Ben's Mission

The Shelley OGs - Elder Trezise, Elder Banks and Elder Smith Shelley crew back together MTC companions - favorites Working hard This week Elder Bednar came and spoke to Elder Trezise's mission.  He said it was amazing.  Afterwards he was able to shake Elder Bednar's hand and get some pictures with his favorite missionaries.  It was a good week.  Here is his letter: Hello! Sorry I am sending this so late! Crazy day! But this week was amazing! We put two people we are teaching on date to be baptized in October which was awesome! But of course, the highlight of my week was the visit that we got from Elder Bednar. He came in, and starting cracking jokes, which caught us all of guard, haha. But, when he started speaking he spoke about how we are agents and not objects, and we all have the ability to act. With that said, he asked us different questions, mostly about spiritual impressions we received while we studied some of his talks. One pe...

Elder Trezise and Sis Contessa Hello family! This week was fantastic! To start off, on Wednesday we had our zone conference (it's a huge gathering of half the mission that meet together once every 6 weeks). Elder Hathaway of the 70 was there, and gave a training on how to be converted to the Lord. It was awesome. Afterwards I got to lead a discussion about how to get people we're teaching to go to sacrament. It went really well, and wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be.Then on Thursday we had interviews with President Hurley, and that was super awesome. I love that man. Friday we had a zone fast to find new people to teach. Elder Luekenga and I walked around for 4 hours, and found 2 new people! Saturday Elder Luekenga had a baaaaad cold and looked like death (he still has it). So I basically worked out all day while he phased in and out of sleep. Sunday we went to church despite his sickness, and there were two members who brought their non-member f...

Elder Trezise and Elder Nelson (who came back to visit) Elder Trezise and his companion Elder Lukenga I'm doing really good! This week has been awesome! We had a zone council this Wednesday, which is where our whole zone got together to discuss what struggles are going on, and council together on how we can best overcome those struggles. We talked about how we don't have anybody on date to be baptized in our area. We ended up putting someone on date later that day, and it was awesome. He talked to us about how he wants to make changes in his life and he feels good whenever he goes to church. It was awesome.  Anyway, I don't have a ton of time, so I figured I'd send you this email and you can forward it on to the rest of the family. I have been reading and praying a lot this week for guidance. I have to give a training in the upcoming zone conference in front of 80 or so missionaries, and then another training in front of another 20. So my mind...

No pictures this week.  Just an email :) The package was awesome! Thank you so much! I don't really know what else you could send me. I feel like I have everything I need right now. Life has been good. I weigh under 200 pounds again. It's been a while, haha. But more importantly the work is progressing so well! Our zone is doing amazing, and has set some very high goals this month. We can definitely accomplish them with the way everyone has been working though. I am getting roughly the same amount of sleep, haha, but it isn't too bad anymore. Because of how much we work out, especially the cardio we do, I find myself getting less and less tired.  We had a ton of people come to church this week, and found another new person to teach! So life is pretty bomb right now.  As far as Max is concerned, I've never raised a kid, so I don't know what to tell you. Just keep loving him and praying for him. Maybe Heavenly Father will give him an experience that...

Elder Trezise was able to baptize someone Hello family!!!! This week has been awesome! I only had 3 days where I stayed up past 11! So I actually got a good amount of sleep! It was awesome. But the best stuff that happened this week was while we were actually out working. We found 4 new people to teach, including a family of 3, 2 of which were close to baptism in California a few months ago! We got 7 non members to Sacrament, which is the most the area has seen in over a year, so that was awesome.  But the coolest thing was what happened this Saturday. We have been teaching a man named Javier. He is probably the most prepared person I have ever met. He goes to church every week without skipping a beat, he has accepted every principle of the Gospel wholeheartedly, and this Saturday was baptized. I had the honor of baptizing him. The Spirit that is with him is incredible. He is so humble, and so willing to do what the Lord wants him to do. He has been such a great...

While tracting, Elder Trezise found a family with a lot of pets.  He even got to hold one Ammon District I have to send this email using my phone instead of using a computer so it's going to be more difficult. Sorry if it isn't long.  This week went really well though. We found 3 new people to teach and had a ton of success! It was awesome!    The spiritual message that I figured I'd talk about is one that has been discussed plenty of times. And that's trials. Difficult times. Hardships. Whether mentally, physically, or even spiritually. I want to talk about bearing with patience. I understand, believe me I do, I understand that life gets hard. I understand that we have to go through hard things in our life. The Lord Himself has said, "Bear with patience thine afflictions." In Alma chapter 36, Alma says to his son that "whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials and their troubles and their afflicti...

The work is going amazing! We're finding a good amount of success and we are having fun. I went on an exchange with Elder Legas this week. It was awesome! I love that man! I told him about the struggles I'm having and we counseled together for a while. He gave me some great advice. And it relates to the message I wanted to share with y'all this week. I wanted to talk about focus. I wanted to talk about peace, and joy, and how to find it.    Life gets hard, we all know that. We have to go through trials and tribulations and we have hard times. We get depressed. I know this. You know this. But the peace that the Gospel brings is real. The joy that scripture study, and church attendance, and daily, sincere prayer brings is undeniable. I know this, but this one you may not know. Recently I have been struggling with staying 100% focused on the work. It isn't a big thing, but I know that my time out here is very limited, and I don't want to take it for...

Saying good-bye in Shelley Ammon missionaries Back w/Elder Smith Part of his zone in Ammon Saying hi to Elder Brazier at transfers Favorite Companion ever  Here is Elder Trezise's letter for this week:  Ammon is awesome! The area is on fire! This week was seriously super awesome! We got a ton done, talked to about 500 new people, found 4 new people to teach, and put someone on date to be baptized! So the work is going great! Being a Zone Leader isn't too bad. It was more hands on as a District Leader, and I have been trying to come up with ways to magnify my calling. I've come up with some pretty good ones. Zone Conference was this week, and we watched a talk called "The Character of Christ" by Elder Bednar. It's an AWESOME talk! 10/10, would recommend. It has really helped me find more charity and love for those around me, and helped me understand the Atonement more fully. Mission Leader Council (MLC) was this wee...

I got to talk to Elder Trezise a few times today - he also called and was able to speak with Michael, Aly, Sam, Eli and Fraser.  It was so cool!  Here is his email for the week: Ammon is an awesome area. We have having a ton of success. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss Shelley. Anyway, I'm sad I'm missing all the fun at home with Michael and Allie and the boys. I wish I could talk to y'all. If there's ever a time I can skype and they're there let me know.    Anyway, this week was really good. We had some awesome lessons and found a new person to teach, and had more people show up to church than we thought! So life is great! I love being out here, and am enjoying every second. I had to give a training in two different district councils this week, and then another training in zone council on Wednesday. So that's fun.    Anyway, I don't know what type of spiritual thought to put, haha. It's been a crazy week. My zone is ...

Elder Trezise's email for the week: Elder Luekenga is awesome! We are having a blast! He's from Avendale, and yes I got the package and the scotchmellows were great! I have been praying for you, that things would get easier for you with the new job. I know that you'll be able to handle it though! You're awesome! This week has been kind of crazy for me too. I had a bunch of service opportunities come up, and ZL's are in charge of that, so I had to set up a bunch of stuff, but it hasn't been bad. I feel more comfortable as a ZL than I did as a DL. I have lived with ZL's my entire mission, so I know a little bit about what I'm doing. I wish I would have paid more attention though. But I have a great zone full of hard workers, so it's going well.    I'm sorry I don't have time to send a long email. I gave a talk yesterday on making the Book of Mormon a part of our daily lives. I don't remember most of what I said, but I k...

Short and sweet: TODAY HAS BEEN INSANE! Tell Grandpa I'll email him next week. I'm so sorry.  Anyway, as you know, President met with me on Monday, and called me to be a Zone Leader, and I am now in the Ammon Zone. It's been a little stressful trying to figure out my responsibilities. But it'll end up okay. I'm figuring it out.  This week has been chaotic. Tuesday morning I got here, you should have seen Elder Smith's face when I showed up to his District council. It was so funny. Anyway, we went to the other District as well, and it was cool to go to both. Wednesday we were out working all day, meeting people, and having fun. Elder Palmer is a hard worker and an amazing missionary. He's made this week so much easier for me. We went on an exchange Thursday, and I was with Elder Brazier's MTC comp, Elder Davies. He is an AWESOME guy, and we just learned he's taking my spot in Shelley. Crazy. During dinner I got a call from Presid...

4th of July 4th of July Farewell to Pres. & Sis. Nelson  Here is the letter from this week: Hello family, this week was a lot of fun! I don't remember much of Monday or Tuesday. But Wednesday we had meet the President and got to talk to President Hurley and his family! They are awesome! He's bringing 4 kids with him! His last is on a mission, and his oldest is up at BYU-I. Crazy.  For the 4th we had a ward breakfast in one of our wards in the morning which was really good, and then we had no idea what to do after that. It was meant to be a regular day. In the evening we went over to the Shively's who are the coolest people in the world. We hung out with them and saw the fireworks which was awesome! Soooooooooo much fun!   Friday I had exchanges with Elder Clarke, which was pretty good. We had a good conversation at night about how to become the best missionaries we can be. It was good.    Saturday and Sunday were both...

Shelley Zone  I can't find the letter from this week - I'm thinking he didn't have time to write.  It was a hectic week - I'm pretty sure this was the week where he ended up getting transferred to Ammon in the middle of the week and put in as Zone Leader.  Stressful for sure.  He did however send lots of pics.  Here are a few. BFFS BFFS at Yellowstone Always looking for a dog The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone More Yellowstone Old Faithful Shelley missionaires Yellowstone again That's all!