MARCH MADNESS

Y'all probably think the NCAA tournament is entertaining, but lemme tell you, watching Sister Church, myself, and President Gardner shoot free throws would've blown college basketball out of the water! We had the Nebraska Omaha Mission (N.O.M.) Olympics this week and Sister Church and I killed it! We took the gold! And had way too much fun doing it. So there's a lil' update. In other news we ran out of money this month so today we went to the store and bought a total of 8 bananas for the week. Mom don't freak out! I promise that the Cammacks let us have some of their food and we won't starve! Ya know what they say..."Man cannot live on bananas alone..." 

Miracles: 

So this week there was a baptism in a nearby branch and it was so happy! The girl's name was Mila Gonzalez and she is 19. She was baptized into the small family branch in Holdrege, NE, but the YSA was there to fellowship her at her baptism, so Sister Church and I got to attend as well. One of the best things about a mission is that you get to just see how aware of each of us Heavenly Father is. One of the recent converts from the YSA attended the baptism and her name is Natasha. (I LOVE HER.) Anyway, Mila got up to bear her testimony and just poured her heart out about how her family was not supportive, but she was so grateful that she made the decision to be baptized regardless. Natasha's family was not supportive AT ALL when she was baptized and as Mila bore her testimony tears filled Natasha's eyes. The moment the closing prayer was finished Natasha ran to Mila and told her her story. They both started to cry and just held each other. It was like they had known each other for years. Now Mila has a new friend, and an entire YSA branch eager and excited to get to know her. And they never would've crossed paths had it not been for the Lord and his hand in their lives. 

I got to go on exchanges this week with Sister Gershin and OH MY GRACIOUS! That girl. She is an incredible missionary, and she truly has given her whole heart to God over the course of the last 18 months. I had the incredible blessing of being her last exchange ever and we had loads of fun! But during our last chat of the night she said something so profound and it hit my heart hard. She told me that she didn't serve the mission she wanted to serve, but she served the mission the Lord wanted her to serve.

 My heavens these sisters teach me so much more than I could ever hope of teaching them. I am so blessed to be a missionary! 

Also this week is GENERAL CONFERENCE! If that is not a miracle than I don't know what is! Prophets and Apostles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are going to be speaking directly to us. And I CANNOT wait! I CANNOT WAIT! I urge all of you to approach conference with a question...because when we ask we receive answers. 

Funnies: 

This morning I woke up at 4:11 am absolutely freezing cold, so I slowly slid off my bed head first and grabbed my blanket that fell on the floor. As I was doing this Sister Church sat up out of nowhere and looked at me and this is the conversation that followed: 

Sister Church: "You good??"

Me: "Yeah I'm good..." 

"What time is it?" 

"4:11"

"YESSSS.....(she leaps out of her bed) I need to go the bathroom so bad, I am about to explode!"

Next thing I knew it was 6:30...haha

Spiritual thought: 

I guess these past few weeks I have been struggling quite a bit with finding. We are finding all the time! We are being obedient, our efforts are diligent, and we are studying hard, but people don't seem to be willing to make commitments or have a desire to continue to learn more. I have been in a little bit of a rut, so I have been seeking answers through fervent prayer and scripture study, and I read a verse the other day that just filled my soul with assurance and increased faith. 1 Nephi 21:5 reads "And now, saith the Lord - that formed me from the womb that I should be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him - though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength." As I read this, the spirit replaced two words of this verse to teach me something crucial. "And now, saith the Lord - that formed me from the womb that I (myself) should be his servant, to bring [Sister Bengtzen] again to him - though [Nebraska] be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength." The Lord has placed me upon this earth to learn and to grow, and ultimately my job is to bring Sister Bengtzen (myself) again to him. Although the entire state of Nebraska may not be baptized, and although others may not listen or commit, the Lord is still proud of me and I will rely on God to carry me through. How grateful I am for the scriptures and for my relationship with my Savior. How grateful I am to know that numbers do not determine success, that the Lord does not look upon the outward appearance of things, but the Lord looks upon my heart. (1 Sam 16:7) Sometimes it seems like we just aren't having success, that our lives don't look the way they should or that things aren't going the way they should, and it's hard. But Heavenly Father knows that we are trying. He is aware of the efforts that we make and above all he knows our hearts. So even if life seems to be a mess, keep going, keep trying. The Lord is with you and he will lead you along. 

I love you all! Even when you go to Cancun and tour Book of Mormon ruins without me. I will forgive you! Maybe! 

xoxo, 

Sister Bengtzen