The week of a MILLION miracles!

Wow we have seen SO MANY miracles this week! I don't want to overwhelm y'all, but I am going to share as many as I can! 

Miracles:

This week I went on exchanges with the one and only Sister Frehner and we saw the coolest miracle! I love Sister Frehner, she is so real, and it's so fun to be a missionary with her because she tells you how it is! Anyway, we worked so hard all day and didn't find anyone! But, at the very end of the night, like 8:30 pm, our hard work paid off and this is what happened! We went to see a potential who wasn't home and as we were leaving I felt prompted to turn around and go talk to a lady outside on her back porch. Sister Frehner was willing and ready, so we went where the spirit directed. We ended up talking to this sweet lady for about 30 minutes, sharing the Restoration, and committing her to read and pray. She listened so intently to our message and with great conviction in her voice said, "I know that God sent you here." We were able to testify of the feelings of the spirit and how we were prompted to return even though we were leaving. She was so grateful that we came back and even ended up saying the closing prayer to our meeting. Her name was Jodi. Well just two days later Sister Neuberger and I returned to her home to see her and she excitedly told us that she had read the introduction page, all of the testimonies, and the first chapter of the Book of Mormon. She said that after she read she prayed harder than she ever had in her life and that the next morning her daughter called her and shared with her an incredible miracle wrought in her life by God, and that miracle had happened the same night that she had prayed! Jodi was ecstatic as she recognized that that was an answer to her prayer! She went on to describe the feelings she felt as she read and prayed and we were able to help her see that that was the spirit. It's so incredible to see how Heavenly Father puts us in the path of those that are prepared if we are willing and we are ready! I know that as we work hard we are blessed.

Also this week we had the best plans for Monday night...a church tour, and a lesson with a stellar investigator. Well all of it fell through, so naturally we jumped on our bikes and went finding! We were biking down this street next to a Burger King around 7:30 pm and Sister Neuberger all of the sudden slammed on her brakes right in front of me. Well me and all of my coordinated limbs almost went flying over the handlebars, but I managed to screech to a halt and ask her what the heck was up. She was kinda giggling and she pointed to this guy in the Burger Kind parking lot. "He's rapping!" She said. And he was, full on rapping, in the parking lot! SO...I decided we should talk to him. Well let me tell you! He was probably the most prepared homie I have EVER met. We went inside Burger King and taught him a 45 minute lesson and he ate it up. He pulled out his notebook, took notes, and asked the best questions. He recognized that he was in his own personal apostasy and kept asking what he needed to do to get out of it. It was incredible! His name is Will and he is honestly one of the coolest guys I have ever met. A little tough on the outside, actually kindof terrifying, but a big teddy bear on the inside! We had to pass him off to the YSA elders to teach him because he is YSA aged :( But seriously what a miracle! I know that when we talk to everyone Heavenly Father trusts us and He puts those that are prepared in our way. 

And also! Renee and her daughters came to church again yesterday and Renee is progressing so well! She is reading the Book of Mormon almost every day, praying to know if it is true, and finally opening up to us. She keeps recognizing more and more instances in her present day life and past life where the spirit has spoken to her and she has such a desire to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. We are overcoming some major hurdles right now, but she is set to be baptized the 29th of July. So keep her in your prayers! 

And this week our investigator Jimmy came to church and LOVED it. He stayed all three hours and showed up in this HUGE baby blue suit and cowboy boots. Haha it was awesome. The ward loved him! 

Oh and we had this incredible lesson with our investigator Josephine and the spirit was so powerful. We committed her to pray right then and there and ask Heavenly Father a question, then to flip open the Book of Mormon and read and find an answer. Heavenly Father answers prayers! I know He does. The Book of Mormon was speaking directly to Jojo and she felt it. I have never done anything like that before, so it was a leap of faith on all of our parts, but I know that miracles are wrought by faith! 

Funnies: 

As we were rolling up to Renee's house the other day Bird and Blessen came running down the sidewalk yelling "Dem white people are here! Dem white people are here!" Haha it was so funny. I have no doubt that all of the neighborhood heard, and I am not even mad. At least we are well known! 

Also please enjoy the attached pictures because apparently I cannot be normal to save my life! I swear Mom...I try!!! 

Spiritual thought: 

This week I was reading 2 Nephi 25 and verse 26 stood out to me. It's a verse that I have read a lot, but a specific phrase stuck out in my mind as I pondered upon it this time. "And we TALK of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." I don't think we realize how sancitfying and redeeming it is for us and for those around us to simply talk of Christ. I know that before my mission Jesus Christ was not in my every day conversation, but I have promised that from here on out He will be. I am so grateful for the time I have had on my mission to simply talk of Christ, to come to know Him, and to come to know others through Him. I am so grateful for the conversations I have had with my family about Jesus Christ, about His gospel, and about His light. I know that those are conversations I treasure and I pray that there will be many more of them to come. 

I challenge all of you this week to talk of Christ, every chance you can. Make him a part of every day, and you will be blessed! 

I love you all! SO MUCH! 

Hi my name is....

 Sabrina and random Semi-pro football player?

Miracles: 

This week I had an incredible miracle with sweet Sister Banks on exchanges! We were out finding in this neighborhood and saw two cute little girls sitting out on a porch. We said hello and asked if we could speak to their mother. Their mom, Renee, was inside and at first was hesitant to let us in, but we promised her powerful blessings if she would listen to our message and she let us in!!! We ended up teaching her the Restoration and she loved it. The spirit was strong as we testified of the Book of Mormon and promised she would feel greater peace in her life if she followed the Savior. Renee and her two daughters (Bird and Blessen) ended up coming to church yesterday and they absolutely loved it! It was incredible to see how Heavenly Father put us in the perfect place at the perfect time, and gave us the words to say to pierce Renee's heart! 

Funnies: 

So this is a list of our current potential investigators: 

Demario

Cadilac

Diamond

Precious

Yam

Angel

Lona

Latoya

Shantielle

Latisha

Tamisha

Jimmy 

I LOVE LINCOLN 

Also this week we were teaching Renee and her semi-pro football playing friend walked in...so naturally I asked for a picture. Please enjoy the attached picture of me and my new friend Tony.

Spiritual thought: 

I think as members of Jesus Christ's church we sometimes get overwhelmed with all that we are asked to do. And it seems that during the hardest times of our lives we are asked to do more, give more, and be more. I know that there have been so many times on my mission where I have been overwhelmed and I have felt like I cannot do any more, my plate is too full, I cannot handle another task. I was reading Elder Palmer's talk from this last General Conference yesterday and this quote stood out to me with great force. 

" My dear brothers and sisters, now anytime you feel you are being asked to do something hard... think of the Lord beholding you, loving you, and inviting you to let it go and follow Him. And thank Him for loving you enough to invite you to do more." 

I know that the Savior only asks so much of us because He loves us. 

So if things seem difficult keep going. If you get tired of walking, run! 

I love you all and hope you have the best week! 

xoxo, 

Sister Bengtzen 

Lincoln and Jello and Love

Sabrina and Sister Neuberger in Lincoln

So you'll never believe it! But I am back in the Capital Ward in Lincoln, NE!!!! The exact same ward that I was trained in just about a year ago!!!!!!!! Isn't that incredible?! DREAMS COME TRUE! But really...this is like my home away from home. I love this place. And the icing on the cake is that my companion is Sister Neuberger. She is INCREDIBLE! She just came out of the trail center and she is from Midway, UT. She is a powerful teacher and is just ready to work, so we are having a lot of fun together already.

Miracles:

So this week has been kind of like a tornado. We have no idea what we are doing, but we are sure trying! The missionaries that just left the area were two of the most incredible missionaries in the mission, so there are some awesome individuals we get to now work with, and everything is as organized as it could be. The only issue is Sister Neuberger and I have NO sense of direction and we have never met any of these humans before...so it is just a blast. Haha but we are trying our best!

This week we had this incredible lesson with a lady named Gloria and we taught her all about our relationship with Heavenly Father and prayer. We committed her to pray with us at the end of the lesson, but she declined. Both Sister Neuberger and I, and the other missionaries that we were with, bore our testimonies of the power of prayer and slowly Gloria's heart softened. She began to cry and opened up to us about her life and some of the darkest, deepest challenges she was facing. The spirit was strong, and after some time, we committed her again to say the closing prayer and she did. It was the most powerful prayer, and the room felt as if it had been electrified by the presence of the Holy Ghost. She committed to take a tour of the church building with us next week, and we are excited to invite her to come and worship our Savior and our Father with us.

Also, just yesterday, we met this young mother named Josephine. She was out on her porch and we taught her the Restoration briefly. As we began, she started to cry, and told us that she knew Heavenly Father must love her and must be aware of her because He sent us to her. The spirit again was so strong and we were able to invite her to read and pray and meet with us again.

Sabrina, Sister Neuberger and the other Sister's in the apt bldg.

Funnies:

This week we were out finding and we walked into this apartment complex and there was this lady just drinking and smoking and being her merry self, if ya know what I mean, and she was overly excited that we had come by. She looked at Sister Neuberger for a good two minutes, then walked into her apartment, and came back out with a Tupperware container with some weird rainbow substance inside.She thrust it into Sister Neuberger's hands and yelled, "HEY! Isn't this craaazzzzy, my boyfriend made this jello and it looks JUST like you!" I could not even attempt to keep a straight face. I just busted up laughing and we left immediately! Haha I LOVE LINCOLN. 

Spiritual thought:

I think the overwhelming truth that I have learned this week is that Heavenly Father's love is the most powerful thing we can share with others. In every interaction we have had, every lesson we have taught, and even in our church meetings, the focus was love, and how powerful it is to tell people that we love them, and that Heavenly Father loves them. I have been able to see that in action this week and I am so grateful to know that MY Father loves ME. I in turn love Him, and I know that is only because I understand how He feels about me. "We love Him, because He first loved us." (John 4:19) I just want you all to know that I love you. But more importantly, and more than my mortal words can express, I know that Heavenly Father loves you. That love is unchanging and unending, simply put, it is always there.How grateful I am for that love!

Have the best week and enjoy the 4th of July!!

xoxo, 

Sister Bengtzen