Week 66 Don’t Touch Your Mission President’s Hair..

Well what a week! We had our zone conference on Friday & focused on Charity which was great! One of my favorite topics & someone we all are continuously working on. We’re blessed to have the perfect example of Christ who shows us how to be loving unconditionally to all. If you’ve got problems w/ someone, just love em! Love really does overcome all things & softens people’s hearts. 

Wellll while we were taking our Zone Conference photos & went to do the goofy pic, Yo boi reached for President’s hair to be goofy. “Big mistake. Huge.” *The Office quote* This man was not having it one bit & I felt his wrath. I never seen him so upset for something...and I mean I kissed him on the cheek a couple months ago haha. Maybe he’s just had enough of my shenanigans haha, anyways, don’t recommend touching your mission President’s hair unless you wanna feel their wrath.

Michael Steffen’s baptism is this Saturday & were so excited for him! So is his family, his mom is so excited for his baptism. We’ve been seeing incredible growth in their family from Michael’s decision to be baptized! They’ve been coming to church as a family & staying for all 3 hours, also Brenda, Michael’s mom, said she’s gonna start paying tithing at the start of next year, which is huge for them!

We did service yesterday at this huge church where they were handing out food for Thanksgiving meals for families & it was non stop the whole time we were there. People had to stand in the line for close to 3 hours to get food. Brenda & her family were there & they had someone behind them who had waited 2 hours but had to leave cause she had work, Brenda was like you’re not leaving empty handed & gave the woman $50. Incredible to see the selflessness of those who don’t have much that just want to help. It hit me hard when she told me about that, excellent example of charity. 

We got to go on 3 exchanges this week & have 2 more this week. It’s always a great experience being able to learn from other missionaries, I’m very grateful for the opportunity I have to be able to learn from all of them!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! Much Love!!
Peace & Love

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator 

Zone Conference Pics

Lil Buddy I found helping someone move

The homie Elder Kambale

Doing service giving out food @ the church

Michael's sturdy board to prepare for his baptism

Week 65 Hypin Up @ Z’s Baptism

No encounters w/ any elk this week, therefore no bucking went down this week*

Our boi Zander was baptized on Saturday & I got the opportunity to confirm Zander a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints & give him the Holy Ghost on Sunday! What a special experience & definitely one I won’t ever forget. The baptism was so great, Zander kept talking about how good he felt the whole day & how he just couldn’t describe it but he felt so good. Kids are the best! Before the baptism we were dancing & just goonin around it was so fun.

We’re still teaching Michael & his family as we prepare him for his baptism on the 24th. Everything is going good there w/ him & his family all came to church for all 3 hours on Sunday! 

We’ve got lots of Part-Member Families we’re working w/ right now & lots of them are very close to making the commitment for baptism which is really exciting!

We have Zone Conference this week on Friday & it’s on Charity & Love some of my favorite topics so that’s exciting! 

The Zone has been doing great & working really hard which is great! Very proud of them.
Peace & Love,

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator 

Z’s Baptism 

Hypin Up w/ X

Outchea Flossin Pre Baptism 

Week 64 I Got Bucked

Literally I got bucked by a buck. We was out contacting some people in an apartment complex and there was a buck there so I went to go touch it and everything was goin good we was just chillin & then home boi just goes & bucks me haha! Elder Fronk & I we’re dying laughing, especially cause he got it on video so we could rewatch it.

Last week I had my last lesson w/ Kevin & got to say goodbye to him. It was such an incredible lesson! The Spirit was there & he felt it, the members there were bold, it was such a great lesson! He brought up baptism & said he didn’t think he was ready, the member there with us, Jordan, asked him if he had asked God about it yet. He said no. She asked him if it was cause he was scared of the answer he would receive, he said yes. She then bore testimony & he committed to pray about it. Before I left he gave me a book cause he said he knew I wanted to go into business & he thought it would help. I love & miss Kevin!

It was sad saying goodbye to everyone in Laramie & I miss them all so much! But I know I have made eternal friends there.

We’re currently teaching 2 different 9 year old boys & preparing them for baptism. The first is Zander Lavering. We teach him, his grandfather, & his younger brother Xavier who’s 7. They live w/ the grandparents cause their mom passed away from lung cancer about 5 years ago & their father is in/out of jail a lot. They’re the sweetest boys tho & we always have fun & teach me sweet dance moves after our lessons w/ them, love dem boyz! Zander’s baptism is this Saturday & we’re so pumped! He’s so excited too! Their grandparents weren’t active & the grandfather has been coming back into activity but the grandmother hasn’t & doesn’t sit in on our lessons.

The other is Michael Hillan. His family has been out of activity for a while but we’re working on getting them back! His baptism is scheduled for the 24th at the end of this month.

We had MLC on Friday & you already know your boyz pulled out a sweet comeback victory in the MLC Game. Shoutout to Elder Gillette my old MTC comp for carrying the team & comin in CLUTCH. 

I also got to see MY BOI ELDER THACKER who I ain’t seen in months! We got to see each other briefly on Transfer day & he was on his way to be a big DLT in Colorado!
Life’s good out here in Casper it’s just cold & winter ain’t even start yet. But we get free Little Caesar’s cause a member owns it out here so s’all good! My heart is full.
Peace & Love,

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator 

Kevin & I with the books we gave each other😁

Prior to the Bucking

Back to Back Like Jordan 96-97

Video of Bucking

Week 63 Laradise —> Casper

Transfers is tomorrow & I’ll be heading to Casper to serve in the Casper 7th Ward. I’ll still be serving as a ZL which will be a big change cause Laramie & FOCO are both the smallest zones in the mission but Casper is the biggest, so new challenge & much more ministering to be done, I’m looking forward to it! My comp will be Elder Fronk, I’ve served around him before & he’s an incredible missionary so I’m excited!

This week was an amazing week! We saw the coolest miracle! I’ve been with Elder Bishop the past week & on Tuesday we got a call from a woman named Janette, who is someone that Elders Bishop had been teaching her & her children. Her children were on Date to be baptized, however she dropped them & said she didn’t want her kids baptized a while ago. Then we got the call from her Tuesday & she said she wanted her kids baptized this Saturday! We were able to set everything up & make it happen! So both her kids Zach & Kira were able to be baptized on Saturday & Elder Bishop got to baptize Kira!

We met with Kevin & that was great as always, he came to church on Sunday & I was able to give a talk. He was so kind to me afterwards and kept complimenting me on it & when I told him I’d be leaving he told me how grateful he was I came into his life, I’m sure gonna miss him! We’re teaching him one last time tonight before I head out tomorrow. 

I’m gonna miss Laradise so much! The people I’ve met here are incredible & will hold a special place in my heart! They are incredible examples of our Savior Jesus Christ & have taught me so much about ministering. My heart is full. I love y’all & my Savior Jesus Christ!

The Last of the Laradites,

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator 

Kira & Zach’s Baptism

Loren Mac-Someone we taught & reactivated

Wyoming Bison

Yoboigator 

Bishop Bressler’s & his Family

Bingham Family

Never stop praying & reading the Book of Mormon!

Week 62 Solo Ryder

It was a hectic week but things are settling now! We had to take all the missionaries going home down to Colorado which went good. On the way back, Elder Shellman & I had to take 2 trucks back so we both drove separately & it was so weird but nice being able to be alone for the hour drive. Made me realize how much I miss driving alone haha. When we got back Elder Shellman went to Rawlins to fill in a gap there & now I’m with Elder Bishop till the end of the Transfer on Halloween. On Sunday we had to cover 3 wards & 2 started at the same time in different buildings, so we went on splits and were separated for like half the day haha. Man it’s been wild but just 1 more week like this.

Kevin has been doing amazing! The ward has been doing an incredible job fellowshipping him! On Thursday we had a study group meet at one of the YSA’s homes for the new Come Follow Me & Kevin came. We talked about increasing our personal studies & what we get out of it. Kevin asked great questions but afterwards he was able to meet Jordan, a girl who converted 4 years ago & they hit it off! He was asking her things & she did a great job answering them & relating to him it was so awesome! Then 

on Sunday night at our ward prayer for our YSA Joe, who we’ve been working with on coming back & is a RM, invited Kevin to come & he came! He was able to meet more members & our new bishop! We came late & he looked like he was already a member it was so cool to see! Him & the members were all laughing & joking with each other & talking about meeting up to play board games together, Kevin is great & the members are doing amazing with him!

We’ve also been teaching Austin & a girl named Loren. They’re both working on returning & becoming more active & we've been seeing amazing progress with both of them! The miracles we’ve been seeing are so amazing! I love serving in the YSA here so much!

We find out transfers Saturday, hopefully I can stay in the YSA for another transfer! Love & miss you all! Jesus Loves You!

Peace & Love,

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator

 

Anziano Odom off to Italy

Squad w/ Joe

Goodbye to the Homies Elder Oates & Elder Masaniai

WEEK 61 JOY IN THE JOURNEY

When we taught Joe, Loren, & another returning member named Nathan this week, we watched “Of Regrets & Resolutions” by President Uchtdorf  in October 2012. He talks a lot about finding Joy in the Journey. How we don’t have to live our lives looking to our next destination as the finish line and believe that then will come the joy. That happiness is accessible throughout the entire journey. It’s silly to think of listening to music only to be waiting for the very last note to end the whole time. Or going on a bike ride or walk w/ someone you love, only to be waiting for the end & failing to enjoy the beauty around you. I know that we can find everlasting joy & peace in this journey of life by seeking out Jesus Christ and striving to follow him, asking for forgiveness when we do wrong. I encourage you all to listen to that talk! :)

We had our zone conference this week and we got to do it at the huge ranch in Cheyenne a member owns and they have a huge mansion on their property that we did it on which was dope. We talked about Following The Brethren which is fitting cause we just had General Conference. ‘Twas good stuff. It was snowing while we were there and we got a couple inches of snow on Sunday and had a low of 0. The snow is beautiful I love it!

We had exchanges on Thursday so I didn’t get to teach Kevin but we did teach a guy named David who is actually Coi’s cousin if y’all remember Coi. He moved back to Riverton. Anyways we started teaching David and he basically from the start was like “I don’t agree with y’all beliefs but I also don’t really know them so I should probably at least hear you out.” Then as we taught it was amazing to see how humble & sincere he was as he came to learn about the falling away of Jesus Christ Church & the reason there’s so many different churches today. He asked if we could leave him with anything to study so we gave him a Book of Mormon & asked when we could come back! So we’re really excited about David!

This week is gonna be crazy cause we have 4 missionaries from our zone going home (1 is going to Italy - Anziano Odom) on Saturday and we have to take them down to Colorado on Friday. So there’s lots of empty places needing to be filled so Elder Shellman is going to go out to Rawlins which is about a hour and a half away and I’m gonna be with Elder Bishop until the end of the Transfer on Halloween. Should be a lot of fun trying to juggle 3 wards!

Much Love y’all! 🤟

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator 

Hauling hay for 3 hours is exhausting!

Zone Conference

Breezy

When Elder Halladay & I used sorcery on a Polaroid camera

Our Bishop’s deer he shot #wyolife

District P Day Squad 

Week 60 Hay King 👑

Y’all know that episode of The Office when Dwight is the Hay King? We were moving a ton of hay this week to help set up a maze for an event they were doing in Laramie & I kept callin myself the Hay King haha fun stuff.

 

Later in the week we went back and helped set up a ton of pumpkins to make a pumpkin patch. We moved 1700 pumpkins & had a ton of fun doin it!

Well this week surely was interesting. We no longer have Elder Odom with us, he received a special assignment and he’s with another companionship here in Laramie so we get to see him occasionally.

Conference was great, we watched the Saturday morning session with a lot of the YSA. There’s a YSA we’ve been working with named Joe who’s an RM & he’s been struggling lately, after Conference he told us he had something he needed to do. He took us outside and we poured out all his bottles of liquor. It was such a cool moment!

We also taught Kevin again this week & brought Joe along with us. He was able to bear powerful testimony to Kevin which was great! Kevin is doing good, he’s praying & reading The Book of Mormon despite his busy schedule, it’s great to see his faith growing every week! Kevin is so great I love that man! We’ll get to teach him again this Thursday.

I love & miss you all! Hope y’all have an amazing week! 🤟

Elder Bennett aka yoboigator