Made it to the hump.... When did that happen??

Hola friends and family! 


I can´t believe that this week I will be completing the first half of my mission here in Honduras. There is no way to be able to describe how blessed I feel at this moment to be serving a mission, and for this opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to share His Gospel and to learn and grow. It has in no way been a cake walk.... I feel as if I have been stretched and stripped and cut down in many ways, but I know that it is Heavenly Father´s way of making me become the person that He needs me to be - not the person that I want to be or that I think I should be. These nine months have been humbling for sure, but I know with all my heart that I am here for a reason and that Heavenly Father is teaching me lessons that are preparing me for the rest of my life and for greater things to come. I´m so grateful for my inspired mission president and his dear wife that are such a huge support to us missionaries, and their willingness to take time for "the one." I´m learning that Heavenly Father doesn´t need us to be perfect, nor does he want us to try so hard to be perfect! Because in the end, it´s an unreachable goal here in this imperfect world. What he wants us to do is give our all, to give what we can, and to let Christ step in and turn our B- into an A+. "Come unto Christ and be perfected IN Him..." He has called us in all our weaknesses and imperfections to merely be instruments in His hands as He fulfils His purposes and His work. As I look back on what I´ve learned this first half of my mission, there is no way I could possibly fit it into one short email, but to sum it up I´ve come to know without a shadow of a doubt that this is the Church of Jesus Christ and that there is no other. I´ve learned just how blessed we are to have the knowledge that we have and to be able to make and keep covenant with God. I´ve learned the blessing of the Spirit in our lives and that nothing is more precious than to have His influence every day. I´ve learned that Jesus is our Savior and can work miracles in our lives if we let Him and show a little bit of faith. I´ve learned that God fulfills his promises.... every time. I´ve learned that I´m not perfect, that I make mistakes, but that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love me anyways :)

This week we are beginning to ease into the rainy season of Honduras (right when I decided to break my umbrella... of course!) Me and Hermana Olivas were headed to an appointment in the morning and we had forgotten to bring her umbrella. All of a sudden she stopped and said, "hermana, oiga." (hear) It was the strangest thing. It sounded like a waterfall and when we looked in the distance, we could see that it was raining SUPER hard just a few blocks away and was coming quickly in our direction. It was like a wall of rain coming straight for us! It reminded me of the movies when people just stand and watch when the danger is coming for them and don´t start running until it´s too late.... haha soon enough we were caught in the downpour and had to run until we got to our investigators house and we were soaked from head to foot!! We had a good laugh about it :) It turned out to be a really good lesson despite being drenched :) Her name is Y and she shared with us that she had read Moroni 10:3-5 and that she prayed after and felt something very beautiful in her corazon (heart). It really does work!! Then towards the end of the lesson a random man showed up and started going off on all his problems and asking for advice, and before we could say anything our investigator bore her testimony about prayer and everything that she had just learned from her experience and she invited him to pray because she knows now that God answers prayers. It was a neat experience :)

Just want you all to know how much I love you. Thank you for all of your support and prayers, they are needed and felt. Shout out to my wonderful, beautiful, and incredible Mother :) I hope you have an amazing Mother´s Day, and though I can´t be there physically, my face/voice will be there via technology... haha I am so grateful to say that I am your daughter, and could never thank you enough for all you have taught me and for the support and love you have given me through the years. Even though we aren´t perfect, you have been the perfect mom for me and I wouldn´t be who I am without you. Shout out to all the other mother figures I have had in my life (Grandma Cook and Grandma Angus and all my loving aunts!). I have learned and grown from your many examples :) Thank you!!!

Until Next Week

Hermana Bennett