BOLD and PERSISTENT or meek and lowly?

It was so incredible to see you all yesterday! Seriously I still can't wipe the smile off my face!! I am on cloud 900! Jabby, I am proud of both of you for just digging in and working hard in school and in work! I admire you so much and I hope you know that. I think Heavenly Father knew you both had to serve missions before me...or else I could not have done this! So thank you for your example in all things. Aubsy your friends look darling! And thank you for all the pictures you send me all the time, and your stinkin' cute emails! They always make me smile. I am excited to meet all these humans in Provo someday soon! Bugs I seriously cannot believe the little giant that you are. HOLY COW. And how different your voice is, but I will get over it. Quit growing up! Haha. Thanks for all the laughs though, they help a lot! Mama you look so good! I hope you had the best Mother's Day and that the fam spoiled the heck out of you! I am so grateful for you and I would not still be out here if it wasn't for your prayers! So thank you. DADDY! You look happy too! I am glad work is good and that you are taking care of everyone like always. Thank you for just being our family's rock. 

Please send my love to everyone else! I SURE MISS MY PEOPLE!!! 

So this week was a crazy one. We probably spent the better part of 12 hours in the car! I swear I could drive from Kearney to Omaha with my eyes closed...but that probably wouldn't be a good idea because the Big Rig drivers out here are off their rockers! And it's never a good idea to drive with your eyes closed....

Miracles: 

Our investigator Stacey is getting baptized on Wednesday! Man it has been a crazy road, and I think we have rescheduled her baptism at least 4 times, but Wednesday is the day! She is the sweetest girl, and it has been such a blessing to see her grow closer to Jesus Christ over the past few months. She is facing a lot of opposition from her family, and none of them are coming to the baptism, so it has been hard, but she is so sure of her Savior. I just wish you could see her light and hear her testimony! We taught her the law of tithing last week and at the end of the lesson she committed to live it. The next day she texted us and told us she had a miracle to share with us! She said she had been praying to know if she really should be baptized and if all the things we were teaching her (mainly tithing) were true. She said she committed in prayer to her Heavenly Father to live the law of tithing, if He would help her know the truth, and she did so with REAL intent. Her graduation party is coming up and she has been very worried about money, so she said learning the law of tithing kind of stressed her out even more, but still she said that prayer and made that promise to her Heavenly Father. Well the day after she did that she went to the bank to take out some money for her graduation party and she said she had made all the calculations and knew exactly how much was in her account. When she got there she realized that there was $60 dollars more in her account than there was supposed to be!!! She was so excited she texted us right away and told us she knows that that money was from God, and now she has enough to pay tithing and to pay for her graduation party! How cool is that?! There's a girl who has faith and is living the Doctrine of Christ! 

Also this week I was on exchanges with cute Sister Robertson and we were tracting in a trailer park! Because that's where all the miracles happen. Well we knocked on this lady's door and she didn't speak a lick of English. All she spoke was Spanish. So I sure tried my best and somehow we ended up in her trailer teaching her the Restoration and talking about Jesus Christ. I really do have a testimony that the spirit can bring all things to your remembrance because all of the sudden all of these Spanish vocabulary words came to my mind. I know that I totally trashed the conjugations and I am not sure if she understood anything that I was saying, but the spirit was there. This sweet lady, Paulina, ended up taking a Book of Mormon in Spanish and committed to read and pray. So please pray that someone who speaks Spanish will move out to Kearney soon!! Haha 

Also our investigator Kenna, who lives in a teeny tiny town about an hour from Kearney, accepted a baptismal date this week! She is preparing to be baptized on May 27th! She is also facing a lot of opposition from her family, but she is so close to the Savior, and she knows this is what He wants her to do. She said she was reading about Jesus Christ's ministry the other day and she noticed how at the beginning He was not welcome in His own town. However, later in His ministry He returned and taught His own people. After recounting this story, Kenna looked at us with tear filled eyes and said, my town just is ready yet (meaning her family), so I will give them time and someday I will come back and help them see the truth. Seriously I cannot believe the people that Heavenly Father has allowed me to come in contact with. I really am so blessed. 

Funnies: 

So my heart is breaking because Sister Church is leaving on Wednesday :( however, I just found out who my new companion is! And she is the sweetest thing ever!!! But get this...I have been praying for a companion who is BOLD and persistent, because that is something I need to work on. Well my sweet new companion's name is Sister Meik (pronounced like "meek") and lemme tell you, that's exactly who she is! Hahahaha I think Heavenly Father really does have a sense of humor. But I am so excited! 

...Maybe I have been praying for the wrong thing....haha 

Spiritual thought: 

I have just been thinking about moms a lot this week, and I am just overwhelmed with gratitude for my own Mama and all that she has done for me. I wish I could express it in words, but as Elder Holland would say, "My heart is richer than my tongue". I don't think any of us can really express how grateful we are for our moms and for all that they do. But I think this quote, again from Elder Holland, is a good starting point: "No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child." The hardest part about serving a mission, at least for me, is being away from those that I love so much, and especially being away from my Mama. There are so many days I wish I could just hear her voice or feel her hugs, and I just feel like there is a big hole in my heart. But how grateful I am for her loving guidance, her sweet words, and her selfless sacrifices that have helped me to know who my Savior really is. I wouldn't be out here on a mission if it wasn't for her, and I will eternally be grateful that my Heavenly Father sent me to her. So hold your moms extra close today and every day! And Jakey, Bugs, Aubs, give Mama an extra big hug for me and tell her that I love her. Because I do! Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the incredible moms I know! The world is a better place because of you. 

I love you all!!!

Have the best week! 

xoxo, 

Sister Bengtzen