Ben 6/3/13

***Here is Ben's Email. I will try to attach a few pictures of his birthday dinner. He tells a funny experience and includes his email to his mission president at the end of his email. Reply if you have any questions.***

Hey family!!!!! 

I LOVE YOU GUYS TONS!!! Hope all is well in Zion! I had a great birthday week because the work went well this week. I am so grateful for your package and for everything you guys do for me! I LOVE the calendar!!! I flipped through it a hundred times! It reminded me of when you guys gave me my blanket. That was the moment it really sunk in I was serving a mission. Wow. It's crazy to think I'm 19 now. I took some time to contemplate the last year. It has flown. Last birthday I was on my Senior trip. I thought about how blessed I am to be on a mission for this birthday. I'm grateful that my family is happy at home and I'm grateful most my friends are in the mission field now. There is a power felt that comes with that. I'm certain the Elder Smiths are thriving in the MTC!

The Gradeless and the Byron's had us over for dinner on my birthday. The first day I was there I saw this G decoration in there house and said something like "I'll have my wife put one of those in my home someday" or something like that! They gave me that and a brand new backpack! The one I came out with is ratty like my pants and shoes. It's super nice so I am grateful.

OK so this week was a trip. hahaha there is just some things that I wish I had a video camera for! So miss Loretta is our newest investigator! "PRAISE DA LAWD". Yes this week I broke the race barrier. We found her doing service for Debbie and we offered to do some service for her. "Actually I do has somethin y'all could help me with right now. I got a home out in stuckey with some fire damage, maybe you could come help with the heavier stuff." OK sure we can give you a couple hours Saturday morning. Long story short..... This trailer was burnt to the ground!!! So basically this old black lady, my fearless companion and I spent the first half of the day clearing out an entire house. It was good to serve, but while they cleaned up the ashes, I used a sledge to split walls and drag them over to the dump. Walls. It reminded me of the youth conference project we did a few years back. That was a lot of fun. In the rubble I found some picture frames and a sword she said I could have. As we got close to finishing, she broke down in tears and she was just like "thank ya Jesus for my two Angels" over and over. She offered to pay us and stuff, but I was just like Miss Loretta if you would let us come share with you in the word tonight that would be more than enough! So long story short we set up for dinner and appt. w/ her I also sneakily invited over her neighbors so they could hear the restoration as well! "ELDA G you finna invite too many people" OK just to backtrack a little, Miss Loretta is pentecostal/baptist background. She claims to be a prophetess and have the priesthood and so do all of her friends. So fast forward to that night, we got in a couple lessons and got to dinner, picture how it looked from my perspective, lookin out at a table of 8 black people and... Elder Dixon.Hahahaha I knew something would go down. basically the dinner was great and then we started talkin' gospel. They basically just say (yell) random stuff about Jesus and the rest say "AMEN HALLELU, PRAISE DA LAWD" I couldn't help myself. Minister Franklin, he starts preachin about the dispensation of the fullness of times and I'm just like "CAN I GET AN AMEN". It was just like one of those collect a life tile moments! I tried to blend their style of worship with ours. "PREACH TO US ELDA G!!! GO ON NOW!!!" They were loudly feeling the spirit while we taught the restoration. I would pay thousands for it on video. Long story short in miss Lorretta's closing prayer she said "Forgive me Jesus, I repent for seein' those white boys on the bikes and not lettin' em preach to meh" Minister Franklin pulled up behind us yesterday as we were biking and said "Praise God I know we in each others paths for a reason" "Do y'all really do this all day?" I just stole a line from Andy Sr. and said "Y'all know we roll deep"

Aida's kids also went to the temple for the first time and had a good experience. Aida is really stagnant. Andy Sr is dragging his feet. We're working on a lot of Part member families right now. The work is good! We got caught in the rain a lot this week! It's a blast! I'm glad the awesome tie you send me is polyester (rain proof)! 

Matt I watched the video of you jumping off Ivin's rez!!! You're just like me man! I'm happy to hear about your spiritual growth.

Nate, hope you had a good time at EFY!!! 

Love you all. I encourage you to read or watch the conference addresses daily. Cooks on peace, Hollands on faith, Uchtdorf four titles, “This Is My Work and Glory”By Elder M. Russell Ballard, “Come unto Me”By President Henry B. Eyring. Please do your part for the missionary effort at home. Us missionaries need members to step up and fill our planners so we don't waste time knocking doors. We need to teach and baptize. You help 100 times more with a referral than a meal. The Lord has prepared the members to hasten the work and not just the 18 and 19 age missionaries. The work won't move forward without more member work. Our work won't move ahead of yours. Count it as doctrine. 

I love you guys so much! thanks for everything! Have some fun for me, Flips some tires for me, pray for me!

ELDA G

***His Email to his Mission President***

President Hall,

1. I'm doing awesome!!! Lovin' life! Missionary work is exceptionally exciting for me lately. Trying to keep the enthusiasm in the work. I have been moved by conference addresses and my understanding of the gospel deepens every day that I get out of my spiritual comfort zone.

2. My companion is great!!! We are fine tuning things and trying to improve. I've learned a lot from Elder Dixon and he is much more than I deserve.

3. The area is coming around. We are working extensively with a family that is definitely what you would refer to as "elect". I love these people! We are starting to see some fruit from all of our part member work. Trying to keep the balance of finding as well. It's a great place to be a missionary. I don't know how pertinent this is, but we have developed a large connection by serving African American people in the area, and are breaking some huge barriers and turning it into a teaching pool, I know our dark skinned Elders are precious, but they could definitely help the work in a culture that is prepared for the gospel.

4. The ward here is extremely loving, but maybe not catching the wave of member missionary work. We are trying to classify the members into two subgroups. 1. Members who are capable and willing to do missionary work, but have low resources( social circles to find) and 2. Members who have resources but are Incapable or unwilling to do missionary work. We are trying to pair these two types of members up to be a team, but are still in phase one of our plan. These brethren in this ward magnify their priesthood in a way that humbles me to rub shoulders with them. Their home teaching efforts have brought our part member efforts full circle and are turning them into a teaching pool. There are saints here in Clermont.

5. Our investigators are awesome. We have that family I mentioned earlier, awesome people. We have all the part members, they look really optimistic. Then we have about 6 other investigators who are going to decide this week whether they are wheat or tares.

6. My family is awesome! They are having an awesome summer. I love them more than anything and pray for them several times a day. I am so blessed to be strengthened by a father who magnifies his priesthood and serves God and others and a mother who keeps her covenants and has great faith in Jesus Christ. In doing so they have called down the powers of heaven on our family. That power reaches me here and upholds me beyond my own strength. I'm so grateful for my brothers who are good examples to me and I pray and fast for them often.