It All Works Out

Hello all family and friends!!

Hope all is well back home. Things are exciting and still freezing in Slovenia, but that should hopefully change before too long.

This week is a sort of holiday week in Slovenia. Last Friday was a national holiday, Slovene culture day. There were all kinds of cultural festivities and shops set up in center Kranj and it was all very exciting. Many of the older people were all dressed up in cultural dress, which all looks like a cool mix between Polish traditional, and more American pioneer dress. Then the next day, Saturday, was Pust Saturday. Pust is a huge holiday here in Slovenia that comes from the northwest side. It is something like groundhog day and Halloween mixed together. There was a huge parade, in which Korunt, or these big yeti monsters with bells wrapped around their wastes dance around scaring away the snow. Also, they had these men who had massive, maybe 20 ft whips made of rope which they whipped around cracking them for a few minutes, ˝˝whipping the snow˝˝ and scaring away winter. That and everybody was dressed in costumes, especially the little kids, just like Halloween. Then that night, the kids went door to door to ask for krof or money, just like Halloween.

And while the city has been going from dead to millions of people (as much of a city Kranj can be...) Our schedule did a similar sort of thing this week. One day, in which Elder Wilson was feeling a bit sick, he still insisted that we go out and try to find some people. Our day was empty, except for a 7 pm meeting which I cancelled that morning because it was with a younger girl, and I couldn't find anyone else to meet with us. (We have a rule we can't meet alone with women to ensure there's no inappropriateness)

And so we went to a few doors of people who had met with missionaries in the past, but had no success. Then, realizing we were in the neighborhood, I offered that we go try the home of a less active member who lived nearby. We rang her apartment phone outside the door and she let us right in! She was one of the first people baptized in Kranj, and had since been working to return to activity. We had a great meeting with her and we left. At that moment, we were inspired to go visit an older member who lives in a nursing home, and so we rushed straight over. We had a great meeting with her, leaving right after her dinner had arrived. As we were with her however, a member in Ljubljana, whom I had called the day before to ask if he could come on the 7 pm meeting, called, saying he had just gotten on the bus to Kranj to meet with us and the young woman I had cancelled on!! Freaking out, I called her, and reorganized to meet again at 7. All was well, and it turned out to be a wonderful visit with her.

The longer and longer I've been on my mission, I've begun to realize that even when things don't really seem like they are going to work out, if you include God and listen to His promptings, then it all ends up working out for the best, regardless of the situation or circumstances. Continuously, it has been a testimony builder that if you include God in what you do, he will help you. And He, knowing all and comprehending all that is happening, knows much better how things will work than we do. I heard not so long ago the phrase that in life, we can choose two ways to do things, ˝˝The Lord's way, or the slow way.˝˝ This truly is how I've been seeing it, and the less you try to resist Him and His will, the better EVERYTHING in life seems to work out, and truly the happier you are.

I hope everyone has a miraculous week, and hope everyone is safe and warm.

Much Love-

Starešina Benson