Hope you are all doing well back home. Life is great and amazing
here in Utah!! The weather is starting to get cooler which is strange since
it's only August and not December yet. That's how it's supposed to go, right?
Cold in December like Texas?? Guess not. But it's so strange to pull out my
cold p-day (preparation, basically relaxing day) clothes in August.
The week has been good language wise. I have finally convinced
myself that the best way I learn is NOT with flash cards. Who would have
thought? Granted I’ve never used them in my life before this. Instead, I'm starting
a new method of grabbing a dry erase marker and drawing the meaning of the word
and the actual word on the board. It actually makes learning the vocab really
fun, especially when I mess up really badly and I can't even tell what I drew.
But that makes it even more memorable! Like trying to learn the verb to cut -
rezati, my attempt to draw a knife in 5 seconds was so bad... but I learned it
after that!! We'll see how this goes.
As I mentioned last week, we had our half way day here in the
MTC last Saturday. It's only down hill from here. I absolutely love it here
now. I learned this week that the more effort I put into my time here
preparing, the more love I am expressing for the Slovene people when I get there.
President Monson had a great quote from last General Conference in the
Priesthood Session Last October (basically the leader of the Church at the
large biannual conference) where he said, "When the time for action comes,
the time for preparation has passed." It is so true! In four weeks, I will
be boarding a plane to go to Central Europe, and the more time and effort I put
into preparing for the moment when I first talk to a Slovene person, the more
love I can show and helpful I can be.
It's so strange though. All the Elders and sisters learning Bulgarian
and Polish on our floor are leaving Tuesday, as well as the two districts who
have been here for three weeks. It's going to be so quiet. But then Elder
Burdette and I will be the "old" people on the floor. Tomorrow,
before all the new Bulgarians and Poles arrive though, it's going to be
sooooooo quiet. But then new people to meet, get to know, and help will arrive!
This week in class we had a great, inspired discussion on
sacrifice. As a missionary, we are asked to sacrifice so much, who we were, in
some cases our passions, our time, our focus, etc. But even so, none of it can
compare to the sacrifice Christ made for us. As people, we are required to make
sacrifices to be able to achieve our eternal destiny. Each of us is already
perfect. But, like a beautiful, perfect sculpture, is hidden under a block of
marble, we must chip away the "excess marble" of our lives to be able
to achieve that perfection. Allowing God to shape and form us will result in a
far better person than we of our own efforts could have
made. And so when you feel weak or unable, that mean's you are doing what
is right. Change is a result of that sacrifice, and makes us feel that way. The
problem would arise when we feel comfortable or strong in what we are doing.
This means we have stopped growing, stopped stretching ourselves so that we
become more than we were before. This is the time we need to revaluate
ourselves and see how we can change in our lives to become grater. If we don't
God will eventually force us to and that is even more uncomfortable or
difficult than it could have possibly been on our own. But know, that we are
given weaknesses and challenges so that we may become humble, and so weak
things may be made strong to us. (Ether 12:27) This is the process God
uses to shape our perfection. All of which is only attainable with the grace
of Christ.
I love you all. I hope the best for everyone and hope none of
you ever stop seeking your potential. Even so, now is always a great time to
start.
-Elder Benson
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