Good, morning, afternoon, or evening friends and family (all depending on you of course and when you are reading this ;-) )!
Spring has definitely sprung in Slovenija. The flowers which herald the coming of spring are fading out to the grass. Leaves are bursting out of the trees slowly, and I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a cloud in nearly a week now. The temperature should hit 70 F for the first time in months and months today. But, as we are in Europe and not America, we have a different day light savings time, so were not ˝springing ahead˝ for another two weeks.
Otherwise, while the trees are beginning to burst out and the sun has been pouring out its life giving power for the last week, this week we had an incredibly enriching week for the whole district. The big event of course was district conference for all of Slovenija to gather on Saturday night and Sunday morning, and a very special guest, Elder Kearon who is the first councilor for the European area presidency from the first quorum of the seventy. He was also one who came and did a mission tour back last March if I remember right. I might have also mentioned all of this last week as well, but the weeks now feel like months long, so I can hardly remember what I said last week.
On a more sad note, I made a very very very very very very very very sad realization this week on Wednesday. So, little Slovene lesson. Slovene is a case language like Russian, and one of the cases changes the ending of a noun and its adjective if it is in a quantity of 5 or more. So once I had been in Slovenija for 5 months, I could say I had been there already for pet mesecev (five months), and I have been saying that for the last year, maybe more...... until now. I came to the dark realization, that I can no longer say that when someone asks me how much time I have left to be here, because I only have štiri meseci (four months) left. Absolutely terrifying.
Also, this week we are switching up for transfers. The exciting changes of where I am going? Nowhere. And my companion Elder Burdette? Nowhere. No changes with the zone leaders. But the whole rest of Sloveinja is changing except for 1 other companionship, the Elders in Maribor. But another terrifying thing? I only have one more transfer change left on my mission. so just 2 transfers left... at all. Because Elder Burdette and I are staying together as well, I can pretty clearly see my mission to the end as well now. I will (most likely) be staying in Ljubljana Moste to the end, as I will be with Elder Burdette the next 9 weeks, then I will have to train a new zone leader for my last transfer.... and then... that's..... it................................................................................................................................
But the work is marching forward. I sang a song for District Conference, which I found out I was doing the day before. Odrešenikova Ljubezen... not sure what the proper English title is... our savior's love? Something like that. But the conference was great. It all focused on D&C 18, that the ˝worth of souls is great in the sight of God˝. We truly are beloved. God knows and understands us perfectly, better than we do ourselves, and we need to try and look at every other person in the same way he looks at them. The value of each person is so remarkable and unfathomable. More and more in the material world, we devalue people to simply objects, good for something or good for nothing, but this is an illusion. Each and every person is valuable without end. And capable of miracles every day. Do not forget this with yourself, and with your friends and strangers.
Have a great warm week!
Well wishes from Slovenija!
-Starešina Benson
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