Best. Week. Ever.

Dec 30 2013
this week was like last week...only a little bit better. mostly cause i got to speak to y´all.... but other than that it was sorta tough....Elder Cuevas was sick when you saw him the other day. he was sick for three days so i was there in the house for three days straight. best. week. ever. let´s just say staying with a sick companion is great and not great at the same time. The sick one gets to sleep all day. I CAN¨T SLEEP UNLESS ITS TEN THIRTY AT NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! so i just sorta looked for personal revelation. it was a good time i guess. i learned a ton and i felt like i was a little bit closer to knowing God. Why? because as i learned from a good friend this week the tough times help us grow.
so i decided to ask My Father the first day of my companion´s illness WHY?. and i got an answer. i had to learn some things. so i did =) I listened to john Bytheway and Elder Holland as they explained and helped me see what i needed. i like the whole ask and ye shall receive seek and ye shall find thing... that sounds borderline weird....but anyway its way true. all we have to do is ask with our hearts and He will answer. I know it.
Good news is that elder Cuevas is doing fine =) he is almost 100 percent himself again. but we only worked on Saturday...and we had a ton of success. taught some new people.
C. and B.
They are family too a member and we just barely started teaching them. C. went to church Sunday. They both have a catholic background and have tons of questions about the saints and Christ and tons of other things. But i think its their time.
R.
Girlfriend of a member in our ward. SHE WANTS TO BE BAPTIZED:) wantsto get married first.... no biggie. she went to church even though she was sick and is progressing slowly but surely...

cool stuff right...
suggestion. this year make one or two big goals, nada mas. anything more is way too much... and we all know that half of the goals we make are....just....there...they actually never happen. don`t make that kind of goal...
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!
Elder Ben Williams

The Greatest Gift Ever

It was a difficult week really. but that doesn´t bug me. i´m pretty sure that hard weeks are a test. in fact i´ve got a goal to read El Libro de Mormon en tres meses. today and nefi told me that the Lord lets tough stuff happen to us to let us show how faithful we will. be so i just sorta said "get thee hence satan(or as elder hyde says´kick satan in the face) " and get to work. so that´s what is happening.... so um letters are in process....i feel super bad cause i have not dedicated time to those things. so I think i will just sorta repent and then get them to you all one day.... soonish. like next year(haha)

anyway um yeah. i got a bad case of the "its Monday, what do i write”s. that is a missionary disease. it comes and goes.

i think i´ll just talk a little about some people.....
1. M she has told us the past 2 weeks she was going to go to church. she also said she would go to the ward activity... and she just
doesn´t. no bigs. but it is annoying when people commit to do something and then don´t. I just hope she will understand what she is missin out on.

2. R. is not from our area. osea, she doesn´t live in our area. but she is always here in the area cutting hair(her job). its tough to teach someone who has customer´s and all.

3. I. and C. C. is a less active member.his wife is not a member. they are open to listen to us and they went to church on Sunday...yesterday.... they have potential.... just pray that we can keep the Spirit in the lessons

ok so that last phrase sorta reminded me of some stuff. Please pray for myself and Elder Cuevas so that we can teach by the spirit. I feel like there are moments that we start relying on our own words and forget that we cannot teach unless its by Him. its touch sometimes but it is so worth it. I think that´s what´s happening to me. I´m trying to apply so much at the same time and forgetting the Spirit. grave mistake on my part. wow. that was nice to recognize. thanks for listening to me everyone =)

Did i tell you that i don´t feel like Christmas is on Wednesday? i feel weird. i know what time of the year it is but its like i don´t want to accept it.... no biggie though.

can i ask something special from you all? will you pray for me to become the missionary i should be? will you pray that i can change whatever necessary in me so that i can truly become converted? that would be the greatest Christmas gift ever.

God lives. He is Eternal and Perfect. He loves you and I more than we can understand. We are nothing in comparison to Him but that doesn´t mean that we aren´t everything to Him. He sent the Savior to the earth because of that great love. And that is the greatest gift ever. I can´t think of anything that is worth more, there is nothing that compares to what Christ did for us. No one should think of Christmas without remembering what He did. I love my Redeemer. He has given me the perfect example to follow, and even though i constantly fall short i know that through Him i am being perfected. That is the greatest gift ever. the best part is that it never ends. I know that He lives. Don´t forget the reason we even celebrate Christmas.

I give you all my love (all that i own) to each and every one of you. Merry Christmas=)

Elder Ben Williams

Barrio El Sol...the greatest place on earth.

if you aren`t here.....i am sorry....cause its like the best ever =)
seriously, what everyone told me about this ward is almost true... it has a lot of potential. the ward is huge. the capilla is beautiful. . In the most "dangerous" part of queretaro i felt like i was walking in a park. can you say paradise?
anyway.... i think i will start with my companion, what i love here and what elder Johnson told us =)
Elder Cuevas is CHILENO!!!!!!! he is the only elder from Chile and seriously i think he is the best elder i have ever had the honor of being the companion of.... he is really funny speaks english better than i do, plays volleyball sings and is basically the best. He has 10 months in the mission( i have one month more than what he has left...hope that has meaning) We have had a fun time together and i`m excited to get to know him even better..... More random stuff about my companion. he is the youngest of 3 and has two older sisters. he falls asleep faster than anyone i know and is addicted to tops(the spinning kind...)
Mom asked me for something i love to see every day..... that is seriously a tough one..... i miss the cholos! it was fun to here them yell things at me in english(not really but i do miss them) i love seeing tacos. that sounds funny but in the whole physical aspect its just fun..... they always have tacos de a pastor(look it up cause i don`t have pics of that yet... pero soon don`t worry....)
but there is something better. i love seeing the faces of the people we teach change as we teach them. I can`t explain it, or at least i can`t do it well but lets just say its like lehi when he was describing the fruit of the tree of life.... they sorta glow. best. thing ever.
ok what else.... Elder johnson talked to us and the conejos del barrio about refererrals(wow....that just look s wrong...) he said that is impossible for us to enter into a home of whatever person without having done 2 things before leaving. 1 teach something by the Spirit. 2. gotten the name and direction of someone new to teach.... he said that members don`t need to prepare their friends so that they can receive the Restored Gospel. We(missionaries) just need to know them. We need to be in contact with them and start teaching asap. he taught that missionaries are only in a ward to help the ward with missionary work. We(members) should do eveything possible to fill the planners of the missionaries with names and dates to be able to teach people. in a word it was splendid =) I feel like every time i talk to someone that there is a connection that we make that i try to use to help not only that person but many, many others in the same instance. I feel like the Hastening is rolling on and that we have a great responsibility to keep it going =)
so what else ....
um. i think i will talk about the people we are teaching sale?(that is not sale in english. its like ok in spanish, sale?)
R
she is a barber(does that even apply to women?)
she contacted my companion a week or two ago. she says that we have things in our gospel that whe had never heard before. she had questions that literally go right along with the restoration.

A
she still hasn`t gotten an answer about the truthfulness of the gospel but we are helping her recognize how God answers prayers....

M
he is the grandson of a member. he is 16 and was about to be baptized but his parents said no.


F
is a dentist. her dad just died and she has known church members 5 years. we haven`t been able to teach her because she is so busy with her work =)


that`s all folks gotta go! I love you and you know It =)

Elder Ben Williams

Changes

Um.... so i`m in Queretaro. Barrio El Sol. Elder Cuevas my companion. We are Zone Leaders. And i`m still in shock. Anyone else confused? cause i am and if you wouldn`t mind i would love for someone, ANYONE to explain.... but i`m not complaining. Queretaro is beautiful. Elder Cuevas is great. our area is awesome... it just hasn`t sunk in yet.......... ummmmmm. yeah.
so anyway this week was the fastest ever in my life. i think i blinked and it was over. kinda crazy..... but i guess you could say its normal too. the longer i`m here, the more i feel like this is my life and i`ve never done anything else. Fun right=) um also time is going faster. but yeah..... where was I? the week.... right. um ok so we prepared Jenni for her baptism saturday and it was awesome. and that`s all i remember....
wow.
Oh, also Elder Hyde is going home.
Some Guy spoke to us and told us in perfect English that he was a member of the church and that his mom would love to talk to us. (another reason we don`t knock doors.)
I learned that I am really aggressive in Spanish. that was a pleasant surprise(not really pleasant)
I have a Stocking.
I am rich(in blessings $ is no problem when the Lord looks out for you=) )
and yeah....that`s about all i have to say.... so um pray that i will snap out of it and be able to El Sol into the best Zone in the World. oh and also that we as a mission will be prepared for the coming of Elder Johnson on wednesday. He`s a Seventy =) I`m way excited to hear him speak. its gonna be fun!!!!!!
I love you all!!! I know you are all doing just dandy, so keep apresurando la obra!
Elder Ben Williams

Guess what I made?

so um what`s new? uh.... WE HAD THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!!!!! pretty much one of
the funniest things ever. we asked President if we could have thanksgiving dinner(not really dinner seeing
as we ate at about 12....) and he said "Sure". so uh yeah. some how i got voted "chef" and so i tried to
remember how to mom makes turkey. I will say this, it was delicious=) i will not take any of the credit
cause i was praying the whole time that i wouldn`t burn it. but whatever. and i made gravy. I am like pro at
that anyway so like no big deal but it was fun=) it was fun to be with part of my family here in Mexico
awhile...


what else happened this week? i can`t remember if i told you all about C and her family....i will just tell you anyway =) but i sort of have to talk about P first... He`s our landlord and an investigator to the church( he is from another area, de hecho he is the elders who live in our house`s.... i can`t do english today i hope that made some sort of sense....) where was I? oh right so P is in love with something called Herbalife and he invited us to eat with him there. C owns the little herbalife store that is closest to us . he introduced us to her and basically said" you should invite them into your house. what they teach is life changing" something like that. She was like" cool, When can you com by" do you see why we don`t have to contact or knock doors here? (we contact and knock doors if we feel by the Spirit we should...so we still contact a little each day but its not huge....) anyway, we took her and most of her family on a tour of the Church and it was awesome! but her husband is super hard hearted. I love the guy but he does not let the Spirit work in him! let me say this: we got into the Salon sacramental(MOM! what is that in English?) and i seriously felt a wave of the Spirit Hit us. Elder White felt it too. C, her husband and one of her daughters also felt it. And J shook it off. He said that`s how ever place that is dedicated to God is.....NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! any way please pray that he will soften his heart and that he and his family will come to church....

J did not go to church this week. However, she can be baptized this week if her husband allows it. so uh... pray that he will allow her to make a covenant this week =) . I don`t want to be biased or anything, but she is incredible. I`ve already
told you about how she`s changed. I know that change is real when Elder Hyde( who was with me on sunday. we did divisions....) said" Elder, She is so beyond ready." Then he asked, " does she ever stop smiling like that?" Yeah so um.... I love that. anyway pray that she will be baptized this week...



that`s about it... I love you all! Hope Thanksgiving was awesome!

Elder Ben Williams


These are my mission roomates, (and companion)


After basketball

Elder Hyde is going home so we celebrated at Chili's

This week was spectacularly Spiritual

I `m sorry i wrote in Spanish again. I just Decided to write a lot to President Because this week was spectacularly Spiritual .... Like every week ... only better. i really hope you can use Google Translate for all this ... if not .... sorry.
As google translated...
So many things happened this week that I do not even know where to start.
My interview with you was a key moment in my progression as a representative of Christ. for a long time I have felt that my relationship to God was something missing. I found my answer of what I really lacked in Ether 2 and 3. Now I see that God will speak to me. That's for sure.

The advice helped me see that I have a lot of potential, and I'm living in a way of what I can achieve. and this is already changing.

Elder Crouch divisions told me Thursday (sorry for jumping from one penamiento to another) that I have to do more with less. This phrase struck me and I am applying.

Saturday I went with Elder Hyde in Divisions. We went to a hospital to give a Blessing to a man who is not a member. When we got to the hospital, Elder told me that he felt that he knew the family of the man she went. It was special to see the faith of a man member. When we started with the blessing, God was talking to pray with all the faith that I have to heal R. (the patient) President, I have never felt so sure that God did what we asked. He was healed.

After this wonderful experience I asked Elder Hyde what I can develop the faith to do the same.
He taught me something I will never forget. He said, "The Faith of the area and this area, cannot be more than yours"

I know what I need. I know I have much to change. And I love it. I am applying

so um .... yeah. i love the mission. I will not come back the same person .... and that is awesome.

uh what else ...

J went to church. her husband is really hard to teach. I still don `t know if I he believes what we teach or not. J says he does. we are Praying That his heart will be softened.

J.J. went to church for the first time ever! WOOHOOO! We pray That he will understand The Importance of being there and will receive the answers he needs.

L. is moving to Chihuahua.We pray That She will stay with the Gospel When She does.

So yeah .... I love you you all more than you can tell and i hope all is well ....


Elder Ben Williams

Life as a Zone Leader

Basically this was a strange week.......but not really. i guess it would have been normal. it just had like, a couple bumps in it.....
You are probably thinking what bumps? so im just going to explain
1. Elder Hyde!!!!!!!! he is by far one of the Elders that i have the most respect for in the mission. He is also completely and totally insane... and i`ve figured out that most of the best missionaries in the world are like him. He is super Direct, hilarious, spiritual, and driven. pretty much he is incredible. and he and his companion currently live in our house. He was president`s assistant until recently and so he basically told president his old house was ugly and that he and his companion could fit in ours.... awesome right =)

2. I went to Queretaro. Um, basically every non-mexican who got here in november of last year had to go and sign Visas. It was pretty nice to see all the people that got here at the sametime as me. but it was also weird to sort of recognize how old i am in the mission. Some of the younger missionaries are starting to call me one of the "more experienced" Elders in the mission. and i just think " Uh....excuse me but i totally just got here...." and then it hits me. I have been a missionary, a set apart representative of Christ for more than a year. SCARY!

3. so um what else.... oh i titled this the Life of a Zone Leader right? that`s cause the past two days we have been in the Hospital.....








So is anyone dying to know why? was that enough space to make you feel like that was a cliff hanger? do you realize that i am stalling for dramatic effect with questions you don`t need to answer? isn`t this awesome?

Ok. Elder A, a member of the Zone called us while we were eating on Saturday. he said he was on his way to the Hospital and that he would tell us if he needed anything. basically, we gulped down the food and asked the members to give us a ride to the Hospital.
when we got there the people told us that Elder A had some kind of problem in his appendix and that he needed to go through surgery, now. so that was like a split moment decision. We talked to President, he gave the ok and boom! Everything was over in a flash. We stayed with the Elder while he recovered from surgery Saturday night, Sunday, and most of today. I "slept" on the floor and it was really a cool experience. we talked to the elders there and tried to keep from being bored.... it wasn`t too easy though.

Basically, with all the stuff we did this week we worked all of three whole days here in Leon. And we did a ton =)


J is so awesome... but she didn`t go to church again... it may have been because her mom was in town. Regardless, she says she is struggling to get an answer about baptism but that she likes what we teach.we pray that She will receive her answer.


M. she is another person that has gospel potential(which in the words of Elder Hyde, is terrible... why? cause that means she isn`t what she needs to be NOW) so we pray for her to get to her potential

so i figured out something this week.

Eternal Life starts(...or better started)now. we can choose (as it says in 2Nephi2:27) to be eternally happy or eternally miserable now. Make your choice. There are no other options.

I love you wonderful people!

Elder Williams