No time, but Pictures!!!

Hello all!

No time to talk today. We're leaving in 15 minutes to go to the Soča Rier Valley on the other side of Triglav which I think pretty much every missionary in Sloenia. So instead of stories and updates and such, I hope that just the word that all is well, warm, and friendly here in Celje. We have another person on date for baptism, and sister missionaries are the best.

Instead of a long list of words, how about a  picture instead? Enjoy!

-Starešina Benson

Go to Pictures on the menu at the top to see the new picture.

Twyla Benson

Vse je mogoče. Verjamaj! (All is possible. Believe!)

Zdravo družina in prijatelji!!

To bo hitro zdaj, ker nimam veliko časa zdaj sicer sem zapisal vse po angleško in slovensko ta teden. Zakaj bi vprašel? Ker ta teden, jaz pa starašina simon pomagava enemu človeku prenehati kajenje, tako da lahko se krstiti. Prav tako, jim pomagati, odločila sva, da bova prenehala angleščino ta teden z njim kot preneha cigarete.

Ampak res, ta teden je bil čudoviten. Sestri sta prišli v ponedeljek, in sta bili tukaj za kot 5 dni. Veliko pomoči sta. Imava več časa zdaj da sta tukaj.

Malo zgodba o tem človeku. On je imel stik z cerkvijo za dolg časa zdaj, pet let? deset let? ne vem. Zelo zelo dolg časa. Ve, brez dvoma da je resnična, ampak imel je samo en problem. Kadi. Prav tako, noben se lahko krstiti kot kadi zaradi besede madrosti (Če hočeš vedeti več o tem, glej mormon.org, ali uprašaj mormona ali misionarske). Mnogi krat se je trudil prenehati, ampak nimel uspeh. In zdaj, zlasti ta teden, se mu bova trudila pomagati. Ima res željo in pričevanje, samo res nore tržave z kajenjem. Ampak vemo da z bogom, vse je mogoče. In upam da z neijno vero, pomočjo, in vero ter pomočjo veje tukaj v Celju, lahko premaga kajanje in stopi skozi vode krsta ter se pridruže zbor svetov v celju.

Želim da vse je prav doma in veliko uspeha!!

Dobra želja

- Starešina Benson

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Hello family and friends!

This will be fast now, because I don't have a lot of time, because I have written everything in English and Slovene this week. Why you ask? Because this week, I and Elder Simon are helping a man to quit smoking, so that he can be baptized. Therefore, to help him, we decided that we will quit English for the week as he quits cigarettes.

But really, this week was miraculous. The sisters same on Monday, and were here for like 5 days. They are a lot of help. We two have more time now that they two are here.

A little story about that man. He has had contact with the church for a long time now, five years? Ten years? I don't know. A very very long time. He knows, without doubt that it is true, but he had only one problem. He smokes. Therefore, no one can be baptized as they smoke becasue of the word of wisdom (If you want to know more about that, look at mormon.org, or ask a Mormon or the missionaries). Many times he tried to quit, but he didn't have success. And now, especially this week, we will try to help him. He has a real wish and testimony, only a really crazy problem with smoking. But we know that with God, all is possible. And I hope that with our faith, help, and the faith and help of the branch here in Celje, he can overcome smoking and step into the waters of baptism and join the group of the saints in Celje.

I wish that all is well at home, and a lot of success!!

Good Wishes

- Elder Benson

Spring Cleaning

Hello all family and friends!!

To start with the usual weather report, I think Spring has finally arrived, a bit later than normal, but finally, it is here. The weather today is going to be up to the 20's C (around 70 F) and there isn't a single cloud in the sky. The flowers which started to bloom well over a month ago now are starting to fill the fields with color, and leaves are returning to the trees. Life is well.

This week, big big changes are coming the Celje, again. Initially, President Rowe, the Mission President pulled sisters out of Celje because there weren't enough Sisters in Slovenia, and so Celje pulled up the slack. However, due to some, recent, events, which have transpired in Maribor, the Maribor sisters are going to be splitting their time now, half in Maribor half in Celje (but more time in Celje ;-)!! It is going to be wonderful. This will be the first time in my mission where I have served in a city with more than one missionary companionship. Kranj was alone, and Celje has been alone for the last 3ish weeks.  But it will be great. We have so many people to meet with now, with us being the only ones here, that I don't know if it's even physically possible. My planner, where we think about what to talk about with people, this week doesn't have enough room to hold all the names and plans! So it is truly a Godsend. Then again, there are missionaries the in the world, even in our own mission who would wish to be so stacked with visits, to not have any other free time. But it will all be good.

This week also, in Celje, we had a missionary return. He's from Celje, born and raised, and came back home after serving an honorable two year mission in South Salt Lake City. He is wonderful and it is a great pick up to the branch here in Cleje. Everyone is incredibly happy to see him home.

This week we met with an older lady who has connections with the branch here in Celje. She is incredibly nice and positive about the church, but seems to be perfectly content sitting in the middle ground of recognizing the church is good, but not that it is something for her in her life. I hope the Lord will direct us and her and help her receive a witness directly from God as to her purpose and path in life, and that the church is more than just a good organization, but rather the means of obtaining eternal joy, life, and happiness with her family.

Hope all is well and warm at home.

Muč luv-

-Starešina Benson

Modern Day Guidance

Pozdrav vsemu!

I hope all is warm and sunny at home. Today is the first day in a long long time I haven't seen any clouds in the sky. It is a very welcome sight. Many of the Slovenes around us say that this Winter has been incredibly long, unusually long, especially long, even if it wasn't too particularly harsh. But lots and lots of snow. The wild flowers started blooming long ago, but with the return of the cold, the trees decided to wait a few more weeks, or a month longer before they began blooming out. Soon however, it should be really nice.

The week in Celje has been a quick one. In many ways I can hardly believe that Monday is already here again. The cherry on the top of the cake however was definitely General Conference this weekend. Every six months, we have the opportunity to hear from living prophets and apostles and their council for our lives. It is a true and real blessing and evidence that the living Church of Christ is here on the earth again. As God gave us living prophets in the old testament, and Christ called apostles to guide his church during his life and especially after, we have this blessing here on the Earth again. The greatest blessing of course is the modern day council we receive from them. In many ways, the works of the ancient prophets and apostles are life changing and altering, while God still speaks to us through them and their words in council.  However, our times today are much different than they were back 2000+ years ago, with much different challenges and concerns. As such we have the guidance from God today for our support and direction for the new and unique challenges we face today.

As such God speaks to us today for our specific needs as well. It is an amazing experience to receive help from God in personal needs we need help with through His living apostles. Without a doubt God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and speaks to his chosen leaders today, as He did before, and will forever. 

Hope all is well and warm at home. Things might have a chance of getting warmer here.

Lep pozdrav,

Starešina Benson

First Impressions

Hello all family and friends!!

Hope all is well in the warm lands of America. Here in Celje/Slovenia, Winter just really doesn't want to go away. If it hasn't been snowing today, it's been raining and windy. But then again, you can't get paradisaical green plants out of nothing right?

The first week has been fine, both super busy and not. Elder Simon has been in charge of most everything since I have no idea where anything is in Celje, who any of the members are, or who are the people they were meeting with. But over all, it is a great place. One of the most amazing things about this branch is how active and integrated some of the members are with each other. It really is a miracle to see brothers and sisters in the gospel spending time with each other and strengthening each other outside of Sunday and gospel related things. The gospel really is not meant to be something you think about only on Sunday, or do out of tradition, but is something which penetrates every part of your life. It influences how you think in a way that the things which are really important, each other, instead of self and materials, become your outlook and priority. It gives peace knowing why we are here, where we are going, and to what source we can look to for help and peace out of our trials and troubles we all, sooner if not later, face. 

But life in Celje really will go on. The people here are great and I believe with all the people we are meeting with now (since we combined Elder Simon's people with the sister's who left Celje last week), Celje will grow. I am grateful for the opportunity to help the children of God here in Celje and know that with the Savior's help and the help of each other, we can do amazing things which before would have seemed impossible. I have faith in this and know that it is possible and will happen.

Hope you all are safe and warm and dry back in the English speaking states.

LP (Lep Pozdrav)(Beautiful Greetings)
-Starešina Benson

Kralj Kranja je preselil

Pozdrav Family and Friends!!

 

So, to start, A LOT has changed in the last week. A LOT.

 

Kralj Kranja je preselil.

Kralj Kranja - Currently in the mission, I am basically the ˝King of Kranj˝ because I have been there the most of any other mission in the entire mission. I love Kranj and the people there so much and have gotten to know them really well.

preselil je - However, ˝he moved˝. I am no longer in Kranj.

 

This week is the beginning of another transfer, which we have ever 9 weeks. With the end of every cycle (with a few exceptions like what happened with me and Elder Bateman) we have the chance of moving to a new area and getting a new companion, staying but getting a new companion, or nothing changing what so ever. I have now experienced both.

 

This last Thursday night, knowing transfers were soon, but not expecting them until Friday, we got a call from the Zone leaders in Ljubljana, telling Elder Wilson that he will be staying in Kranj, while I will be moving tooooo...... Celje!!!!

 

And so , from the point of right now of writing this letter, I am sitting in the Celje library, looking out the window at snow falling in Celje instead of Kranj. Celje is slightly bigger than Kranj, with about 50,000 people instead of 40,000 people. It is another city set at the intersection of two rivers just about in the middle of Slovenia, between Ljubljana and Maribor, and is a bit more industrial and built up. It has its own branch (church) here though! (No more 30 minute car rides to church every Sunday!) And the area has been having a good amount of success in the last few months.

 

Also, another interesting thing with the transfer, is that President Rowe took the Sister companionship out of Celje (before there was one Elder's companionship and one Sister's companionship.) And so, we again have the whole city to ourselves. But this also means we inherit all, ALL of the people the sisters were meeting with also, in addition to all the people the Elders had here before as well. It is going to be a nice and busy transfer!

 

And so my new companion is Elder Simon. He actually came into Slovenia along with Elder Wilson, my last companion and the Elder I trained in Kranj, so he's only been in country for 2 months. He's also, originally from Utah, Bounitful Area, and also, didn't have the opportunity to go to college before coming out, but is planning on going into exercise science. He's a great guy and we should hopefully do miraculous things together here as well.

 

This weekend, Sunday specifically, we District Conference (like Stake Conference) in Slovenia. What that means is that all the members in all of Slovenia came to the Ljubljana church on Sunday and we had a great, amazing meeting. President and Sister Rowe spoke, as well as a general authority from Germany came down. It was an amazing conference and was fantastic to see all the people from Slovenia together in one place.

 

One of the talks given (little sermons you could say) was about how Jesus Christ is like a doctor for our lives. Last Sunday was the day he would have entered triumphantly into Jerusalem for the final week of his life, to glories and praises, of the great Savior he was. But throughout the course of the week, he had to go and experience the pains of all the people of the world, to fully know and be able to prescribe and give the medicine we need in our lives to be emotionally and spiritually healed. He is like the doctor who is helping a person overcome chemotherapy, but instead of the painful procedure being administered to the patient, Jesus experienced the pain, so that we as the patient can be healed without going through the torture of the medicine. That is the miracle of what we call the Atonement of Jesus Christ. This, and the reality that he rose from the dead, proving his work, and that we can rise too if we are humble and come to him is the true significance of Easter.

 

I hope everyone has a strong and restful Easter holiday.

The Best, from Celje-

-Starešina Benson

Help One Another

Hello all family and friends!!!

I won't comment on the weather. It's snowing again right now. But spring is here. Flowers and coming up. But it's snowing. Again.

But everything is well otherwise!! This is the last week of the transfer. A week from today three Slovene missionaries will go home and two new ones will come in. What President is going to do to fill the hole of not having 2 sisters come in instead of one? We will see. Also, today. Today!! Is my six month mark being in Slovenia. It's been a fantastic experience and have had the blessing of meeting so many wonderful people and seeing the opportunity of people changing through the power and Atonement of Jesus Christ to become significantly happier and better people.

I have especially seen this in one of the people we have been meeting with recently. The first time he came to church, he felt something unique, that Spirit of God, which began him on the course to change and happiness. Even the other day when we met with him, he was able to tell story after story after story of how he has become a different person recently, in some cases week to week and day to day. He is better able to be a real, sincere friend to others instead of one who is more concerned about self. But most significantly, his relationship with God is one of the most amazing things which he has grown. From being in a world of acting out of tradition and nothing else to coming to an understanding of who God is, and how to build a real relationship with Him and His Son Jesus Christ, His life has changed. As he has learned to ask and search for help from on high, he has been able to receive, which is more valuable than anything else.

I know this work is real and that God works through many people. Awhile back I compared God to the master Architect, not the architect of buildings, but the architect of people. He knows exactly how each and every person on earth fits into each other's lives in a composition of more incredible complexity than we can even hope to imagine and understand. But as we come to a better understanding of our personal place in God's scheme, the better understanding we have of His overall scheme for everyone. This knowledge and surety is something which cannot be replaced, and has no comparison, and is something I have had the opportunity to experience everyday on my mission so far. I'm grateful that I still have so much time ahead of me to be a help in the lives of others full time.

I hope everyone is well at home. I hear the weather is frightfull..lly warm. 
Enjoy and much love!
-Starešina Benson