April snow showers bring FROZEN grass and flowers!

Miracles: 

Speaking of Heavenly Father being in the details of our lives....we had the coolest miracle this week! And I really do KNOW that Heavenly Father is in the details of the lives of His children here in Kearney. So I went on an exchange with Sister Farmer this week (who is from Kamas by the way, and appreciates Oakley ALMOST as much as I do) and I felt prompted to go see a potential who lives a wee bit outta town, so we did, and she dropped us. :( But we were determined to find out why God had sent us there, so we started talking to everyone. There was this guy outside working on his car, so naturally we went and talked to him. It turns out he is a less active member! And his wife isn't a member. His less active parents (Jack and Marilyn) were also there visiting, so we were able to go inside and talk with them. It turns out this couple were converts to the church, and were SEALED. They had a falling out with some members in a nearby ward and haven't been to church since. And here's the craziest part of the miracle! Jack and Marilyn just barely moved to Central City, and live just a few blocks away from where Sister Farmer and Sister Robertson live! The Lord is so aware of His children! As we were talking to Jack and Marilyn we found out Jack was going in for hip surgery in the morning, and that's why he was in Kearney. We felt prompted to ask him if he wanted a priesthood blessing and he gladly accepted the invitation! So Friday night we were able to go to his hotel and give him a priesthood blessing with two members of our ward, and it was such a sweet, spirit filled experience. Sister Farmer got all of his information and they are going to try and see him hopefully this week. What a miracle! 

Also because of Stake Conference President and Sister Gardner were here for the weekend! And they got to go out teaching with us. This is what he said about it in his email to us missionaries: 

"This last week I was able to go on a few teaching appointments with our missionaries. In one of those lessons, we were teaching two teenage youth [Kiara and Stacey] that are progressing but are still looking to receive an answer to their prayers. The missionaries taught a beautiful lesson on the apostasy in a members home. At the perfect point in the lesson, the member bore a powerful testimony of the feelings he had when he was investigating the Church. The Spirit filled the room. I asked these two youth, "What did you feel while he was telling you his experience?" Both immediately shared they felt a peaceful feeling come over them that they said was powerful. I helped them identify that feeling as the Holy Ghost, witnessing to them that this was true.
The missionaries invited them to pray and ask Heavenly Father if this was true and they both agreed. Not wanting them to forget the feelings of the Spirit that they were feeling, I asked them if they would get down on their knees right then and ask Heavenly Father if it was true. All of us knelt down and both of these sweet young woman prayed in succession and asked God if it was true."

 And holy smokes the spirit was so strong! Both Kiara and Stacey prayed and it was such a cool experience to visibly see their faith grow. I know they will receive answers, and I am so grateful for the guidance of President Gardner.

He went on to say:

" In the second lesson, we visited a couple in their 60's.[Our investigators Terri and Lee]

Unfortunately, they had not read any of the Book of Mormon since the missionaries had last taught them. These great missionaries went right on with their plan to read the Book of Mormon with them. As we read a chapter of the Book of Mormon together, I noticed that this good brother had a very difficult time reading. Even with his reading glasses on, he could hardly read the fine print of our small copies of the Book of Mormon.

Following our reading, the missionaries asked again, if they would read the Book of Mormon. They said yes, but i was not convinced because it was difficult for this man to see. I asked them if they had a smart phone or IPAD. We loaded the Book of Mormon App on the IPAD and showed him how he could let it read to him. The expression on his face was like a young child on Christmas morning. He could not only see the larger print but could have it read to him. I am confident that he will read/listen to the Book of Mormon before the missionaries next visit."

 Ahh I wish you could have all seen Lee's face, it was so sweet! I really do believe, along with President, that they will read the Book of Mormon and pray!

What a treat it was for them to spend a few nights with us, and how grateful I am for their guidance and love! 

Funnies: 

IT SNOWED yesterday! Not cool. Actually it was terribly cool, that was the issue! Haha but nevertheless we saw miracles and it was kind of a fun, unexpected surprise. 

Also I tried to tell a joke in my Zone Training Meeting this week and NO BODY LAUGHED! Hahaha but it's OK because I laughed at myself and still thought it was funny, so my pride wasn't that wounded. 

 Spiritual thought: 

Alright so the BEST part about Stake Conference (besides the Gardner's of course) was Elder Robert C. Gay of the Seventy! He came to speak to the good ole' Kearney Stake and my heavens, he is an incredible man that has been through so much. All the experiences and thoughts he shared were impactful, but there was one quote I loved the most. He said, "There is never a convenient time to serve, you either live by convenience, or by covenant." I really do believe that is true. The Lord asks us to put his priorities first, not our own, and that can be so difficult. But the promised blessings are never ending. Literally. I think about what the Savior said to his apostles as he ministered in Jerusalem. "Lovest thou me, more than these?" Do we love the Savior more than we love our time, our to do list, OUR priorities? He puts us first, always has, and always will. We are His work and His glory. So shouldn't we strive to put Him first as well? I urge each of you to do that this week. To refocus your lives on the Savior and on His gospel, and I promise great blessings will come. Choose to live by covenant, not convenience. 

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

xoxo, 

Sister Bengtzen 

P.S. Enjoy the pictures of the snow