Study tip

One thing that has really helped in my PMG study is focusing on one or two topics and reading all the scriptures that are included, the scriptures are awesome!! Also read the one about the love of christ or christlike atttibutes. That is a great one!

Our district with hermano Hurtado:

CCM Week 5

Honestly the days are molding together.  The weeklong days have turned into day long weeks.  Yes they aren´t all the same, but that´s what makes it so exciting.  I have begun to read the spanish scriptures aloud and the english set to the side so I can understand it better.  The reason I have taken so much more interest in doing this is because I was talking to a missionary the other day and he told me this promise.  If you read the entire Libro de Mormon voz alta (out loud) you will be fluent in that language you will be teaching by the time you finish the Libro de Mormon. 

It was an interesting challenge but I got started. I started reading in about chapter 45 in the book of Alma and it's talking about the account of Moroni and all of the events that occur during that time, from when he was a general at 25 to the sons of Helaman (I am almost done with Alma). I have noticed a subtle change in my life.  My spanish flows just a little easier out of my mouth, I am recognizing and understanding more español, and I have had the Espiritú Santo more fully in my life. Not saying anything has gotten any easier, but that I have been more in tune with the Spirit and I have been more humble. 

I truly love you guys and I am extremely overjoyed to hear about that great things you are doing back home. It builds my testimony that my family is striving to do the things that I wish I could've been better at.  Continue to serve, love others, and most importantly... love God.  When you do this the Lord will pour out innumerable blessings upon everyone you are in contact with.  Just like Adia.  I know that lives will continue to be blessed and will see the goodness of God and his love for them in our lives. 

yo amo todos ustedes mucho. 

Elder Benson

P.S. I love to hear the piano playing everyday and I hope that I can have the opportunity to play again soon. Love ya Mom and thanks for keeping me on the piano!!

I live off of these things. 

My comp in a wheel chair from an infection in his ankle. We ride around a lot.

Favorite poem, "Soneto a Jesus Crucificado"

 This is a poem we had from one of our Tuesday night devotional. I love it so much and I recommend you read it.  It's a poem you can't find on the internet but it should be shared with everyone in the world.

Soneto a Jesus Crucificado

No me mueve, mi Dios, para quererte
el cielo que me tienes prometido,
ni me mueve el infierno tan temido
para dejar por eso de ofenderte.

Tú me mueves, Señor, muéveme el verte
clavado en una cruz y escarnecido,
muéveme ver tu cuerpo tan herido,
muévenme tus afrentas y tu muerte.

Muéveme, en fin, tu amor, y en tal manera,
que aunque no hubiera cielo, yo te amara,
y aunque no hubiera infierno, te temiera.

No me tienes que dar porque te quiera,
pues aunque lo que espero no esperara,
lo mismo que te quiero te quisiera.

Sonnet to Jesus Crucified

I am not moved, my God, to love You
by the heaven that to me You have promised
and nor am I moved by the hell so feared
To leave behind all that offends You.

You move me Lord, it moves me to see You
nailed to a cross and despised,
what moves me is to see your body injured,
Suffering, rejected, left to die.

What moves me, so, is your love, and in such way,
that even if there was no heaven, I would love You all the same,
and even if there was no hell, I would fear your beloved name.

To love You, You need not give in any way.
So —even if what I hope for becomes hopeless—
In the same way I love you, I will love you still.

Nosotros podemos todos (We can do anything)!!

Thanks for keeping updated from home. It really helps. I am never homesick during the week, but there are those rare occasions that I wished I could communicate with you more. Your testimonies will grow as you continue to do those things that you have now begun.  But the serpent is going to attack and going to make you weak at times. Doing the right thing, such as family scripture study, attending the temple, magnifying our callings, etc may seem difficult, inconvenient, or insignificant at times.  Let me tell you this. NEVER, EVER think that any calling, service, or scripture study isn´t worth your time.  Why isn´t it?  This is the one way we can truly be happy in this life, and it is the purpose of our lives.  yo sé que el Dios puede y tiene que bendice nosotros cuando nosotros seguir la ejemplo de Jesucristo. I love you guys so much.

BTW don´t send anymore letters until I get to Arizona, it takes 3 weeks for the letters to get here!!

Yesterday me and Elder Anderson did this thing called TRC where we teach someone from the City that only speaks Spanish.  These were real people that we were teaching, they were members or recent converts. It was way fun! The 15 yr old girl we had was a golden member so I was kinda hard to even teach her anything because she loved the Lord!! She did everything!!  We taught her a little about prayer, and mostly just got to know who she was, and here is the cool part... We had a full conversation with her and the words came so easily. It did start rough but the further we got in, it almost felt like I was speaking english with just different words. I didn´t even have to think about it! Yo sé que por medio de el don del Espiritú Santo y El don de languas y fe en Jesucristo. Nosotros podemos todos (we can do anything!!)