Families are the key to happiness

Hello all!!

Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time to talk today. We're off to a castle called Trakošćan in Croatia, and then on to Varaždin in Croatia to spend some time with the missionaries there before heading back. None the less, amazing things are happening here!!

The big success of the week was with the less active who's been less active for some eight years, but with whom we've been meeting with regularly now for a month of so. This week, we invited one of the long time members, whom he knows from back in the day, to come with us and it was wonderful!! They talked for some 30 minutes before we started a spiritual discussion, catching up on their lives from the past years. Both have had kids and grand kids in the time, and lives have changed. But none the less, the memories they share are still there and happy. After a great short spiritual discussion about the nature of God and how He wants to bless us, especially focusing on our families and the goal for him to have an eternal family, punctuated on the two members talking again with more catching up, the member we brought suggested the idea of this week of inviting him and his family to her place to have a family home evening! He or we could prepare the short spiritual thought, the other a little game, and then she would bake some little small sweet treat for everyone. He excitedly said yes! So we will see. This should hopefully bring his comfort and build his faith to be able to return to all the members soon.

Besides this good work, we have transfers coming up next week. (every six weeks. Beginning of October is the new transfer) Chances are I will be training a new missionary, but we will see. Nothing is set in stone, ever. We'll find out the end of the week.

I heard it rained in Texas, finally! Enjoy the cooler, but still warm weather. It is damp and cool here. The fog has started to roll in in the mornings. I've started to have to keep a blanket with me in the mornings. But it is all good. It looks like a perfect sunny day today.

Lepo se imejte in srečno še naprej!

-Starešina Benson

Progress in the week

Hello all family and friends--

This week has been a sunny and cloudy week, but all around cooler. It
is definitely fall now.

This week, we had great success with our less active member who we
have been working with for the last month or so. We have met with him
every week now for three weeks, and he said he has started to pray
and read again. This last time however, we had a great lesson with him
reading from 3 Nefi 18. The best part of the lesson however, was as we
began, his little three year old daughter, who loves us, started making
a lot of noise, and so he asked her to go into the other room with his
girlfriend. She went, but she was still making a lot of noise. After a
few minutes however, the girlfriend in the other room started trying
to make the little girl quite because she wanted to listen to what we
were saying. After 15 or so minutes  of little success, the girlfriend
quietly came out of the room, and stood leaning into the doorway
listening to everything we said, staying there for some 15 minutes as
we finished up, rejecting the invitation to come join us, but staying
in the doorway listening. She seems like she is showing interest in
what we say, and could be open to the gospel!

At the end, we invited him, even them, to come on Sunday with us,
responding with that he hoped he would come. Then, we talked to his
little daughter who had come back and was listening and staring at us,
and showed her a picture of a church service we have in a brochure,
saying ˝This is us on Sunday. Look! There are other little kids there
too! Will you come with us on Sunday?˝ She answered ˝Ya! and daddy,
and brother, and daddy's girlfriend can come with us!˝ Unfortunately,
they didn't come this week, but we will meet with them again, and
further invite the Spirit to their house.

In other news, one of our star members here in Celje who smokes is
trying this week to quit smoking!!! We are behind him, and are going
to be doing the 1 week program we have to quit with him. Let's just
say grapefruit juice and mouthwash are wonderful!

Hope all is well and peachy back home!
-Cooler wishes coming your way-
-Starešina Benson

A General Authority and Perfect Placement

Hello all family and friends!!!

Summer is officially come to an end weather wise here in Celje. The high today is expected to be 20°C (~70F) and a low of about 16°C (~60F) and rain. Rain for the next three days.

This week in Celje it has been insane. Slovenia has been hosting the Eurobasket, basically the national championship tournament for basketball for all of Europe. The four cities in Slovenia hosting are Ljubljana, Celje, Jesenica, and Koper. There have been so many people in Celje, it has been a little ridiculous and unnerving. And so many foreign people. Spain, Georgia (the country by Russia), Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovenia are the nations playing in Celje this week, and so (mostly because of Slovenia) it has been a mad house here. But it should be cooling down after today as the games in Celje and the other smaller towns end and everything moves to Ljubljana.

This week, we had the amazing opportunity to hear from a general authority, a 70, Elder Charles here in Slovenia last Saturday. The whole day was incredibly inspiring. We had a few members going with us, but we had to go by train because of the lack of space. About two weeks before, on Monday, as we were leaving the library from doing emails, we ran into these three young kids who could only talk in English, who were apparently European volunteers. We chatted with them, and found out they are from Turkey, Czech Republic, and Spain. they don't live in Celje, but rather are living all over Slovenia, the Turkish guy from Velenje, and town in our area about 30 minutes away. We chatted with them for a bit, but were late, and had to move on.

Then, as we arrived at the train station to go to Ljubljana, we hear someone trying to get our attention, and see the Turkish guy waving at us! We begin to talk again, and this time he has all three of the volunteers from Velenje with him and they are all going to Ljubljana also for the day! We spend the whole train ride with them and have a great chance to talk with them, leaving them with our number, and an invite to call us if they want to learn more or are in Celje. They are going to be here at least until next spring.

The other amazing experience (besides the whole fireside itself which was an incredibly spiritual experience) was that as we arrived, people began going upstairs. However, there was a woman there, by herself, who I felt like I recognized, but I didn't know from where. I began talking to her and realized I had met her two days before in English class when I had come down to Ljubljana on an exchange for a day. She seemed alone, and so we began talking and got to know each other quickly. We went up and I sat by her. I soon learned she is a new investigator of the Ljubljana elders, and had been to church a few times, and some members had invited her to the fireside. Unfortunately, all her member friends were late, as were all the Ljubljana missionaries, and so I sat with her, joked with her, and answered any questions she had throughout the fireside. At the end, we went up to meet Elder Charles, and he shared a shortened version of his conversion story with her and testified to her. It was so powerful. Even though I'm not in Ljubljana, I have a good feeling about her, and know, through all of my experiences that night, that the Lord had placed me exactly where I needed to be, meeting and friendshiping just the people I need to friendship. The Lord is in charge of this work and His missionaries, and I am constantly amazed each and every day by how he guides us. He is the master architect, not of buildings or structures, but of the lives and interactions of every of his beloved children - you and me!

I hope everyone at home is having a nice and inspirational week. We can see miracles each day if we just follow the guidance of the Lord in our lives instead of being resistant.

Many blessings and miracles this week!

-Starešina Benson

Perfect Timing

Lep Pozdrav family and friends!

 

Today is the first day back to school for the public elementary, middle, and high schools, and the weather reflects that idea that Summer is over too. I've had to put on sweatpants and a pullover recently at night, and today. Also, the city is gearing up for a first in Slovenia's history. For the next three weeks or so, Slovenia is hosting the Euro basket, basically like the national championship tournament for all of Europe. Everyone says this is the first time in all of Slovenia's history to host an event this big for all of Europe. Celje is one of 4 cities hosting the games. Temporary tents are getting set up, the downtown has basically been all remodeled, and all the lines on the street have all been repainted with a fresh coat of paint. Thousands of Slovenes and Europeans are about to flood into Celje and Slovenija this week. It's going to be exciting!

 

Over the last few weeks, one of the less active women we have been working with disappeared. She had gotten to the point of coming every other week with our help when she just suddenly disappeared shortly after Elder Baldwin arrived. We would call her, she wouldn't answer. We would stop by her place, no one was home. We talked to other members who were her friends, and they said she hadn't answered their calls either or seen her for a few weeks. Uh oh. So eventually, we resolve that we will do whatever it takes to find her. However, that extra work wasn't necessary. Last night, we felt we should go visit some of the people who hadn't come to church today, and we felt first about going and seeing her. We go up, still trying despite the weight of many former repeated failed attempts, and ring her name outside the apartment. We wait a few moments to silence when we hear a calm, quiet, ˝Hello?˝ She was home!! We asked if we could come up and she said yes and began having a wonderful conversation at her doorstep.

 

Then, as we are talking, another amazing member whom we were worried about because she hadn't come to church that day either, called. I rejected the call, focusing on the conversation we were having, but soon the feeling and idea hit me. She lives only around the corner from this less active we are talking to. Her son will be at home. Why don't we go have a lesson with the two of them right now??!! Taking advantage of the opportunity, I quickly call back and ask if it's possible, and then we head over for a great visit. We counsel, set up, and comfort our two sisters who didn't get that from church today, and set up for the next week with them. At the end, the sister who called while we were having the conversation explained she didn't know who she had called, just the first number she saw on her phone, expecting her son or husband, but found it was us! The Lord guided her to us as we were guiding our less active sister back for the perfect scenario, impossible without His help.

 

In other news, Celje's old first counselor in the branch presidency was released and a return missionary was called to fill the spot. We are starting (very limitedly right now) to use facebook as missionaries and as a mission. And I think that's all for exciting news.

 

Stay warm at heart and cool in body (or warm depending on your climate)!

-Starešina Benson

Great Success

Pozdrav vsem!

Life in Slovenija has started to take a turn for cooler and damper weather in the last couple of days. A storm rolled in Friday night/Saturday morning at 4:30 am and since then has been overcast to partially cloudy and cool and damp. Not cold, except in the morning, and it's rained every night I think since then. I just hope this early cool down doesn't mean that we are going to have another long, cold, snowy winter again like last year.

So the new developments!!! We received 4 new missionaries in Slovenija this last week! Elder Deringer (my grandson by missionary lingo!) and Elder Stot in Ljubljana with Elder Wilson (my ˝son˝ cause I trained him) and Elder Burdette respectively. Then Sister Legro received Sister Jones here in Celje, and Elder Simon received Elder Hunt in Maribor. It is exciting to see all these new missionaries fresh from the MTC with all the light and energy of bringing people the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, their Slovene is spectacular. Really, they are light years ahead of where I was at the beginning.

This week, Elder Baldwin and I had more great success working with less active members. For the one I mentioned last week, who was super strong a few months ago, then randomly stopped coming. We ran into him spontaneously on the street this last week, on Wednesday I think, and set up to meet with him the next day. We spent the afternoon with him, and at the end, he rejected the invitation to come to church this Sunday, but said he would come maybe next Sunday, or a Sunday!! Progress! One step at a time.

Then for another less active, this is the one who was very strong 8 or so years ago, and actually referred the other guy I just mentioned to the missionaries and his whole family was baptized. After we spontaneously met with him a few weeks ago, he became incredibly difficult to get in touch with and set up. We would either set up and he would text us cancelling the day of, or we would show up and his son would say he was gone. Then this week, when we were meeting with the first less active, and the branch president shows up and we start talking to him about him, and how we haven't been able to meet with him. The branch president was really good friends with him and knew him, and so we asked if he would call him and set up with us. He said, ˝ Yeah I will. Actually, why don't I just call him now?˝ And so he called him right in front of us and set up with him for Saturday afternoon!! We meet on Saturday afternoon and have an excellent lesson with him. We discuss how the gospel changed his life for the better and how it can still bring blessings to his life. We committed him to pray regularly and start reading the scriptures again and he willingly accepted. Also, we will be having a fireside in Ljubljana in a few weeks where all 70 are coming, and invited him to prepare himself to go with us and the branch here. He accepted!! He has the desire and the connections now, all he needs is the faith and courage to act. As long as we keep regularly meeting with him, I can see him coming back after 8 years of inactivity within the month. And then he has a family he can share the gospel with once he is strong again!

Miracles are happening here and the work is marching forward!

Hope all is well and that you stay cool back home.

Much Care - Starešina Benson

The Darkness and the Light

Zdravo family and friends!!

 

Hope all is well back home. School is starting up I heard soon. Here in Slovenia all the kids have exams today and tomorrow (they have two final exam periods, one at the end of the semester, and then the other right before the start of the next semester.) The weather has been warming up again after the rain a week or two ago, but it hasn't gotten anywhere near as hot as it once was before the storms rolled through. September will be here before too long too and it will get and stay cooler soon too.

 

The success of this week is that we finally were able to meet with a less active member we've been trying to get in touch with for a long time, who isn't difficult to have contact with, but is impossible to sit down and talk with him. It was the strangest experience. He came to the Friday night activity we usually have here in Celje, and when Elder Baldwin and I were alone with him he asked, ˝So, you want to meet tomorrow morning?˝ Of course we said yes. It was strange when we arrived the next morning though, as he already had a board game laid out. And so what do we do? Say we won't play and leave, or play and talk? Play and talk of course. It took a bit of time, but before long we began talking about his concerns. It was an amazing breakthrough. He still has a bit to go, a journey he has to take on his own, but he will return.

 

In other news, I gave a talk this last Sunday. It was my third real talk I've given in Slovene (testimonies don't count). So, here is an abbreviated version of what I said.

 

 

After praying about what I should exactly talk about, one idea came to my mind, the phrase that We as saints of the latter days, can and must do hard things. I've broken these hard things we must encounter into a few simple categories, the first, that we must over come the darkness, both the darkness around us, and within us, and then we must be able to spread the light we receive.

 

When we came to this earth, we did not enter into perfection. This is obvious as we look at the fallen world around us. Many people have unfair situations, and struggle with many things. In spite of this however, we are promised the manner to perfection, which runs through difficult things, and only through Jesus Christ. Darkness exists around us and also inside of us. However, the darkness doesn't have to be our prison.

 

President Uchtdorf spoke of this light and darkness at the last May general Conference. There are two sides to his story he shared, the first I want you to pay attention to is how the woman he described had the darkness all around her, but she was able to escape. President Uchtdorf said,

˝I’d like to tell you about a woman who grew up in a room filled with darkness—I’ll call her Jane.

From the time Jane was three years old, she was repeatedly beaten, belittled, and abused. She was threatened and mocked. She awoke each morning not knowing if she would survive until the next day. The people who should have protected her were those who tortured her or allowed the abuse to continue.
...There was no light in her world, so she became resigned to the darkness....
Then, at age 18, Jane discovered The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The joy and hope of the restored gospel penetrated her heart, and she accepted the invitation to be baptized. For the first time, light entered her life, and she saw a bright path before her. She left the darkness of her world and decided to attend school... At last she felt liberated from an environment of darkness and evil—free to enjoy the Savior’s sweet peace and miraculous healing.˝
As we can see, Jane was born into a world of bleak imperfection and swallowed up in darkness. However, when she came to know the light of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, it showed her a different option, and offered her the power to be able to make the choice and action to leave the darkness which surrounded her. However, once she had left her dark conditions, she still had darkness inside of her, the next difficult thing we must constantly work to over come. President Uchtdorf continued,
˝However, years later, after her abuser had died, Jane was again troubled by the horrible events of her youth. Profound sadness and anger threatened to destroy the wonderful light she had found in the gospel. She realized that if she allowed that darkness to consume her, her tormentor would have a final victory.
...She began to realize that, for her, the best path for healing was to understand and accept that darkness exists—but not to dwell there. For, as she now knew, light also exists—and that is where she chose to dwell.
Given her dark past, Jane could easily have become vindictive, venomous, or violent. But she didn’t. She resisted the temptation to spread the darkness, refusing to lash out in anger, hurt, or cynicism. Instead, she held fast to the hope that with God’s help she could be healed. She chose to radiate light and devote her life to helping others. This decision enabled her to leave the past behind and to step into a glorious, bright future.
Jane learned that healing comes when we move away from the darkness and walk toward the hope of a brighter light. It was in the practical application of faith, hope, and charity that she not only transformed her own life but forever blessed the lives of many, many others.˝  (Italics inserted, For the full talk and story, go to this link The Hope of God's Light)
Jane overcame the darkness around her, and then inside of her. With Jesus Christ, we receive the vision of our own potential and opportunities, a vision of the path of achieve our opportunities, and the strength to bringing ourselves to our opportunities. We can leave the darkness because of Jesus Christ, because he is the light. Christ told Jospeh Smith in D&C 11:28, ˝Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the life and the light of the world.˝ He also said when he ministered on the Earth in John 8:12, ˝I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.˝
Our lives become brighter when we live like Jesus lived, this is a promise. However, this light he brings doesn't just start with us, but rather is infectious. When we receive the light, we can't hide the light. In the sermon on the mount, he taught, ˝Ye are the light of the world˝ (Matthew 5:14). Also however, when he came and taught the sermon on the mount to the Nefites, he said, ˝I give unto you to be the light of this people˝ (3 Nephi 12:14) And so, the next hard thing we must do is not to hide our light, not to hide ourselves, but rather to shine.

The light Christ is giving is hope and the matter to overcome our nightmares. The nightmares around us and also inside of us. We have the power and strength from Him to change our conditions. We are never, not ever cast off, too far gone, to be saved by Him. Everyone around us also is searching for this light. Many don't know specifically that that is what they are looking for, but still, they are searching for freedom.

 

 

 

I hope all is well back home and you are having lots of success in your endeavours. Happy days and well wishes from Slovenia!

-Starešina Benson

 

PS We had transfers this week. We're now on a 6 week schedule instead of a 9 week schedule. Elder Baldwin and I are staying, Elder Hardy, Grover, and Mills, and Sister Flanders the older (we had two sister Flanderses) are going home. We are getting 3 new elders, Elder Burdette (in Ljubljana), Simon (in Maribor), and Wilson (Zone leader in Ljubljana) are training, and Sister Legro in Celje is training the new sister coming in. Sister Porter is moving to Maribor. Yep, a new missionary in every area in Slovenia. Fun times up ahead!!

 

Also Pics!! We had zone conference in Zagreb this last week and said good bye to a few missionaries. Here is me and Elder Hardy, my trainer. Like the only good picture of the two of us. And also me and Sister Flanders. She was in Ljubljana when I started in Kranj nearly a year ago and was like a bigger sister for me back in those days. Now all that's left is for Sister Legro to go home in November, and then I will be the oldest in Slovenia.

The Hunt and Happiness

Hello all family and friends.

 

I hope life at home is well. This week hasn't been too hot. Just like I hear it was in Texas, it rained around Monday or Tuesday, and really cooled everything off. No hail this time (at least I don't think there was). Thankfully we wake up at 6:30 am and the storm rolled in around 6:15 am, so I was woken up around that time to loud thunder and lightening. I quickly got up to close the windows, and then went back to sleep for 10 minutes before getting up. It really cooled the whole area down though. We went from finally hitting 40°C, down to being 23 - 27°C for the day. This morning was actually quite chilly riding our bikes.

 

An exciting adventure from the week, Elder Baldwin found some information about people who had been baptized in Celje years ago that missionaries had left behind. One of these, was a woman who lived in a small town called Žalec just outside of Celje to the west. About a month ago, Elder Simon and I went there to try and contact her, to find she no longer lived there. We talked to the neighbors, who said she moved some 10 years ago with her parents and lived somewhere just south of Žalec. Then, Elder Baldwin found this gold mine and we discovered missionaries had visited her parents back in 2002, and had the address of her new place!! We put it into Google maps, and got directions, and then, last Thursday, went looking for her. It was actually a nice bike ride along the Savinja river for about 30 minutes (about 9km). A bit rocky in places, but eventually, we found our way. After missing a turn or two, we know we are close and are driving by these old brown looking houses when we see the address plate on the side of the house... THAT'S IT! We stop, I double check the address, and walk up to the gate with the dog barking. We talk to her dad, who invites us in for sok (juice), and quickly discover that this less active member who hasn't had contact with anyone from the church now lives somewhere in Italy. It was a fun adventure, and her dad was a colorful guy who ultimately wasn't interested, but incredibly friendly.

 

This week has felt like it has been a decade long, but at the same time I barely feel like it should be p-day yet. Life is amazing and so incredibly exciting. I'm so glad to be here to work with Elder Baldwin and help the people in Celje.

 

Lepo se imejte!!

Srečno!

 

-Starešina Benson