Semana 9 in Tarapoto ( March 10, 2014)

Just another week in paradise, hope you're all still alive up there in the frozen tundra! This week was a bit of a struggle, but we are trucking through. A new Colombian family moved into the branch and they are really great, the husband named Anderson got called into the branch presidency, so now our branch presidency is more than just one person! So that's exciting! It's great having leaders come in to the branch to help strengthen the members.

For p-day (preparation day) this week we went as a zone to this place called Isla Bonita.  It was way pretty. We hiked about 45 minutes into the jungle, climbing up mountains and whatnot. Everything is so green and pretty and once we got way deep in,  there are people that live in huts, very remote from the city. They just stared at us as we walked by with their white face paint and machetes. It was one of those "Wait I'm actually in the jungle right now/I'm scared" moments. But they were really nice! Isla bonita was really pretty and we had fun/got eaten alive (by bugs not the natives).

We had very few lessons this week and are kind of in the middle of a drought as far as references go. But it was cool this week, we were visited by a member of the seventy, Elder Scott Grow. Our training with him was awesome and we had a multi-zone conference in Tarapoto with the missionaries from Yurimaguas and Moyobamba as well. We learned that we aren't here to baptize, we are here to convert. And we aren't here to convince people to be converted, we are here to find the people who are prepared to receive the gospel.  One thing I learned this week is that the difference between a good missionary and a great missionary is the Holy Ghost. If I am working every day, from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm without stopping, it's natural that I'm going to get tired. What Elder Grow reminded us is that if we are constantly searching for and praying to have the spirit with us, we will have that energy to keep us going.  We will have the desire to talk to more people, to share more, and my thoughts won't be focused on myself and my needs--when I truly have the Spirit with me, I am thinking about the needs of the investigators, my companion and those around me and I love that. I love that we have the power to change our own nature for the better through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that if we all try a little bit harder to have the Spirit with us as we pray and read the scriptures, every decision we make will be a little bit easier. Our attitude will be a little bit better, and we will all just be nicer, more loving toward others and more selfless. I'm grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost and I truly can testify of the strength that I have received daily since the day I was baptized.

Love you all!

Lauren Benyo