left.  He's such a cute kid!  We went clear down to Newburg and visited with A-.  He was still a bit sick, but he said he really wanted to come to church.  We also had 2 referrals down there.  We went to check on them and found a long dirt road.  Went halfway down, and saw a no trespassing, trespassers will be shot sign....  So, we didn't continue our trek down the driveway.  We got to do some super fun administrative stuff after that!  Putting lots of new move-ins into our area book.  We washed our cars at The Barbones house after that, then had dinner with them.  We had a really good talk about J- their son, and how to help him best.  Then we had Taco Tuesday with A- at Café Rio!  We had a really good discussion with him, and he's doing super well lately!  He's seriously so awesome, I love him!  

Wednesday was Elder Talbot’s birthday.  We had lunch with him at home.  Then we visited S- and shared a similar message to the one we shared last week.  She called us out on it, and I sat and thought about it for a second.  I had felt really good about both messages we shared, so I thought about why we would need to emphasize that again.  I kinda started to open my mouth, and the next thing I knew words were coming out.  I wasn't thinking them, there were just there.  I talked about how the scriptures really help us understand the relationship we have with our Heavenly Father and how we can have joy and foundation in life through an understanding of that relationship.  It was one of the really cool times that the spirit just kinda takes the reigns and you get to out of body watch what happens.  I'm really grateful I was able to be the voice of the spirit for her that day. 

We helped A- pack and move some stuff after that.  She is moving soon, but hasn't found a house yet, so we're hoping she can find one in the ward!!  We went to The Borden's for dinner with Elder Summit and Elder Talbot because it was Elder Talbot’s birthday dinner!  It was tons of fun.  

Thursday we had zone district meeting. I gave a workshop on the importance of making sure our investigators understand the role of the Book of Mormon. Elder Summit gave it to me that morning, so it was kinda stressful, but everyone said I did really well, so.. Yeah, cool.  We went to Chick Fil A with a couple of the other missionaries after that.  Then we picked up J- and took him to a lesson with us.  The lesson went super well!   We took him to basketball too.  It was a good night.

Friday was my 21 month mark...  Holy cow.  We had lunch with the first ward elders at The Slaughters house!  They're so awesome.  S-, their 4 year old girl, is so funny.  We contacted some of the new move-ins we put in the area book after that.  Then we went to The Chamberlains for a surprise attack on the boys with a water balloon fight.  It was so much fun!!  We helped Sister Chamberlain make a poster for Max's school stuff after that, and then I helped her fill up all the Easter eggs for Easter!  I love The Chamberlains so much!!

Saturday was legit.  We did service in the morning at Brother Palmer’s. Part of the work we did for him was taking apart Legos so he can start redoing his basement.  I got to take apart the Lambda Class Shuttle from Star Wars that he had.  It was cool.  Then we got our suits on and headed up to the temple with Brother Heath and Scott.  It was an awesome experience for him.  He was kinda nervous before, but he said as he got up to the door, he felt a sandal kick him in the behind and get him through it.  Two of the missionaries that had served in this area previously were the ones that were able to do the confirmations for him, so it was just a super stellar day.  I also got to see one of the people I taught before who got baptized after I left at the temple for baptisms!  I honestly can't think of a better place to run into someone again!  It was Travis from DC 3rd.  We got to talk for a little bit before he left. It was so cool! 

On the way home Scott and Brother Heath were talking and we read DC 18:10-16.  The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.  I know this is silly, but I had never thought of that in a temple ordinances context, only in a living people context.  It was so cool to me to really think about how we are bringing those souls who are waiting to God and the huge effect we have on them.  I will never go to the temple with the same mindset again.  It was a really good temple trip.  

Sunday was good. Daylight savings got the best of a lot of people.  Sacrament meeting was half empty.  Elder Williams fell asleep in sacrament meeting too.  One of the speakers called him out

on it later--it was kinda funny.  On our way home we passed a car stuck on the side of the road and I recognized The Hales!  We pulled over to see if everything was okay.  Turns out one of the transmission cables was acting up, so the car would get up to 15 mph and then shut off.  We were able to give them all a ride home, then take Brother Hale back to the truck so it could get towed.  I love the Hales, so I was really glad I was able to help them out.  They seriously do so much for us, so it was really cool to have an opportunity to return the favor a bit.  We had dinner with The Bishop and his family after that.  His son is preparing to go on a mission so we talked a lot about that and our process to apply etc. It was loads of fun.  We went and helped Brother Cusic with some stuff after that, and then visited A- because she didn't make it to church.  We got C- to say his first prayer!!!!  It was so cute!  I helped him say all the words. It was so cool to be there for that!!! 

Today we went to Ceasar’s for brunch, then gave a blessing to the son of one of the less active members of our ward, then played disk golf.  Had dinner with a really cool family, and then played basketball with A-.  Super fun stuff!! I love you guys!!

Week 90- S.M.I.L.E.

Wow, 90 weeks.  Super crazy!!  This week was good.  It started slow but we ended up with pretty good numbers by the end of it.  

So, Monday we had zone activity.  It was okay.  I found out Elder Crandall  and Elder Summit are both in my building at Heritage for BYU!!  That's gonna be so fun!  That night we had dinner with the Michelas’.  Sister Michela made ham and asparagus strata just like dad makes on Christmas morning so we ended up talking about Christmas and holiday traditions a lot.  

Tuesday we had a kinda frustrating day with lots of cancellations.  We ended up having the opportunity to meet with three people though, so it was a decent day.  The zone leaders came by our apartment in the morning to grab some stuff for the mission office from us.  We had Panda Express for lunch, then went to Brother Cusic’s afterward.  He's doing well.  He was watching his 2-month-old nephew. Then we went to the Chamberlains for a bit because they wanted to see us and we had some time.  We had dinner at the Grange’s house.  It was super good and super fun to be with them.  After that we had about an hour and a half and nothing to do.  I had texted  and tried everyone I could think of trying to find something to do, so I was  just going on faith and said, okay, drive towards this area and I'm sure someone will be able to meet with us by then.  I was going on faith that someone would respond to our texts and calls.  Well, Elder Summit called us and asked if we'd like to come with him to visit one of the returning members in his ward who really likes Elder Williams and me too.  I really saw the blessing of acting on my faith that Heavenly Father would give me something to do if I did all I could and stay true to trying to work as hard as I can.  

Wednesday it was finally starting to get kinda warm outside so we all went  on a 2 mile run for our exercise.  It was fun, but the wind added a cold factor we didn't expect.  I actually still have a cold from it, so we're holding off on running till I get over that.  During the afternoon we tried to contact a couple of referrals.  Found out that one of them got evicted and a couple others don't live there or aren't interested.  Then we met with Sue Washington.  I'll tell what we shared with her at the end, because I like it and think it'd be a good way to finish out my email.  We met with J- after that.  She's so funny.  We're doing the ward Book of Mormon read with them for lessons now, and making sure she understands and is praying about what she reads.  Then we went to Noah's basketball practice and the Chamberlains took us out to dinner for Elder William’s and Noah's birthday!  Elder Van Wagoner slept over that night because he didn't want to go to specialized training.  

Thursday we had a lesson cancel in the morning, then we had zone district meeting.  I got my new suit!!  Thanks mom!!  We took Elder Van Wagoner home and then went to ward night of ministry. Our Elder’s Quorum President, Brother Van Slyke and I went to SJ. I actually think that was perfect because Scott and Brother Van Slyke talked about home teaching and the temple and progressing to the Melchizedek priesthood!  Heavenly Father puts us with people we need to be with when we prepare!  

Friday was cool.  A year ago that day I was put into the ASL program.  It was good to think about that time in my mission and reflect on the things I learned.  We went up to Ceasar’s for lunch.  It was good to see him again!  Then we had dinner with the Hales’.  It was so good.  They took us to Fuddruckers.  I love the Hales’.  Then we drove way down to Newburg and visited with A-.  We were able to give him a blessing for his flu then share a lesson with him.  

Saturday we went to Noah's basketball game! His team won 49-12!! He scored and it was super cool – kind of proud big brother moments for me.  Then we went with them birthday shopping and to dinner!  It was so much fun. Elder Gipson, Elder Summit and Elder Talbot were able to make down to their house as well.  It was Elder Gipson’s last Saturday.  It was a really good day!  

Sunday was awesome.  We had church.  We talked about fellowshipping in priesthood.  It was a good lesson.  I liked the Gordon B. Hinckley quote that says all new converts ( I like to put in all members) need three things at church: a friend, a calling, and to be nourished by the good word of God.  We visited with A- after church because we hadn't seen her all week.  We went to Brother Palmer’s after that.  He's going to start redoing his basement so he asked us to help.  We get to do demolition in his basement as soon as he figures everything out!  Next, we helped Brother Cusic move a few things around his house.  It was fun.  I'm their official attic guy.  We had dinner with The Barrow’s. Again we had another night like Tuesday where I wanted to keep working but used up all our resources.  Elder Summit was again the answer to my faith with inviting us to a member of their ward again.  It was good to visit them and have something to do.  

Today we didn't do much other than I got to see Bryce (Elder Paul who is a friend in the mission)!!!!  It was so good to catch up with him!  He's going to try to make it to my airport/homecoming!  So, our spiritual thought that I want to share for the week is 2 Nephi 9:39.  It's a chapter that talks about sin and consequences of transgressions.  Then in verse 39 Jacob reminds us to be carnally minded is  death, and to be spiritually minded is life eternal.  If you take the first letter of each word in spiritually minded is life eternal it spells smile, so amid all these trials and sadness you get the opportunity to smile with the help of the gospel and the spirit.  That was a good comfort to me in the midst of hearing about Eric Longhurst*.  I hope that can give you guys some solace as well.  I love you all and I pray for you everyday!!  Have a good week!

*Eric Longhurst is the eleven year old brother to Bennie’s good friend Brian who is also serving a mission in the Rochester NY area.  Sadly, Eric was hit by a truck while crossing a street last week and did not recover from his injuries.  He passed away when his family made the choice to take him off of life support.  We had gotten word to Bennie about the accident in hopes  that he could send a message of love to Brian.

Week 89- Patience & Following Up

This week was fun!  We had a lot of success with meeting with people, so it was a super good week for us.  On Tuesday it was Elder Williams birthday.  We went and visited with Brother Cusic for a little while, and then we had a lesson with A-.  After that we made our way back up to the church for a lesson with Brother Spoltore.  It went really well.  I was able to share about 2 Nephi 32 with him, and how much we can learn from such a short chapter.  We had dinner with the Sutherlands after that.  Brother Sutherland made some amazing steak and pork.  It was super good!!  After that we went and visited with A- to end Elder Williams birthday.  

Wednesday we had a lesson with Scott.  He's doing well, and we're excited to go to the temple for baptisms with him this month!  After that we went with Brother Heath to visit Sue.  We shared from 2 Nephi about opposition in all things, and how we learn from trials.  Then we did Stake coordination stuff with Brother Heath.  It took a while, but we got it done.  We had dinner with the Nichols.  They're awesome!  Their daughter Ciara was there from California.  We had a lesson with J- after that, but it got cut short because of all the crazy rain and tornado warnings... We got called inside around 7:30 and were stuck there the rest of the night.  Lame.  

Thursday was fun.  Elder Gipson was about ready to tear off his companion’s heads so he asked to come on exchange with me.  We had a really good day together.  We dropped by Ashley’s for a few minutes to check her Book of Mormon reading, then we tried to check on a few less actives.  We had dinner with the Barbones.  Elder Gipson loved them!  Then we met with Adam for a sec and played basketball after.  I had a crazy night at basketball. I made 3 two pointers, and 2 one pointers in one game.  We play to 11 so I had most of the points.  We play by ones, so the 1 pointers are normal shots, and the 2 pointers are really 3 pointers.  It was awesome.  After that we went to see the Chamberlains because Elder Gipson loves them!  

Friday we had zone conference.  A lot of the trainings were on the Book of Mormon.  It was really cool.  President Cooke talked on patience again.  Then he also talked on following up, and how important it is for us to follow up with our members, and investigators and everyone we meet.  It was really good for me - a good reminder to be better about that.  After zone conference Elder Williams and I went to help Brother Cusic with some yard work and making a bonfire for his sons birthday the next day.  After that we went to the Hales to practice our sign language with M- for the baptism the next day.  He got a headache after 1 run through, so we shared a quick spiritual thought and then let him rest.  A- fed us dinner that night.  Chicken cordon blue!  It was super good!  She got a new camera that is like a Polaroid, so we had some fun with that.  

Saturday was a really good day.  Elder Summit and I went to basketball because Elder Williams and Elder Talbot wanted to sleep in.  We had a really good time.  Not as good as Thursday night, but still.  Then we came home and I changed into my suit.  Elder Williams and I went to the church to practice the sign language for the song Gethsemane for the baptism.  Then we helped set up and clean the church a bit too.  The baptism was really good.  M- ended up not wanting to sign it with us so Elder Williams and I did it ourselves--which was fine.  It went well.  Then we went to Brother Cusic’s for his sons birthday.  It was a good time, and we got to set up some exchanges with a few of the ward members who were there, so it was a really good place to be!  After that we had a dinner appointment.  Then, because we were in the area and had a few minutes we went to visit the Chamberlains for a bit.  

Sunday was good.  We had the lesson dad wanted me to read in priesthood and it was really helpful for the part we were there.  We also ran lots of errands and stuff.  Then we came home and I did some planning for the week to come.  Sister Vance dropped off some food to us!  So awesome! Elder Summit and Talbot and Williams and I went to the Chamberlains for dinner.  It was really fun, and I think we're getting some slow and steady progress out of our visits which is all I can hope for!  I love the Chamberlains so much. 

Anyway, we’re in the car right now on our way to zone activity.  Should be fun.  I can't believe February is already over!!  I love you guys have a good week!!!