A God of Miracles

Hey everyone!


St Mark 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

Mazatlan Sunset

I want to give my testimony of the blessings of Priesthood power. This week was very special because we had various opportunities to give Priesthood blessings. I am so grateful to have the power and authority of God and be worthy to exercise it. As Priesthood holders we have the same power and authority that Christ used to create the earth and all things. It's the same power that he confirmed to His Apostles more than 2000 years ago. I know that as I continue to remain worthy to exercise this God-given authority than I can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to be able to cast out devils and heal the sick.

Had to replace his brown shoes- thank goodness for Amazon!

This was a pretty good week! my companion Elder Sanchez sometimes worries me because he is not the go-getter type of missionary. It's been a challenge for him to take initiative and do things on his own like contact someone in the street, start a lesson, or update the area book. I've been trying to help him improve with these things. But we are getting along and having success!

2 Story Chapel

 We have been starting to have more lessons so we are excited. We have found some families that are really awesome and prepared to hear the Gospel. Knowing that Heavenly Father has prepared families to hear our message brings my great joy.

Perro Caliente~Hot Dog

This week I went on splits with Elder Cancino. He's from my generation and we arrived to the mission the same day. He is a super nice guy! He's my district leader as well.

Splits with Elder Cancion & pic with the Zone Leaders

We had a very special experience on Thursday when we were working in Albatros and we found the Tirado Family. They have a loved one that is very sick. All his family members are very sad because he now has one year being sick and is breathing through a tube. We were able to explain that we have to power and authority to heal this man according to the faith he and his family have in our Heavenly Father and that anything is possible with faith in Him. All the ladies who were present were in tears at the end of the blessings. I know that God hasn't ceased to be a God of miracles.


We still haven't found an apartment...But a plus for this week was that the weather has been starting to cool down finally! In the night we don't have turn up the air conditioning as much haha. But in the day it is still very warm! We didn't have any Thanksgiving dinner so that was a little sad :( Transfers are next week and I think that Elder Sanchez and I will stay another transfer.

Pizza on Pday!

I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for the prayers and support!


Elder Bennett

The Streets of Mazatlan

2nd Longest Beach in the World

Hey everyone!

Alma 31:33 Wilt thou grant unto them that they may have strength, that they may bear their afflictions which shall come upon them because of the iniquities of this people. 34 O Lord, wilt thou grant unto us that we may have success in bringing them again unto thee in Christ. 35 Behold, O Lord, their souls are precious, and many of them are our brethren; therefore, give unto us, O Lord, power and wisdom that we may bring these, our brethren, again unto thee.

Selfies on the pedestrian bridge

I would like to share this scripture with you guys this week because EVERYONE needs our Heavenly Father's help and the strengthening power of Jesus Christ as we live the Gospel. We live in scary times and more than ever we need to unite ourselves with a common purpose and faith so each of us can be direct, guided, protected and strengthened. We need to help those who are off the path of salvation and bring them back to Christ. We can use the power of prayer to bring forth miracles within our families and friends. We have a great potential as sons and daughters of God. We can do it!

Malecon

This week was pretty difficult but worthwhile! We are trying to visit all the contacts and references that we have so we can start the teaching/conversion process. We had great success this week in obtaining new investigators and have first lessons! On Thursday, we were especially blessed with new families and people to teach. We were able to find and teach by the Spirit, it was a fulfilling experience for me. 

Sunset

It's pretty funny how the people have reacted to the elections in the United States. Almost everyday I receive some comment about Trump, or that I'm racist, or something to that effect haha. I just laugh and keep praying that our world leaders and Trump will soften their hearts and be guided to know how to lead and help the people in these lasts days.


We are still on the hunt for a new apartment. We thought we found one, but it doesn't have air conditioning so we kept looking. We found a few more options that are more central to our area and so soon we will see where we will move.

The Streets of Mazatlan

I struggled this week with my English haha. There were a few opportunities to contact or talk to gringos haha. I struggled remembering some of the words that I wanted to say, it was pretty embarrassing! On Sunday, some Americans arrived to church and it was cool to talk to a family from Washington that was here vacationing. I was able to give my first talk here on Sunday about the Restoration.


My companion doesn't like to take initiative, so I have lots of opportunities to talk, make appointments, make calls, make plans and other important decisions. I know the Lord is preparing me in many ways and is helping me learn and grow from these experiences. I love my companion and we are working really hard so we can have baptisms! We had a mission wide fast on Saturday and Sunday with the purpose to fast for those who have baptismal dates and we can reach our goal to have 100 baptisms for the month of December.


Thanks for everything!! Have a great week!


Elder Bennett

The Importance of Keeping the Commandments

Hola a todos!!


Alma 26:22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance.

Washing clothes by hand

I really liked this scripture! This week as missionaries we were able to testify of the importance of keeping the commandments. In these last days, we are seeing lots of scary things taking place, but we can find security and peace in this crazy world as we live the Gospel and do as the Lord has commanded. Another great blessing that our loving Heavenly Father promises us is that we can come to know the mysteries of God. I love the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon everyday and come to know my Father in Heaven more each and every day as I learn to love and serve Him.


It's been a crazy week!


We have been super busy trying to look for a new apartment. It's been quite the struggle, our area covers the malecon, the part close to the beach, and so all the houses or apartments that we have found are really expensive. The max we can pay for rent is $3,500 pesos which is what we are paying now in the house we are renting. We finally decided to pray specifically to find a apartment that is in a safe area and the rent is more economic. And we found a great place to rent for $2,000. It was a great blessing from the Lord!

Looking for a new apartment

The house we rent is not in the area the pertains to us and so it's for that that we are looking. In front of us lives members of the church from a different ward than us and we always talk to them and they are really nice. There is also a school nearby. The sister told us that last Friday she was assaulted and 4 men robbed her car and $30,000 pesos so that was pretty scary.

Coconuts from Mazatlan

On Saturday we had a Multizona Conference with all the missionaries in Mazatlan. In attendance was Presidente Gabaldón and his wife and the Seventy Elder Paul B. Piper. It was very impressive the message that he shared with us. He didn't really have anything prepared but he asked us what our challenges are here in Mazatlan and he taught us from that. We talked about the importance of working with the members. The members play such an integral part in missionary work and it's something that Elder Sanchez and I are working on.


Right now we have a few investigators, but not a whole lot as we are still looking for new people to teach.

We went out for breakfast and I bought a torta de barbacoa and agua de jamaica

Today we went and played basketball for the first time and we played 2 vs 2 against a 73 and 58 year old and Elder Sanchez and I lost, haha- how embarrassing! The sun is still hot! The heat doesn't want to go away yet.

My silly compnion Elder Sanchez

Well,  
I hope everyone stays safe and God bless!


Elder Bennett

The Lord is Looking out for Us

Hey everyone!


Alma 21:16 And they went forth whithersoever they were led by the Spirit of the Lord, preaching the word of God in every synagogue of the Amalekites, or in every assembly of the Lamanites where they could be admitted.

Elder Sanchez & I

This scripture helped me a lot this week because the Spirit was able to help Elder Sanchez and myself to find new people to teach. I am reading in the Book of Mormon about the Ammon and his brothers preaching to the Lamanites. It is such a miracle that the Lord could convert the wicked Lamanites. Alma 23:6 "And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away."

Tacos, Chorredadas Y Tortas

This week was a roller coaster! This week we were able to contact 41 people in the street! That's a new record for me and my companion. We had a lot of good help from the members who went on divisions with us to split up and contact as many people as we could. We don't have many investigators right now so we were able to complete the first essential part of the Culture of the Mission Mexico Culiacan which is "Find to teach repentance" so this week we will complete with the next step in the process of missionary work!

Cathedral de Centro

I've have been facing some trials lately in the mission. Last night and this morning I was sick and vomiting which took out all my energy for today. We ate hand made tortillas de harina with chicken and hot sauce. So it has been a pretty long day today. Well the heat of Mazatlan still doesn't want to leave so all day we are walking and it is pretty tiring. We still haven't found any bikes or apartments in our area but I know the Lord will bless us for our efforts.

Albatros

This week I had my first interview with Presidente Gabaldón. I felt a lot better after to know I have the support and confidence of my mission president. I know he is inspired by God!

Making breakfast (note an actual stovetop instead of a single burner)

I forgot to tell an experience I had the second day in Mazatlan. We were looking for members who could help us find our way around and we were completely lost trying to look for the members house where we would eat. We arrived at a food stand and a man asked us if we had eaten and we said no and we were starving so the man bought us a torta which was such a blessing because I know the Lord was looking out for us that day and he made the way possible for us to eat that day.

Getting ready for church

I know that the Lord lives and loves me!


Elder Bennett