Wednesday, December 16, 2009
A special message from Elder Bentz
Listen guys, Missions are DA' BOMB! you learn so much out here, no matter where you are. I know that. You have a lot of experiences that help build your testimony. It takes a butt-load of work, but there is no better feeling than going to sleep at night knowing that you have given it your all that day. Some days, you don't feel like that, others you do, but the main thing is that you give your best. The best is different for everybody, and only YOU can decide what YOUR best is, and at the end of the day, the Lord knows your best, and accepts it, but you have to give it first! If Ed and Bro. Painter are there, I hope they know that they are great guys, I don't care what everybody else says, and that all of you young men are LUCKY to have them with you. Examples like them helped me decide to go on a mission, and to try my best. Now, I am not saying I am the best missionary in the world, far from it, but to have this opportunity to serve a mission has brought me the best memories and experiences I have had in my life. It has brought me closer to the Savior, and truly to understand the doctrine, and to feel the joy that comes from helping others learn about it as well, in German nonetheless! We really don't know what we have as members of the church. It is truly the greatest message on the face of the Earth (next to the atonement of course) but really, I love the Gospel, and am thankful for the decision I made to go on a mission. If any of you are having trouble deciding to go, listen...Do this one thing, and you will know what you are supposed to do: PRAY. That is the cure-all to problems in life, when you really pray, knowing, and trusting that God is listening to your concerns, and that he loves you, everything else seems just like a task that can be accomplished, a problem that will take care of itself, and so on. The feelings I have when I pray are the best in the world, and I know of no better place in the world. I remember one time, Ed and I and I think it was Ed's cousin, Mike? anyways, We were hiking the Grand Canyon, South to North, and we started really early in the morning, like 4 AM. We were only about 20 minutes down the trail from South Kaibab, and there was a sharp switchback, and Ed and Mike were ahead of me, I paused to look over the edge, and observe the scenery. They went ahead a little ways, until I was alone, and could hear absolutely nothing. It was so quiet that I could seriously hear the beating of my heart. Out over the ridge, I could see the orange of the pre-sunrise coming up. As I stood there. I felt peace, I didn't have anything to weary my mind, and the sound of nothing was so awesome that I remember it to this day, and will forever I am sure. That feeling of peace and complete content and gratitude are what I feel when I really pray to God, and truly ask for his help, and WANT it too. It has taken a while for me to gain that kind of appreciation of prayer, but I am thankful that I have it, and I know that anyone can have it too, all it takes is Humility, Faith, and of course doing it! I love the church, and all of you. Auf Wiedersehen! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker
Baptism date set for Lauritz...prayers needed
Friday, December 11, 2009
I am wearing a scarf and nothing else...I am a Man
Oops...this is NOV. 24 email..read before last one
Bishop's home for Thanksgiving
Monday, November 2, 2009
Some things are better going down....
Thursday, October 22, 2009
In the end.....Mooker wins!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Where is everybody?
I'm a Lonewolf...
Wow, nice work Matt, it hasn't even been 6 months...DANG IT!!!!! PACKERS!!!!!! I hate the Vikings, and FAVRE now...I really hope they can do good this season. To answer the questions, The mission is going good, Our prospects right now, are few and far between, but they should be picking up in the near future. That Temple tour with our one investigator went really well, we will meet with him again tonight, the other one we had planned with that ''sweet'' family, didn't happen, so....such is life out here, maybe they will answer their phone tonight? we shall see. Hope everything was fun in Utah, and that you had a good time talking about how you will be a grandma and have another daughter in law soon, so many other mothers would be jealous of you if they knew...Shoot, this means that I am gonna be like the wayward son when I get back, struggling to find a wife, to live up to the standards that my brothers have set...whatever, I'm a lonewolf, I don't need no stinkin' girlz!...yet :) Well, thanks for the news, I will write you again next week I am sure...BTW General COnference was way sweet, we watched it in our church building, and they have it in english, so that is nice :) We went to FRankfurt last week, and met a lady in a shop who was from wisconsin, and she was a member, two oddities at the same time! I asked her how she feels about favre, not knowing if she liked football at all, and she said ''WE don't talk about that...'' I love wisconsinites, and AMericans :) Anyways, Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker
P.S. Does Melanie have any sisters?
HUMP DAY.....One year down
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sometimes email gets persnickity...
Wow, that temple looks sweet, thanks for the article too, that is awesome, that one lady, who didn't want it to be in her neighborhood, because it was too high says, '' you're gonna be able to see it from everywhere!'' HAHA that's the idea! I love Mormons. That will be way fun to see it under construction, and eventually visit it. So, this week was not too eventful for us, we had a couple lessons and that was pretty much it, alot of fallen out appointments, but it is ok, we came up with a sweet plan to work more with the members and last night we did it, and it worked out great. We had planned out originally that we would just come over and practice teaching to them, but decided that it would be cooler if they would be included in it as well, and we all took turns teaching and talking about it. It went well, because everybody felt like they were part of it, and it really helps the members to feel that they know what the stuff is that is taught, and that everyone can do it. It is stressed now in the mission to work more with members and get them excited about the work. So we are focusing on that a little more. Thanks for your prayers and everything you do in that endeavor. Today we are going to play soccer again with some ward people and other missionaries, and hopefully this one less active kid, but we shall see. Two Elders just cancelled on coming...lame, but oh well. So, I did get the package you sent. Maybe in the next letter you could send like a picture of the 4 of you together and send it, that way I can have one to show to people, and to carry it around in my scriptures, I do not have 1 with all of you in it at the same time, so that would be nice. Well, O should be sending off the camera cards in a little while...don't worry...I will. So, thanks for everything family, take care and know that I love you all. Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Let's put a wasp in the freezer...
Today we caught a wasp, and stuck him in the freezer, so that he goes unconscious, and he did, and we tied a string around him and flew him around, it was fun.
So, cool thing today, we were part of this movie that the area presidency is making for the new area presidency, so a few companionships in the mission were picked out to be in these different settings to record mission work, it should be on the church website at the beginning of October, so I will let you know about that, I wore this sweet tie for it, with a diamond in it, so yeah...Today was pday, of course, and we played the game carcassone, and it is way fun. Random...yeah. Cool stuff about St. George, and that is crazy that Timmy is now 5 foot 8, good for him. Awesome about the Packers, they are gonna go all the way...I can feel it. or maybe the Cardinals. Keep me updated nonetheless.
So, yeah, that is almost all I got for ya this week, thanks for sending the package, I will definitely be waiting for it. Until then! Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz
Transferred to Bad Homburg...
So, just a heads up. Our investigator Nathan Muldez, 9 years old from a part member family, is going to be baptized by his dad on Aug 22, and we just finished teaching him all of the lessons last night, and he will be ready for it by then. We made him a sweet gospel study guide to help him with knowing all of the stuff, it was kinda tough teaching him, but it worked out in the end. Off to new and hopefully better things in my new area, so yeah. Such is the life of a missionary.
My suitcases right now are huge and heavy, I am definitely going to have to lighten the load before next transfers, and for sure before I get home. By the way, I bought a hair trimmer the other week, and it is sweet, in like 5 haircuts, it pays for it self! gnarly! TEll dad that I love him especially, and that he needs to get the NFL package...just kidding, I did hear that Favre was really retired now? We shall see, poor guy.Today is the last pday I will have here in Wiesbaden, and one of the last times I will see Elder Curtis, he is leaving to go home, he is done, he is a way cool guy, and I will miss him alot, but so its, If I ever do go up to Utah again after I get home, I will have some visits to make to people up there. WEll, that's all I got for ya' today, take care family, and thanks for being ready to send pictures, even when I am not, I will send them before christmas, I promise, because all of my cards will be used up by then, and it will be time to buy another one! Alright I love you all, and tell chloe I say hi, and rub her belly for me. Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker
Missed Elder Bentz' last letter
Dang, I totally sent that last week too! oh well. Fun stuff about Matt having to get a job and stuff, and Steve doing all that, and David Snow having a baby! sweet, that guy is pretty cool. too bad about the NFL package being so expensive, I heard that Michael Vick is reinststed into the NFL, but nobody wants him.
Well, this week was pretty cool.we didn't have too much stuff to do, but I did go on a split, and we had fun on that, and last night went to a sweet member appointment, who later took us to the commissary on base, and I bought a lot of fruit roll ups, so sweet. Nathan is doing well, and tonight we are going over the 10 commandments with him, and other stuff, we are making a bunch of picture books, and stuff to help him stay focused, and to help him understand and retain everything, so it is going well, but it is way harder than I thought it was going to be to teach a kid. Stani did not come to church again, and has not been reading, so it is getting kind of tough with her now too. We did meet this one pretty cool kid on the street the other day, who decided to give us his information, and we can't really decide WHY he did it, our approach was not anything special, and he started out by saying that he does not believe in God, but we got his number, so we shall see, I hope it goes well, but nonetheless, we need to do some hardcore finding to get somebody new too. So pray for us in that respect. Well, I am trying to think of something else to write, and I even asked my comp if anything cool happened this week, but alas, I have failed...you will have to wait 'til next week to get something new. Thanks for writing family, I love you all, and am thankful for your efforts in remaining a family. Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz aka MookerTuesday, July 21, 2009
Plenty of Peanut Butter....
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
In the Neighborhood
Hey! Thanks for writing, the package has not come yet, but maybe later today or tomorrow, I am still anxiously waiting, and 20 years old :) So Adam Anderberg got married!? that is sweet, and so did Season, How did the reception go? The work is going sweet here. This week was pretty cool, just to highlight one of the experiences we had...Last night we were at a dinner appointment with some members, at their home, and after dinner, Elder Lechtenberg and I shared a couple scriptures about the elect hearing the Gospel, and being prepared for it (Alma 13:24-DC 29:7) After the thought we asked if it would be ok if we would be able to pray with them, that people in their neighborhood would be open to the Gospel, and willing to meet with us. We kneeled and prayed in their living room and Bro. Peay offered a prayer and it was a really great prayer. We told them that we would do doors in their area for about an hour, and that we would come back and tell them how it went. They agreed to it, so we left and did their street, the next street down, across another street and all the way down the left side of the last street that we were going to do, and before we were there, we received a phone call from the other Elders and they said that they needed some more help with taking apart and moving some furniture for one of their investigators, so we said that we would go and help after we were done with these doors in this neighborhood. At that last house, I said that we should probably head back now, since the members offered us a ride too, but Edler Lechtenberg said we could do a couple more. So we crossed the street and went to that first house. It was just a normal door approach, but the lady started asking about our ''dialect'' and we then of course gave her the whole two years thing and why we are here, and she said that she LOVES the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and would love to see them some day. We told her that we sing the same songs that THEY sing in church, and it would be great to hae you there. She was worried about having to come with someone, or not being welcome, but we told her that we love to have visitors, and we would actually come and go with her to church, cause they don't have a car, she said she would really like that, and we got her information, and we met the husband and their son too, and they were all really nice. I don't know if anything Fantastic will come of this or not, but I do know that people are prepared, all we have to do is the sifting to find them. After that experience, we ran back to the Peay's home, and told them, Sis. Peay was SO excited, and it was a really great time. The members loved it, and we were able to actually find someone in their neighborhood. All in all I would call that a miracle. The last doors, ya' gotta' watch for 'em. It was way cool, and it is times like those that make all of the rejections worth it. So yeah, I twas cool. Sounds like everything is going awesome at home, and tell Tausha hi, if she is still there. Take care everyone, and save some kringle for me! Tschüß! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker
letter to Auntie Sharon July 8, 2009
Auntie Sharon, Thank you for the money, it will definitely be put to good use, and you are right, it will all always be worth it, no matter what we do, that is the beauty of the plan of God for us. The only thing we have to worry about is keeping the commandments and living up to our covenants, which is a lot easier said than done, but hey, what else are we gonna do here? Nothing that's as important as those things, I know that. We have been having some really good success lately, and way sweet people to talk to and teach, So yeah, Everything sounds great at home, and a fun 4th of July, I love 4th of July breakfast, we had one here, by ourselves, with some other missionaries, and it was way fun, we sang the star spangled banner, and the pledge of allegiance, and had pancakes, and bacon. Fun. Well Take Care Auntie Sharon, I love you. Tschüss! Love Elder Bentz aka Mooker