Training!!!!!

February 6, 2013

I’m a dad!!! Well at least in a good way haha. If you don’t know, missionaries talk about being born and dying in a city and your trainer is your dad. So Anziano Smith is my dad and now I have a son! Also I get to wear the trainer’s belt! Anziano Smith gave it to me, whose trainer gave it to him, whose trainer gave it to him. 4th generation training belt! Yeah! I’m staying right in Busto and Anziano Memmott is going to Verona to be zone leader with Anziano Droghei. We only did 1 transfer, but I’m still trying to figure out how I’m still in Busto haha. I will hit my year mark in Busto if I do both transfers with my greanie. Super crazy! I will be picking up my greenie on Thursday from Milano. That came as a complete surprise, but I’m ready to take on the task of training a new missionary. I’m a little stressed because I now have to lead the way, but I’m sure the Lord would not call me to do this if I could not handle it. I’m super excited! I don’t really know what I’m doing, but that’s ok no one really does haha. Thursday I go to receive instruction on how to train and immediately they will introduce me to my new companion fresh from the MTC. Sure hope he’s ready to role because the day he gets here we have to set a bap date and teach the restoration lesson without practice or planning or anything. We come home to drop his bags and then we are going straight to a lesson to teach! It will be rough probably since he will be so tired but I’m confident the Lord calls his missionaries when they are needed and that he will be able to speak the language to teach this really really important lesson. This investigator has been preparing for 18 months to be baptized and it’s do or die right now. I’m nervous as well because I’m the one who has to drive this ship now and I don’t really think I know the language perfectly. But what can I say? Ready or not here we come!

Well Busto has been treating me well, got cussed at, didn’t really know what it meant but I’m sure it wasn’t nice haha. Then we got the local police called on us, they pulled up and were like "hey are you ringing doors?" "Yes."... "ok" and then asked us who we were because they didn’t really care that we were knocking doors haha. We told them we were not Jehovas Witness which is who they thought we were since Busto is crawling with JW's. We told them who we were and they asked us for a pamphlet of the Book of Mormon because they were curious hahaha. They were chill and then were like, “well carry on, good day”. ”You too officer.” Busto gives me a ride on the bull every day of my life. I don’t think I’ve come away from a session of knocking doors or street contacting without being 100% confused at what in the world these people are saying. I understand perfectly what they are saying word for word in Italian, but what they are saying does not make sense. Man I just have to laugh, a lot, because every day is just a joy hahaha. Busto is the best and I welcome these next 1 maybe 2 transfers. It’s going to be like jeeping in Moab! Yeeee haaa hold on to your horses because it’s going to get wild!! We got a new missionary coming into this town, watch out here we come!!!

Have a good weeeeek and I love you!

Anziano Benson