Happy 20th Birthday Elder Bennett!

Zona Bachilugato birthday celebration

Moroni 8:35 He aquí, os hablo como si os hallaseis presentes, y sin embargo, no lo estáis. Pero he aquí, Jesucristo me os ha mostrado, y conozco vuestras obras.

Hey everyone!

Pictures from last transfer

Well now I'm in Tanques Sinaloa! Here in a little pueblo where everyone has heard our message at least once and so we'll see how this goes. The Lord has me here for something! His plan is so wonderful and perfect!

Birthday surprise in Los Pinos

Things have been pretty interesting trying to adjust to the small town life again after being in Culiacan for a while. In Culiacan there is everything and anything and in Tanques there is NOTHING. There are a few little stores but nothing big. Coming here brought back lots of memories from my first area in Teacapan. 

It is beautiful here and the sunsets are amazing and you can see the whole night sky full of stars so clearly! But now is starting the rainy season. There's a ton of flies everywhere and the humidity is terrible! But it's a little less hot because we get breezes from the sea.

Self Explanatory

We don't really have any investigators and so we are in the process of looking for new ones. We will have to rely on lots of faith and prayer!

Good stuff

My companion Elder Cuevas has been super cool! I can kind of relate with him since my last companion is Dominican and so things have been smooth for the most part. He doesn't really like to work so much and isn't very obedient but I have been learning patience and love for him. I know that is something that the Lord want for me to learn well and help me be a better person.

Licking the knife

The members are pretty awesome too! There is a family here that makes up about 90% of the branch the Familia Ochoa-Lopez. A few of them have lived in Omaha before so that was cool! The church building here is the nicest of all of the mission and now I'm a witness of that. It was so beautiful the woodwork inside.


The food as well has been nice. Everything is made by hand and so it's been super good! The tortillas here have been the best so far. I will have to start running again I think...

Pday at a ranch near LaCruz

Tomorrow we are saying goodbye to Pte Velez and Hna Velez and meeting the new president. My companion and I will give our 2nd district meeting tomorrow together as well!


I love this Gospel. Salvation isn't easy but it's worth it!


Elder Bennett

(Jameson sent other pictures but there were technical difficulties and I couldn't download them at all.)

Goodbye to Some Good Friends in Los Pinos

Sunset

Alma 26:11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. 12 Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

His Dad Elder Moncayo left to go home to Ecuador

Hey everyone! Well, the Lord has some new plans for me in a new area with a new companion! I think I have a pretty big test ahead of me with Elder Cuevas. He's from the Dominican Republic and he's pretty courageous and speaks the truth always. 

New Companion  Elder Cuevas

Things will be interesting with him and in our area of Tanques. Tanques is a pueblo smaller than Teacapan in between Culiacan and Mazatlan. They say the town was started by a Mormon family and the church building here is the nicest in the whole state of Sinaloa. It will be very very different than Los Pinos but I know things will be alright.

New Area

The district meeting last Tuesday all the missionaries surprised me and gave me a cake and sang for me since my birthday is coming up and it was very likely that I will get transferred and so they were super awesome and threw a little party for me which was nice. Of course they slammed my face in the cake haha.

Birthday Celebration con  Zona Bachigulato

Zona Bachigulato

Being silly

Going to miss these guys!

It was a bitter sweet week because this was the last week with my son Elder Tineo. He has been a super amazing companion and I am going to miss him so much! We worked hard this week and we are still preparing our investigators for baptism! Rosa Maria will be baptized this Saturday, Pilar for July 2nd, and more to come!

Will never forget my son!

I said goodbye to everyone in Pinos :( It was sad, I love the members here and (almost) everyone is nice! I will truly miss the people that I have met here and want to come back to visit them again someday.

Friends from Los Pinos

Goodbye to some good friends

At the Gym

Friends at the gym

Favorite Families of Los Pinos

More favorites!

I'm grateful for the Gospel and the miracles that it brings in our life. I know that difficult things always come our way and these trials are inevitable, but suffering is optional. I know this Great Plan of Happiness that Heavenly Father has for us is so wonderful and perfect. I know the Lord has some things to learn here in Tanques and grow from my experiences with my companions. I love the mission!

Opening my birthday package (Little stinker- his birthday isn't till the 28th!)

Elder Bennett

Lichis

Sushi

A Warm Place

Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Me and my son

Hey everyone! I read this scripture (Matthew 25:23) this week that really made me think and itmotivated me. I hope that when I am judged by my Heavenly Father I want him to tell me these words. Having this knowledge and faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ I have the eternal perspective that I can return to live with my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ with my family for Eternity only if I use my own agency correctly and obey until the end!

Saying Goodbye to Melanie

This week was pretty tiring to be honest! I hadn't realized how much the sun affects us until I got here and we have to be very cautious and be prepared for the heat that is upon us now and that is yet to come. The tan lines are going strong haha! But I am actually very thankful to be a warm place rather than a extremely cold place.

At our casa

We had some cool experiences this week! We had divisions with our Zone Leaders and I stayed in Pinos with Elder Santamaria and we had some amazing lessons and one lesson in particular with a new investigator that we barely met last week. She is 25 years old and doesn't have any religious background and we felt the Spirit so strong! She answered every question that we asked and is studying the Book of Mormon! I know God leads us to these prepared people that are in need of the Gospel.

Ramon's Taqueria with Elder Santamaria

We were contacting and a man called out to us and he was there with his big family and we had a first lesson with him and his family there outside his house it was super cool but I was so nervous because I had never taught so many people in one lesson before!

Peter Piper's Pizza on P-day

Transfers are next week! I think I am going to leave Los Pinos- I now have 6 months here. I guessing I will go to the Baja California. Presidente Velez and Hermana Velez leave at the end of this month, right around the time of my birthday. It's a sad birthday present, haha but changes are good.

A little friend in our house

I'm so blessed with the opportunity to bring the most important message the world has ever known to God's people here in Culiacán México! I love this Gospel! I know it's difficult and we face lots of opposition, but I'm learning so much and I'm in the Lord's work so there is no reason to be bitter. I know Christ lives and He loves us!

Elder Bennett

9 months- the real blog post

The whole block lost power as Jameson was emailing on Monday.  He was able to get on for a few minutes on Tuesday after his district meeting (much to this mom's relief) to finish his emails.

Mosiah 2:41 And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.


Buenas tardes everyone!


This week I completed 9 months in the mission! Once again I'll say that the time is going by extremely fast. It feels like not too long ago I was stepping on the airplane to Mexico to start serving 2 years as a full time missionary. I truly have enjoyed these last 9 months and know these next 15 months will be easier than the when I started.

One of our contacts- Felix who is super hilarious

This last week began the hot-aired weather of Culiacan and it got up to 113 this week so it was sort of a tough week but also we had some of the best days in my mission.

The sun makes me sleepy!

I really have gained a firm testimony and knowledge of how this Gospel works and now have a different perspective that I didn't have before of the importance of LIVING this Gospel and applying it to our lives. Last Friday was one of the best days of my mission because we were completely in tune with the Spirit and we shared the our message by the spirit to the people that the Spirit directed us to. It was a day that I appreciated because and it was one of the hottest and best days.

Our last English class with student Melanie

Our investigadores are doing well. Pilar now has 3 attendances and is preparing for June 25 for his baptism and told us that he completed the Book of Mormon in one month and is going to read it again. And we have Rosa Maria with her baptismal date for 25 June tambien and Sandra Lara forJuly 2 but the 2 dates fell :*( They didn't come to church so we have moved forward their dates. And we challenged Abraham to baptism and he gave us a firm "Sí!"So that was pretty awesome since the sister missionaries that were in Los Pinos before challenged him and he said he wasn't ready but now is his time and he's ready. We have been having good contacts and new investigadores every week and its been fun and busy.

With Felix

I really do love my companion Elder Tineo! We have been getting along so well since day one and now his Dominican accent is starting to stick to me haha and I've learned a lot from him and enjoyed him so much as a companion!

Our good friend Juan!

We love Juan!

This week we were challenged to ask ourselves "Qué más me falta?" or What else am I missing? and I was asking my Heavenly Father the things I need to improve and immediately I received answers. I know God doesn't want us to keep doing the things that aren't in harmony with his laws and commandments and I know that if we remember who we are and ask Heavenly Father for our help, He will give it to us! Ask and ya shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.     

Tomateros- Culiacan's baseball team

I know Christ lives and wants us to apply His infinite Atonement so we can be perfected in Him and be worthy to return to the presence of His Father one day.


Elder Bennett

Future's So Bright...

Not sure what happened this week- but I never got Jameson's blog post that he typically writes.  So I will just share a bit of his personal email to his Dad and parts of my "conversation" with him. The good news is that I did get pictures of his smiling face and got to hear that he was "hot, tired but good."

The Church just recently changed policy that missionaries can wear sunglasses and hats as a form of protection from sun exposure.

Future's So Bright

"Here it is now starting the extreme heat, this last week 3 days it got up to 113 degrees and the hot air is just the killer. Its been pretty strong the heat but we of course need to continue to work and be diligent so we can have miracles in our area."

"This week was más o menos for us. The heat was strong and that made us a more tired but we had one of the best and complete days of my mission on Friday. We were completely in tune with the Spirit and we were focused the whole day to the Spirit and we found the necessary people we needed to find and had good contacts and we were able to discern the needs of the people with the Spirit. It was the coolest day. I know the power of the Spirit is real and it is necessary for this work. We don't always have days quite as good that, but we always strive to maintain the Spirit and be worthy of it."

Picking ciruelas- a small juicy fruit that he says is similar to a peach

"There has been a few problems in the mission and a few people went home and other problems so its kind of a mess right now but it helped me realize to be more obedient still and be a better person and example. I'm grateful for these experiences, I know they will serve me well for the rest of my life. Now with 9 months in the mission the time is going too fast!"

Miss this smile!!!

Con Familia Gavia  who he says is very good to him and his companion