The Fall of Faith

Živijo!

Ladies and Gents, fall is definitely here. The leaves are falling,
the fruit is ripe (and really delicious!), the weather is cooling,
and miracles are happening.

This last week has been a busy one full of service and meetings. We
helped an older member here in Kranj mow her yard and weed her jagoda
(strawberry) garden, and a different family cut and gather wood for
the winter (more on that to come!). We also had Zone Conference on
 Tuesday where President Rowe and his wife, and the assistants to the
president, (a missionary companionship who works with president) came
up to Ljubljana where all 14 missionaries (not including senior couple
missionaries) met together for instruction. It was really cool seeing
all the missionaries gathered again.

Less missionary work has been done this week due to the large amounts
of service and vacations. (We had two of the people we meet with go to
Koper, a Slovene city on the sea, this week). But that's perfectly fine.
The opportunity to help others is one of the main reasons I am here,
and service is a fantastic way.

One of the families here in Slovenia, the Lotrič family who lives up
in the mountains, needed help gathering and cutting firewood for the
winter. So we were picked up by the branch president (bishop, pastor
of the congregation here), President Majc in the morning for a nice 45
minute drive up to the middle of no where. We worked there for the
whole day gathering enough wood they said for two winters. I have
pictures when I am at a computer where the pictures actually work.

Also, across the mission we have titled the time from now until the
end of the year the ˝Fall of Faith.˝ Fall of Faith because miracles are
happening. I've mentioned it before, but the full extent of it is
difficult to fully realize. As long as the members and missionaries
here do their work in faith, real miracles are happening. People are
literally contacting us wanting to meet up to talk about the gospel.
Also, as a mission, there is the goal of having 100 baptisms, which is a
record no one has even come close to achieving before in this European mission.

Important to note is the difference between faith and hope. Hope is a
belief something can and will happen. Faith is ACTION on a belief that
something can and will happen. When we put forth and show our faith,
miracles happen. God is real. God is eternal and unchanging. And
miracles happen today just the same as they did 2000 years ago and
before (Mormon 9:19-20). The only difference is that people have lost
their faith, and so miracles to some seem to have ceased. But faith
must always precede the miracle (Ether 12:6). And so we go forward
every day in faith, meaning in action, as to the things which seem
impossible but will happen. This is the same for every person. The
only difference is we all have a different work. But if we exercise
faith in what we do, we will see results. The only way you can know is
through trying. That is the only true way of knowing the truth (John
7:17).

And so this work goes on.

Much Love all-
-Starešina Benson