Christmas

Kia ora whanau!! 

So the week went by real quick and it's a bit hard to remember what we actually did. It seems like we spent quite a lot of time preparing the area for the transfer. Elder T is going up to Hawkes Bay to cover a Samoan ward and I will get a new companion.

On Tuesday though, we drove down to Gore for our Zone Conference. It was all about the Savior, which was fitting. We talked about a talk by Elder Oaks called "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ" and one of the things that struck me is that a large part of faith is trusting the Lord's will and timing for us and being willing to submit to them. In the words of Neal A. Maxwell, "Indeed, when we are unduly impatient with an omniscient God's timing, we really are suggesting that we know what is best." 

This Sunday at church, we had to use literally every chair in  the building and there were still people standing so that was pretty neat! I always love all the visitors coming together to worship with us. 

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

December 19, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

This week was pretty neat. My companion wasn't feeling well so we ended up spending a couple days in the flat. I think I spent 4 or 5 hours this week napping. #WinningTeam 

We also watched heaps of church history DVDs.

We had a branch BBQ and went carolling at an old folks home so that was neat. Made me feel like a Twitchell all over again. 

D was baptized this Sunday. He came down for church and we had the baptism after the service. Elder T baptized him and I was able to confirm him. I'm always humbled by an opportunity to use my priesthood. 

As D was sharing his testimony, he shared a few things that we had said and done to help him and I was overwhelmed with such profound joy. I was able to feel that I'm a successful missionary and that I've helped my brother come unto Christ. 

I love you all. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

December 12, 2016

Kia ora whanau! 

Every once in a while, everything in the week will just go right. This was one of those weeks. I kept telling Elder T, "Things have been going so well. Almost too well. I give us about 2 more days before something goes wrong." But we're still being blessed with things going really well! So I'm pretty grateful. 

What has gone well? 

Well, D is ready to be baptized this Sunday! K hasn't been coming to lessons because she's been working so she will be baptized, just not now. In a month or two. President gave us permission to baptize and confirm him on Sunday after church because of the distance and we couldn't be happier with how things are working out. He's so spiritually mature. I'm always impressed at the things he tells us. 

While in town on Friday, my companion stopped to tie his shoe and two girls ran up to us and asked, "Are you the Mormons??" 

"Yeah that's us!"

"Can you tell us about Mormonism?"

"Yeah of course we can! Should we go sit down?"

We then walked to a park bench, sat down, and taught them for about an hour with literally hundreds of people walking past. It was pretty neat. 

Also. We had a mission tour with Elder and Sister Nielson. It was one of those spiritual highlights of the mission where you come out of the 6 hour long meeting ready to turn around and do it all again. I know that Elder Nielson is called of God. I also know anew that God lives and loves us, that Jesus Christ is his son, and that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet of God on the earth today. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

December 5, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

Another great week. We found 3 new investigators this week!! Such a blessing. Two of them are from the Philippines. They used to be Catholic but they left because they don't believe it all. The Gore elders found them during district finding and taught them the 4 minute Restoration and gave them a Book of Mormon. We're going back over this Wednesday! 

Another is from Brazil and as we were teaching her the Restoration, she told us that she had been taught about 15 years ago in Brazil and that she had even read some of the Book of Mormon. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon at the end of the lesson and she said, "Yes I would love to. I read some of it in Brazil and I really liked it. I guess I'm pretty easy!" 

On a down note, we had one person tell us he was bored in our lessons and we had another who said, "You have not answered any of my questions" after about 5 lessons with him. That was pretty humbling. 

Brother B received the Aaronic Priesthood yesterday and was ordained a Priest. Elder T ordained him and he did so well. I was and still am so grateful for the pure joy that has come as I've been able to help Brother B on his spiritual journey. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

November 28, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

This week has been pretty neat, I tell you what. 

One of our investigators was out street performing on Saturday and he's so good! We were trying to street contact by the lake and he's jammin out with his guitar and singing reggae music in his poncho and so it made it real difficult to hear people but I still can't get over how good he was. 

We went to a dorm/hostel for a lesson with Tommy (from Nigeria) and we sat down in the kitchen and living room so it was kinda weird because there were 3 or 4 other people in the room too. In the middle of the lesson, a Vietnamese man came in and sat down and asked, "Do you understand the Bible in English?" 

"Yeah we do!" 

"Can you teach me more about Jesus?" 

We have no idea how he knew that we were there but we taught him on Saturday and then on Sunday, we taught him again and he brought his friend with him! 

So we're winning the missionary game. 

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

November 21, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

I don't have much to say, but if you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true. 

Really though, we just did a lot of finding this week. Visiting formers and potentials, street contacting, putting our names on a list a funeral home, all the good stuff. We meet people from all over the world here and it's such a cool thing! Egypt, Nigeria, Tonga, Samoa, India, Brazil, Costa Rica, Germany, France, Sweden, Korea, China, Australia, Colombia, Canada, USA. So I'm basically a tourist, in a white shirt and tie, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, teaching people about Jesus Christ on the streets, trying to be louder than the street performers. It's so much fun. 

This week, I was called on to use the priesthood. The experience is too sacred to share but suffice it to say that I know that the priesthood I hold is real and that it came from God. I know that it was restored to the earth through Heavenly Messengers to the prophet Joseph Smith. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Mosiah 18:30

Kia ora whanau!! 

P was baptized this week!! The font was a portable one in an industrial part of town so that was real cool. It was one of the most peaceful baptisms I've ever been a part of. My companion baptized him and I was able to confirm him on Sunday. Such a blessing. I'm so grateful to have been an instrument in the hand's of God. 

We saw D again this week. At the end of his lesson, he asked us how he can continue progressing. 

Today is the first day of transfer 2 in Queenstown! Elder T and I are still here together. 

Sorry I don't have much else to say. I literally can't remember what happened last week. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

Mormon 9:11

Kia ora whanau!! 

This week was *literally* the fastest week of my life. It drives me crazy that the time goes by so fast! It almost feels like I don't have enough to enjoy it. And to top it all off, I had a dream that I was coming into the SLC airport at the end of the mission and Matt, Stockton, Preston, Tyler, Isaac, basically everyone from Viewmont was coming home at the same time and I spent what felt like 30 minutes just wondering where the time went and being so upset about it being gone. 

But then I woke up and it's P-day so I'm still winning the missionary game. 

We got an on-line referral this week! We went to go visit her and we found her and her husband. They're from Columbia and they're looking for a church and to be a part of a community more than they are. They were so excited to "listen to the word of God" ( aka the Restoration)! It's amazing how well God prepares his children. And I couldn't help but think, "Ya know, I bet Austin and Phillip had stuff like this happen a couple times every week in Peru." 

We've been working with P quite a lot but he's always sleeping when we go see him.  But when he was awake, he told us, "Just wake me up!" Then we realized that we could've had about 4 more lessons with him over the past 2 weeks if we would've done that... soo.... but HE came to church this Sunday as well!! HE stayed for the whole thing even though he wasn't feeling well and he should be getting baptized this Saturday. Pray that things go well. It's also a bit difficult because the closest font is 2 hours away and the lake is too cold for him so we're looking for options. Pray that things work out! 

The work is good. God is good. Elder T's cookies are good. 

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

1 Nephi 1:20

Kia ora whanau!! 

Such a fast week! I tell you what. We had zone training in Gore, we moved flats this week, and we had a Stake Conference in Dunedin! 

Zone training was great. We talked about teaching skills and Faith in Christ. One of the questions we were asked was, "What are you going to do because of your faith in Chirst?" Elder T and I talked quite a lot about that on the way home and we both felt a strengthened desire to give everything we have to the work. 

We taught D and K again this week and tried to set a date with them. They're so ready. They were a little weary about how soon we wanted to baptize them but they said they want to pray about it. They've been praying about it all weekend. We're excited to see where they go. They're so well prepared. 

Because Dunedin is so far away, they try to broadcast stake conference but the broadcast didn't work out so we drove up and spent most of Saturday and Sunday at the meetings and travelling. IT's about 3 1/2 hours from Queenstown to Dunedin. My favorite part of the meeting was being able to see all my friends from Oamaru again. I saw the Smiths, the Kaufanas, the Kautais. It felt like coming home. I love them all so much. It was such a blessing to be able to spend a bit of time with them again. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

October 24, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

This week went by so fast. It all seems like bit of a blur. I went on an exchange with Elder Richardson in Gore, the country music and brown trout fishing capital of New Zealand, this week. While there, we taught a lesson to a part-member couple.  M is investigating and has a baptismal date but told us that she was worried about what her family was going to think. We taught her about the Atonement and how her Savior had the Spirit withdraw from Him so that he would know how the rest of us would feel when we're forsaken. 

We also taught that opposition allows us to exercise and grow our faith and that God won't let us be temped more than we can withstand. 

We told her that it has to be her choice and we asked her what she wants to do. 

"I think I want to be baptized." 

It blows me away that I was trusted to be a part of her progression. It also surprised me how much love I felt for the both of them. I know Heavenly Father loves his children. 

On Saturday, we were street-contacting and that was neat. We meet people literally from all over the world: Germany, Argentina, Brazil, Nepal, USA. We ran into a lot of members and one family shouted us lunch. Another brought their left-over groceries to church and gave them to us. So basically, the church is really true in Queenstown. 

We were teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a member family, and one of their sons said the third part is, "Baptism by emergency for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

October 17, 2016

Kia ora whanau! 

So we had a pretty neat week. I tell you what. 

On Wednesday when we got back from district meeting and were at our chapel for a minute (or maybe it was Thursday..), we felt like we should go and see P. He just moved to the old-folks home on the street the chapel is on because his health is failing. He's not quite 50 so it's sad to see him so sick but I believe that his afflictions have softened him up a bit to the gospel. While we went in to visit him, after talking for a minute he said to us, "I prayed to see if your church was good." We asked how it went and he said he felt like he wanted to run and jump like a little boy because of the joy that came into him. You know where the feeling came from? The Holy Ghost. 

D and K came to church again this week! They told us earlier in the week that they felt like they should put more emphasis on reading and on Sunday, because they had, I could see the difference in them. They had questions, they felt the spirit at church, and they even had some of the answers! Doug had done some reading online about us and had a question about the Word of Wisdom so that's what we taught them during second hour. You wanna know the best part? They were already living it. "Will you keep living the word of wisdom?" So cool. 

We told D to be careful about the anti-mormon stuff on the internet but he said, "Oh yeah I'm not worried about that. I think you can tell about an organization by the enemies it has." 

We had visitors in church from Perth and I thought, "Hey that's where Annie served! Maybe they know her." So I told them that Sister Tanner had served in Perth and they said, "She got married didn't she?" 

"Yeah to Elder Gardner from the same mission!"

Then the mom said, "He was the one that found and taught me." 

It's a small world and Heavenly Father loves his children. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

Queenstown

Kia ora whanau!! 

I tell you what, it's one of the most bitter-sweet weeks I've ever had. Saying goodbye to Oamaru was harder than leaving home. Especially saying goodbye to the Kautais. I was pretty emotional for a few days. I feel good about the work I was able to do there and I know I gave it my all. 

On Wednesday, I spent about 5 hours in the car. Elder T was born in Hamilton, NZ, grew up in Gold Coast, Australia, and played a year of Rugby at BYU before the mission. He's been out for 3 months and I'm his second companion. He's the man. I'm pleased to say that we get along real well. 

Queenstown is the most beautiful place I've ever been. Wow. I feel like I'm on vacation here. 

You know my favorite part about being here? We have a teaching pool! Three of them came to general conference. We have four of them committed to baptism.  Then we have several others. We taught a young

man last night and he stopped us and invited his mom to sit in with us.

I felt really strongly in General Conference that me being sent here is blessing. 

I love you all. I know that President Monson is a prophet of God. 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Transfers

Kia ora whanau!! 

So this week was a little bit different. It's school holidays and it seems like every single person in Oamaru left. We were trying our hardest to get our talk withs this week and so we would walk up and down the main road for ages and only talk to 7 or 8 people. Just a fairly slow week. Then on top of that, a lot of our members went down to Balcutha for a youth camp. 

The church is still true though, even when we don't have many people to talk to about it. So we're all sweet. 

This week has also been the least contentious of our companionship! So I'm really pleased about that. 

My time in Oamaru has come to a close. I'll be moving to Queenstown (which is wild because it's in the same zone so I'll be driving there) and I'll be serving with Elder T. That's about as much as I know right now but I'll be sure to fill in the gaps once I transfer down there! 

I love you all! 

Love, 

Elder Benjamin

Ether 12:27

Kia ora whanau!! 

Elder M and I won the missionary game this week. Let me 'splain. No no no. too much. Let me sum up. 

President Hudson gave our mission a baptismal formula a few months ago. The first part of it is to talk to 150 new people every week that aren't members. I don't know how that sounds to everyone else but for me, things like street contacting and door knocking are the single hardest parts of the mission. They're also the parts which make me the most afraid. We were able to go on an exchange with the Zone Leaders at the beginning of the week and they're both really good at talking with people and so Elder M and I got a bit more practice with that and we caught fire. For the rest of the week, we talked with everyone in our path. It was still just as awkward as we thought it would be and we were rejected quite often but instead of feeling like we were told to go to outer darkness or stop harassing people (which both of them happened this week) we felt like we were fulfilling our purpose and pleasing our Heavenly Father and our Savior. 

I just feel like, because I overcame my single biggest fear of the mission this week, that there's nothing I can't do with enough faith in my Savior. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

September 19, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

We had such a good zone conference this Friday! I loved it. President and Sister Hudson taught us about a few different things that probably wouldn't mean much to any of you outside of the mission. But it was good! I love them more and more every time I see them. I started off the zone conference by leading a discussion on our purpose and it was pretty nerve-wracking given that we have the biggest zone in the mission and President and Sister Hudson were there. It went well though! 

On Sunday, the day started off a little bit rough. As I prayed in the morning, I asked Heavenly Father to help me and comfort me. I kinda forgot about the prayer and just went through the rest of the day. At church, Sister K asked when transfers are and told me that I've been wonderful as I've been here. Elder Osburn looked at me after priesthood and said something like, "Never stop being who you are." Then as I was writing in my journal about this, I realized, "Oh hey! Heavenly Father answered my prayer!" 

Sorry there's not much else to report on. 

Arohanui,

Elder Benjamin 

One time, I made a joke to one of my members about making me a tie out of there 30-year-old curtains.... 

Sept. 12, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

What a week! President Hudson has given the mission a baptismal formula and that's been the focus of the mission for a month or so now. the first part is talking with 150 new people every week. It's been taking me and Elder M a little bit to work up to that but we've been getting closer and closer every week. This last week, we received 4 referrals and have about 7 or 8 potential investigators! It's pretty neat. We're really excited for the work that's gonna be done. 

When I was on an exchange with Elder R, we had an appointment with an investigator but she didn't show and she hasn't got back to the Osburns either so we're pretty sure we've lost her. It's always so sad to see people turn away. We don't really know what happened though. 

I was asked to teach in Zone Conference this coming Friday! Oh boy I'm nervous. It's on our purpose as missionaries. All the prayers and faith ya'll can send my way would be marvelous. 

We have an Elder travelling through our mission and teaching us how to do our weekly planning. He was with us yesterday and it's amazing how well he's learned to apply PMG. 

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

The Frontier of Faith

Kia ora whanau!! 

What a week it has been. I tell you what. I'll share some highlights. 

As Elder M and I were former finding this week, we met a YSA from Dunedin who was up visiting her dad and she told us that he was Less-active and that we should come back that night. He wasn't on our records because he wasn't baptized here so we were both really stoked. As we walked back down the hill, I said to Elder M, "The God we worship really is a God of miracles." 

As we went back that night to meet him, instead of being invited in, he locked the door before he opened it and then he shut the curtain. So..... yeah. Overall, I still see it as a miracle. 

Bishop's daughter was baptized on Wednesday and that was so much fun. I love the spirit that is so present at baptisms. It's unlike anything else. Our investigator even came to the baptism!! 

Speaking of her, we had a transition lesson this week at the Osburns with me and Elder A. We taught the Word of Wisdom which she accepted without question, she was just a little nervous about the sacrifice. That being said, she's now officially the other Elders' investigator. It's a little bit of a bittersweet thing but I know it's for the best and I'm just glad I've been a part of her journey so far. 

I love you all! 

Arohanui,

Elder Benjamin 

August 29, 2016

Kia ora whanau!! 

So a couple hours ago, I was sitting at the computer emailing you all. 

One time, our investigator  had to be taught by the other Elders in Oamaru because she moved so we were able to plan a transition lesson with me and Elder A to teach it. We haven't taught her yet because she's been sick with the flu all week but I'm excited to teach a lesson with Elder A again and I've felt at peace with the transition. 

We went to the  to have a lesson with a member family this week. Sister S

is our seminary teacher, well, she was. She was actually released on Sunday and called as the Stake Young Womens' President. Really neat thing. Anyways. She was telling us a few things she had learned as she was preparing her lessons from Isaiah. They were really neat things. I also don't remember them very well... haha. But the point is, as this was happening, the Spirit reminded me that I had just read all the Isaiah chapters in 2nd Nephi and I hadn't put any effort into them at all and that I needed to go back and study them. A little bit of a daunting prompting but I know that the Lord gives no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he has commanded them. (I bet one of the ways he's gonna prepare a way for me to learn is by you all sharing with me ideas and things from Isaiah to help me learn. S/O to Austin who already has a few months ago.) :)

I don't have much to say, but if you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true. 

Aroha,

Elder Benjamin

Jacob 4:6-7

Kia ora whanau!! 

What a week. A little bit different week actually. This week I was prompted to pull out the Atonement book the mission made in 2014 and read it. As I was reading a talk by Elder Bednar, he talked about how the Lord shows us our weakness so we can be humble. Elder Maxwell talks about how it happens as we come unto Christ and it's usually life's circumstances that show us our weakness. I was definitely shown mine this week. I am happy to say that I'm not discouraged at all. I've only felt a renewed desire to rely on Heavenly Father and the Savior. I know they'll help me out. It's just interesting to feel the weight of it on my shoulders. It's like the Savior said, "Hey Elder. See this bag of rocks? I've been carrying it around for you for a while. You're ready for it right now. See how heavy it is? It's alright. You just need to get rid of these things. Some of them you just throw away, others you give back to me. I know you can do it. I'll help you." It's like my spiritual footprints became a little bit deeper in the sand. 

For the musical fireside, I had to learn about 8 or 9 new songs this week. I tell you what, that was stressful. I definitely felt the Lord helping me practice. The fireside went really really well though! It came together so well and I was so pleased. 

Our investigator came to church again! And to the Fireside! After we taught her in the second hour, we showed her the pictures in the foyer and read the scriptures that went along with them. As we were showing her the first vision she said, "The more you two teach me, the more sense it all makes." I was so pleased. 

I'm happy to say that I'm staying in Oamaru with Elder M! 

Arohanui,

Elder Benjamin 

August 15, 2016

Kia ora whanau! 

What a week. Wow. I tell you what. Wow. 

I think I mentioned that the Osburns had talked to their waitress as they were at lunch and she became a new investigator last week. Maybe? Well they did and we started teaching her this week and we had 4 lessons with her! All of them were her choice! She started reading the Book of Mormon and she even came to church on Sunday! I'm almost in shock, for lack of a better word, just because it's so surprising and so fast. It's really really neat though. 

I guess i just don't really know what to say about it because it's all been happening so fast! 

As we were in church on Sunday, I started to wonder how people find the iron rod. I had the thought that the people holding onto it, with their eyes fixed on the tree of life, are singing. So when the mists of darkness come or when people let go and get lost, they have so many people singing the song of redeeming love to guide them back to the rod. 

Arohanui,

Elder Benjamin 

White Christmas

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I woke up on a morning this week and I honestly don't remember which one it was, but there was snow falling!! Everyone was telling us that it only snows in Oamaru once ever 7-8 years but I got to see it! Elder M and Elder A had never seen snow so they were both super stoked about it. It was all great until this morning and the other Elders' pipes had frozen so they had to come to mine to shower, hahahaha. #NewZealand

The Osburns had taken the other elders out to lunch and they noticed that their waitress had a cross on her necklace. They started up a conversation and agreed to meet again. On Saturday, when they met up, she told them about finding Christ and how she was baptized as a baby but that she's always wanted to be baptized again. By immersion. "Hello!! WE know all about that!! Come join our church and get baptized!!" You know the best part? She lives in our area and we have a lesson with her and the Osburns on Tuesday. 

Notice how I talk about the Osburns all the time? It's because senior couples are incredible. For all of you out there that are thinking about it, go!! Go on a senior mission. 

The church is true. Heavenly Father answers our prayers. 

Love you all! 

Aroha nui,

Elder Benjamin

Tender Mercies

Kia ora whanau!! 

This was a pretty neat week. I don't think I mentioned this in the group email last week but my camera had dropped and the lens wasn't coming out. I was pretty bummed but then as I pulled it out of my bag during the week, the lens came out!! It takes pictures just fine! I have no idea how it happened, I just know that it's a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father. 

I went on exchanges with Elder A this week and it felt so good. It was like we were back together in Omahu again and I loved it. He's grown so much and so have I. We found a few potential investigators that day and it was neat. 

Elder M and I have been really focusing on helping our members and gaining their trust so we've made an effort to teach them as often as we can, to serve them, and to help them in their callings. We've been getting teaching appointments with them and I think we have 7 or 8 planned for this week alone! Of course they're all with members, but they're the best way to find so I'm pretty pleased. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Sabbath Day

Kia Ora whanau!! 

So the week was a little slow. Elder M and I both agree that we should be in a cleaning phase for our area so we spent quite a lot of time planning. Like a lot of time. The rest of the time we spent trying to visit the people on our ward list and all the former and potential investigators previous missionaries have found for us. I'm excited for where it's gonna take us. Elder A and I did the same thing in Omahu and once we finished (which happened to be when I left) they started finding investigators and having baptisms! Haha I'm just hoping I get to stay for the flood of work that's gonna come in from cleaning and updating the area book. 

On Sunday in Sacrament meeting, Bishop  spoke to us about keeping the Sabbath day holy. He is such an incredible man. Two things that he said really stuck out to me. He devoted some of his talk to his daughters. He told them that they're gonna keep getting better at netball. They are gonna get older and a coach will want them to play on their team. The games will be on Sunday. They need to decide now to say no. He told us that if we work on Sunday or play sports, we might be rich or famous or well known but we're slaves to our money and sports. 

The other thing that I loved is that, like he said, we might have money or fame if we play or work, but if we keep the Sabbath day holy, we're special. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

The Basics

Kia ora whanau!! 

Elder M and I have been doing some pretty neat things this week, let me tell you. 

A month or two ago, I asked several of you about the verse in Revelations that says you can't add on. Right? This guy, who spurred me asking the questions, became a new investigator of ours this week! Such a miracle.

We also starting having daily contact with another investigator, and it's made a world of difference. It's amazing how much it does to be able to know how she's keeping our commitments we leave with her and how much more revelation we're blessed with as far as helping her goes. We've planned a chapel tour with her this week and we're really excited for it. 

The church is pretty true. Did you know? Even all the way in New Zealand. 

I really miss Elder F though. It was hard to say goodbye to him but I'm glad I got to serve with him so long. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

I am a Son of God

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I can honestly say that this has been the best week of the mission. Crazy right?? Let me splain. No no no, too much. Let me sum up. 

I was really struggling with R but I knew that even though I didn't understand it, I could pray to be comforted through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. So I did just that. After district meeting on Wednesday, I asked Elder Osburn for a blessing and it was such an incredible answer to prayers. Among many special things I was told, I was told that R would be brought to the Lord when the time was right. As I hear that, it just kinda clicked in my head and I thought, "Oh. Hey. Everything will work out and I'll be okay." 

After the blessing, I was able to receive some really inspired council from the Osburns. (This is where the best week of the mission part comes in.) They helped me realize that I was letting other people define me. When I would get annoyed with a companion or an investigator would drop us, things like that, I was letting that define who I was. The Osburns told me that I need to define myself as a Son of God. Define myself by my divine heritage and then, tell myself that when something goes wrong or I get upset about something. That's what I've started doing and let me tell you, it made a world of difference. 

My whole mission, even with the incredible experiences I've had, I felt like I wasn't quite as happy as I should be. I never thought too much about it, but I always felt that just a little something was missing but when I started the "self-talk" this week about being a son of God, that's when I got that last bit of happiness that I was always looking for. 

So I guess this is really significant for me, but not a super great email... Haha so I hope you all can appreciate how much this really has helped me. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Transfers

Kia Ora Whanau! 

Most of our members are at the temple this week so it was fairly slow. It was still good though! We were able to talk with quite a few new people and I'm always a little surprised at how nice the kiwis are on the south island. It's pretty neat. 

We had a district meeting with President and Sister Hudson on Thursday. In my interview, President told me that I'm going to get a new companion! Elder M I have no idea where he's from but I'm really excited for the change! Elder F is going to a Samoan ward in Porirua. My new district leader is Elder A! 

I'm not sure if I said this last week but President promised us that if we talk with everyone, ask for referrals 100% of the time, we'll get 2 new investigators a week which will give us one baptism a transfer. It was a really special thing he promised our mission and it struck me at how simple it really was. 

The church is true. 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Christchurch

Kia ora whanau!! 

What a week. Oh my life. 

I'll talk about R first. Elder Osburn texted us on Saturday and said that R had moved out from her partner and was staying with the Osburns until they figured something else out. He said we could plan on baptizing her in our ward in a couple weeks!! Then, as Elder Osburn drove us to the library this morning, he told us that she's moving back to the farm. Not back in with her partner, but back into the other ward. I have no words. The first time we found out she was moving killed me and then I had been telling our members that R was back and we were gonna have a baptism!! Then, for the second time, we found out that she's moving to the other ward. It's either laugh or cry at this point and crying would be pretty embarrassing because I'm in the library. So I'm laughing about it. 

The Osburns are a senior couple in the mission in my area. They've helped me and all the other missionaries so much. They give support and help that no 19 or 20 year old missionary can give just because they have so much more life experience. So all of you that are married and older and stuff, please give serious thought to serving a senior mission. 

We had a special zone conference up in Christchurch this week and we had a lot of people speak to us. The Reeve's, the McConkie's, The Pearson's. There were a lot of tears. Such a strong spirit was there. My favorite was Elder Pearson though. He told us a story about his mission in Helsinki, Finland. He was getting a new companion, Joe Pratt, and it was Elder Pratt's last transfer. The first thing Elder Pratt did when he got off the train was grab Elder Pearson by the lapels and said something like this, "Elder Pearson. I have one transfer left and I haven't brought anyone into the fold of God on the mission. I cannot leave without baptizing somebody. Will you do whatever it takes with me this last transfer??" 

They went back to the flat and prayed and talked and prayed more. They worked harder than they ever had. They made a goal to have someone ready for baptism before Elder Pratt left on the plane. Elder Pratt rode away on the train before they found someone, but Elder Pearson did the same thing to his new companion. When they got back to the flat, their bishop had left a note on their door telling them to come over. His son had been reading the book of Mormon and knew it was true. They taught him all the lessons in a row and Elder Pearson looked at his watch. Elder Pratt hadn't left on the plane yet. 

I keep going back to the question he asked, "What desirest thou?" It's all I can think about and I'm very very inspired. 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin 

June 12, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I think I talked a little bit about how I'd been having a rough couple weeks in my last email. I'm doing a lot better now though! I had been praying for help and I was expecting to feel an overwhelming feeling of love and acceptance to bring me up. That's what I had always experienced before on the mission. So I was waiting for that but it never really came. I was able to learn that sometimes the Lord's power of deliverance isn't always manifest in grandiose ways, it can come in a subtle feeling of peace that slowly seeps into our lives. It was almost like He said to me, "Jared, you have permission to be happy. Just choose to be okay and you will be. I've given you all the help you need." 

We started a new way to ask for referrals by going through all the people our members know in their families and work and school and facebook to see who's not a member and then committing them to pray about who to start working with. We get anywhere from 20-100 names with each family!! Not all referrals of course, but potentials! I'm really excited for this to play out. 

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

June 6, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I just finished the Book of Mormon and I prayed and asked Heavenly Father if it's true. I already know that it is but I think it's always a good idea to renew and refresh our testimonies to strengthen them. I had been waiting for an answer for a couple weeks now and hadn't had it yet. I also had been having a rough couple weeks. I think I wrote in my journal something like this, "I feel like Satan is grabbing the hand of my thoughts and is hitting me with it over and over saying, 'Why are you hiitng yourself?'"

As I was reading in 2nd Nephi chapter 4, I read about where Nephi talks about the wretched man that he is. How he desires to rejoice but he remembers his mistakes. I had been having a rough couple weeks and the words really stuck out to me. It was almost like Nephi had written them for me. As I kept reading, the Lord reminded me to "remember in whom I have trusted" and have more faith. It was such a blessing. I was able to have the assurance that the Book of Mormon was true and have a little encouragement from the Lord to keep trying. 

We found out that our investigator  has moved into the other ward in Oamaru. It ruined my day. I was so excited to be able to get a baptism (because she committed to it last week!) It was hard for me to find this out but I've been blessed to feel peace as we've been working on the transition between missionaries. And as long as she gets baptized, that's really what matters. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

May 29, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!!

Elder Filipo was pretty sick this week so we spent most of it in the flat. To give you an idea, I read Alma, Helaman, to chapter 20 of 3rd Nephi, and watched Meet the Mormons, Treasure in Heaven, The Testaments, 17 Miracles, and Ephraim's Rescue. 

We had a pretty good Sunday though! We were able to teach the Restoration to one of our member's dad during the second hour and he just soaked it all up! Really well prepared. He's going back to Australia this week though so that's a bummer. I'm sure the missionaries there will baptize him though. 

Not much else to report on. I'll have more to say next week! Elder Filipo and I are staying in Oamaru together next transfer! Same address. 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

May 23, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

As I was thinking about what to write this morning, it took me about 30 minutes to remember anything that happened before yesterday. 

I guess I'm still having a hard time remembering though.. 

We were asked to speak in the 5th Sunday sacrament meeting. I've been praying and pondering about my talk and during sacrament meeting and sunday school, the Spirit helped me remember verses and scripture stories to use, and principles to teach. It wasn't a voice or an angel, just clear thoughts that came to me. 

I've made it a goal to develop charity. As I've been praying for it, I've seen it coming into myself. I've also seen it in others and the spirit will let me know, "That's charity." It's a really neat thing to be able to learn from others' examples. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

May 16, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

What a great week. I love being a missionary. 

In ward council on Sunday, our bishop told us about some pretty amazing plans for Oamaru! If both wards get enough people attending sacrament meeting, we can apply for a new chapel!! To give you some perspective, it took Dunedin district 124 years to become a stake. Now, about a month after we became a stake, our Bishop told us he wants and thinks we can have the attendance for a new chapel by December! I honestly would love to stay in Oamaru for the rest of my mission. 

I was struggling to stay focused as I prayed so I asked Elder Osburn for advice. He said that he imagines Heavenly Father in his "celestial living room" and then it's just like talking to dad. As I took the time to do that before I prayed, I had the words, "How was your day, son?" come to mind and it was one of the most meaningful prayers I've had in a long time. 

We had another great lesson with R this week! She said that she's praying about what we've been teaching and that she feels peace as she prays. I'm so excited for her. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

May 9, 2016

Kia Ora whanau!

The church is true, I tell you what. We were able to find 4 new  investigators this week! Three of them are from a part-member family,  and the 4th, was a lady that the  Osburns found for us to teach! As we taught them all the Restoration,  the spirit was there, so peacefully. We've got a long way to go but  I'm feeling really good about where we're at right now.

Something cool that I realized this week or last: President Uchtdorf  spoke about the Savior being our shepherd and how he'll rescue us as his sheep. We're worthy of rescue because we're loved of the shepherd. On the  Restoration pamphlet that we use, the picture is of the Savior holding  a lamb. It clicked that the way, or one of the ways that the Savior  has rescued us all is through restoring the gospel through the prophet

Joseph Smith.

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

ANZAC Day

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

The church is true. 

For several weeks now, I've been feeling like something is missing from my mission experience. I've felt that It wasn't quite everything it should be. Now don't get me wrong, I love my mission, there was just a nagging in the back of my head that said something was wrong. I started to pray about it and couldn't find anything for a week or two so I decided to fast for help. 

At the close of my fast, I prayed and could faintly hear/feel the word Charity. I was pretty sure that's what I was supposed to work on, but I was a little unsure. The next day, I was prompted to read "A Summer with Great-Aunt Rose." It's been one of my favorite talks for a while. As I read, Rose talks about how she turned her life around by discovering faith, hope, and charity. As I read, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with the hope that came flooding into my outlook on my life and the mission. It seemed like the Lord was "holding my right hand" and guiding me on my path. I've started to make this a focus of my prayers and study and it's made the biggest difference in the world. 

I know Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I know He loves us. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Stake

Kia ora whanau!! 

Dunedin became a stake this weekend!! It was the oldest district in the world, and it's finally a stake. There was such a special spirit at the meeting. Elder Pearson, the area president, was there and he gave such a good talk. He spoke about how becoming a stake is a beginning, not an end, how we need to rededicate ourselves to the work. I got to talk to him for just a minute before the meeting too, which was a blessing. 

During the week, we taught an investigator about prayer. In the closing prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for us and for how nice we've been to him. There's really not anything I enjoy more than hearing things like that from investigators. 

Also. This is what it's like when we go to our member's homes. "Elder's! Have you eaten yet? Here's some tuna sandwiches we made. Oh hey! Here's literally all of our cereal too. Do you want some cookies? Here's some orange juice. Have an ice cream cone! Have another. By the way, how long do you have? We're making chicken and potatoes for lunch!" 

I'm staying in Oamaru for another transfer! Elder F and I are companions still and Elder S

is going back to his area with a new elder.

Love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

General Conference

What I wake up to every morning!

Kia ora whanau!! 

I gotta say, general conference was just about the best thing that's ever happened to me. I felt like I was waiting for Christmas all week. What I was wanting the most as I went into conference was an increased testimony of the Savior and that's just what I got. I was counseled in a blessing that sometimes it's wise to renew my testimony of Him and conference gave me just the opportunity to do that. I loved it. Multiple times I had to wipe away tears because of how powerfully I felt my Savior's love. 

We also had DM with President and Sister Hudson this week and I loved it so much. I had found myself being a little upset that I wasn't having as much "fun" as I thought I should but President told me to not let my expectations ruin the experience. As I've pondered about that, I've started to realize that I can just enjoy what I have in front of me, it doesn't have to be like anyone else's mission before I can enjoy it. It's really helped me calm down and enjoy my time so much more. 

I love you all! 

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Waiting for conference

Threesome

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I've had companions from Tonga, Phillipines, Samoa, and now Fiji as well. I'm in a threesome for the rest of the transfer. 

We are covering both branches in Oamaru until April 20th. It's the craziest thing. We have one car, two flats, two phones, two branches. Basically, it's like we're supposed to do twice the work with half the time. 

Really the biggest difference is that we have twice as many people that want to feed us. 

I guess I had a baptism on Saturday though!  He's the man. He's a 14 year old Fijian. His mom also told us that she'll go to whatever church her kids end up in. #PotentialInvestigator

I've seen the Lord fighting my battles. It is a huge answer to my prayers.

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Tender Mercies

Kia ora whanau!

Another week down. A bunch more to go. (and thank goodness for that.)

To be honest, the week flew by and I don't have much to say in regards to "missionary work." We don't actually have any investigators right now and most of our branch was gone for Easter. 

I did have a couple pretty neat experiences though. One of them was playing touch. (Touch is rugby that's touch instead of tackle, btdubs.) I was pretty upset about some things that had been going on, and I started praying about them during the game, but then I stopped focusing on the game and I was just useless. So, I decided to pray and ask that I would just be able to do well in the game so that I could enjoy it, take my mind off of things, and just have a release. As I started to actually play again, I scored 4 tries! I started to play so well. Now, I don't say that to brag, even though I was literally the only white guy playing, I guess I'm just really grateful that even something as simple as playing well in a pick-up touch game was important enough to Heavenly Father to influence for me. 

As I was studying this morning, I was reading in 2nd Nephi and as Jacob quoted Isaiah, the words were clearly answers to my prayers. It was like someone came, sat me down and said, "Hey elder, this is for you. Read it, please." 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

March 21, 2016

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

Well, I'm emailing again. Already. What the heck. I guess yesterday was a holiday though so we couldn't email. Hence, the day late email. 

So, success just kinda comes flowing our way, here in Oamaru. It's the craziest thing! Like, we went to visit 2 former investigators and they both were at church on Sunday! We also went to see a less-active family and they came to church as well. Now, I realize that the Lord did all the hard work, I'm just grateful that I was able to take part in it. 

Also. I was having a little bit of a rough week and I wasn't really sure why, but I asked  a senior missionary for a blessing. We went over after church on Sunday and it was such a good thing. The spirit was so strong and I felt so clearly that Heavenly Father and the Savior were completely aware of me and my struggles. 

The church is true. I get fed all the time. The same member fed us breakfast and dinner yesterday.

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

The Promised Land

The view from Jared's new 'flat'

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

So, I'm down in Oamaru. I'm already in love with it. I basically spent all day Wednesday flying and driving. Kinda lame but whatevs. 

My new companion is from Samoa and he's probably the most humble person I've ever met. One of the first things he did was give me a lava lava. 

Our branch is bigger than my last ward. In our branch council, the branch president got emotional when he started telling everyone how much he loves the missionaries. 

There was a temple fireside on Sunday and the spirit was so strong!! I cried. and the speakers did too. I loved hearing all the incredible sacrifices the members have made to visit the temple. 

On Sunday, I got fed 3 dinners. I'm honestly shocked that I ate it all. It was three dinners. Like three meals. And most of the members here are islanders so they know how to put on a feed. Holy crap. 

My flat has probably the most gorgeous view in the world so that's pretty neat. 

Anyways. Not much has happened in regards to missionary work in my area, but we are gonna find 100 new investigators next week. 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Old district before he left

Transfers!!

Kia Ora Whanau!! 

I'm getting transferred!! I'm going to Oamaru (it is on the South Island) on Wednesday and Elder F will be my companion. And that's literally all I know at this point. 

So I'm kinda freaking out a little bit. Actually, not nearly as much as I thought I would. I guess I'm a little nervous for the change, but I'm excited for it and I just have an overwhelming sense of peace. It's such a blessing. 

This week was pretty neat. There's a new family that moved into our ward that have decided to come back to church! And, as we've changed our focus to visiting more members, we've felt the confirmation that it's what we're supposed to be doing. Plus, the members give us a lot more food so that's always cool. 

Well. I'm kindof at a loss for words right now. I'm leaving my home. But I guess I'm just going to a different part of my home. I'm just gonna extend my family, as Lexie said. 

I love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

February 29, 2016

Well another week down, a bunch more to go. 

The zone leaders had a baptism this Saturday and I got to do the interview.  About 5 months ago, I went on an exchange and we went to visit this young man. We were talking about the articles of faith and he couldn't understand the idea of resurrection or Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ not needing to eat to stay alive because they were immortal. "You have to eat to stay alive." 

"Not when you're immortal." 

"But you have to eat though!" 

And then he would start talking about war or something and it was pretty rough. 

As I interviewed him for baptism, he was talking about how close he feels to Heavenly Father, how he loves to compliment and serve other people and how it makes him feel so good. In other words, I was able to witness the change of his heart because he was able to develop and apply faith in Christ. It was such a cool thing. 

There was a broadcast for Australia and NZ on Sunday and that was pretty neat. Tad R. Callister talked about how we need to be on spiritual offense to be countering the adversary. If we only play defense, the best we can hope to do is tie at 0. If we play offense, we can win. So I made a goal to more actively ponder the scriptures to have my thoughts more focused throughout the day. 

Love you all!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

Refiner's Fire

Kia Ora whanau! 

Well, my favorite investigator and his less-active girlfriend dropped us yesterday. I was pretty bummed. I still am pretty bummed. Sometimes missions are hard. Did you know? haha. 

I did speak in sacrament meeting about adversity and how it's the trials that we have that strengthen us and then give us the opportunity or skills to help others along the way. So I guess that talk was for me! 

We saw another investigator on Wednesday who said that she was thinking about baptism!! Then we realized that she was talking about a church that was not our own. So I'm flipping out thinking, "Elder Say something!! You're gonna lose her!!" So then I prayed for help. The first thought I had was, "Well, you're not prepared." It was a pretty good wake-up call to make sure I'm actually prepared for all the appointments I have. But then, after a little rebuke, we were able to commit her to hear all the lessons again. Basically, to start over. Such a blessing. 

Well, I hope yous all have an awesome week!

Love,

Elder Benjamin

The Bishop from Lexie's last area on her mission in Australia was visiting New Zealand and sent pictures of Jared!