Miracles, Transfers & Lott

Hello Family and Friends!!! 

So this week has been full of so many miracles! This has been a whirlwind of a week.
So to start off last Sunday we had ward council and we were talking about some people in the ward that we could go and visit to see if they had any interest in the church. So we went to a family who's grandma has been coming for several weeks now and has been living with. She is originally from the Philippines, and her name is Tessi. We asked her if she wanted to take the lessons and she said yes! 

So some back story on this Elder DeRosia finished his mission and left on Monday. So I was in a trio for a few days until i got my new companion. So i went with one of the zone leaders on Monday night to begin teaching Tessi. We taught the message of the Restoration and invited her to be baptized and she said yes! But to throw a little bit of a curve ball, Tessi is going back to the Philippines on the 26th of November and her main language is Tagalog! So if she wanted to be baptized before she left we would have to teach all of the lessons in five days. So we came by on Tuesday to follow up, and tessi said that she prayed about being baptized and she said that she wants to be baptized before going back to the Philippines! So we were busy this week with teaching and preparing her for baptism. So she is on date for Nov 23rd! It was such a miracle how everything came together so fast. She said that it just feels like the right thing to do and that it will help her stay strong when she goes back home. Tessi has such a sweet spirit about her, she is so kind and truly understands this gospel it was so great to see how the gospel can work in side of people. It will put a light into peoples lives! I am so excited to see her be baptized on Wednesday! 

So when Elder DeRosia left i was made the "designated driver" because we live 10 miles away from our area.. On Tuesday i received a call from the Mission President and he said that he wants me to train one of the brand new elders coming into the mission. I was so nervous and excited all in one! So i am leading out the area and training. It has been a stressful few days but the Lord has something in store for me i know. It has been a week of miracles though. So on Wednesday morning we went to the transfer meeting and that is when i got Elder Lott! Elder Lott is going to be a great missionary i am so excited that i get to spend this transfer with him! He is from Idaho Falls, Idaho so that is pretty close to home. We are the two spuds in Arizona! Anyways we are both excited for how the work is going in our area. We know that the Lords hand is our lives all the time! It seemed to be such a long week back on Monday but now looking back it has flown by pretty quick! I love the work and i love this area. It is the best! 

I know that the Lord has great things in store for us this transfer i know that doing the Lords work both blesses others and blesses ourselves as well. This work that we do in the gospel is so incredible. I have been so lucky to see how it has changed others lives. I know that it has changed my life. I love you all! 

Elder Ben Kestner 
Arizona Gilbert Mission

Light Sabers & Planes

Hello everybody! 

So this has been quite the week! It has flown by so fast but it has been a week for a lot of growth! I have been trying to learn as much as i can from Elder DeRosia because today is his last day in the field. So right after we are done emailing i will be dropping him off. 

One miracle we had this week was that we picked up an new investigator! Her name is Tessi and she is the mother of a recent convert! She has been coming to church for a few weeks now and she said that she wants to take the missionary lessons! We are so excited for her and the things that are going to happen! 

We had to go through all of the goodbye rituals because my comp is leaving. One thing that a family always does to departing missionaries is their companion has to kill them star wars style! So that was a great experience. I am glad that i had the opportunity to serve with Elder DeRosia, i learned so much and i know that the learning will continue on! I love you all and hope that your week is great! 

I look forward to hearing back from you all! ​

Elder Ben Kestner 

May the Force be with you

Killing off his Trainer

It was a Shocking Week!

Buried in the Gospel

Hello Everyone! 

So for this week we have our P-Day changed to today because Elder Cornish of the 70 came to the mission on our Regular P-Day, but i will talk about that later! 

So this last week has been full of many great things and lots of great experiences! We had many opportunities to serve some members in the wards that we cover and to teach people while tracting. 

Our weather here has been pretty good for the most part. The days have been in 80's and it is starting to cool off but i don't think it will get much colder than that. Everyone says that this is what the winters are like. We also had a really hot fall season, i guess it has stayed hotter longer later in the year than it has in the past. I keep on expecting it to get cold and snow here but i know that won't happen haha.

Earlier last week we went over to the Hollands and helped them change some of there smoke detectors. Brother Holland broke his ankle a while ago so he wasn't too keen to changing the alarms. We were more than happy to help them out. So while we were changing them i was on a step ladder working on them and the darn wires in the ceiling shocked me! It wasn't a bad shock or anything but it kept me on my toes for the rest of them! We like service, It gives us a chance to get out of our white shirts and get dirty. I have been able to help some people out by doing service and i love it, because i actually do like getting dirty and helping others out. 

So transfers are on like the 16th i think. I doubt that i will leave. I think they transferred me here so i can learn the area and then lead out the area because my comp is done with his mission. So i think i will be here for thanksgiving. Transfers are always a toss up though. It just depends on where President wants me. I have started doing a bunch of sit ups and push ups every morning. It is so hard to stay fit because the members feed us well!

Stormy day

So last week we had exchanges and Elder Holland and I went out to my area and we had a really great time dong the work. Elder Holland and i came into the mission at the same time. He is a stud missionary and we had such a great time! So one thing that i really love to do is to tract for at least one hour a day. Some days people answer the door and talk for a minute and some days we get nothing. So when Elder Holland and i began tracting hour it started to pour down rain. So here we are on foot, tracting, in the eye of this rainstorm. All i can say is that it was awesome! See video...We were soaked in 10 seconds of being in it but we kept on tracting! We were actually able to talk to some people and i think that we found some potential investigators so it was totally worth it! We had fun and i learned a lot from that whole experience! 

On Monday and Tuesday Elder Cornish of the 70 came to the mission! It was an amazing Conference and i learned so much from it. It seemed like the main theme was that if you set your expectations high you can accomplish it. No body is saying that we cant accomplish the goals that we set so if we work as hard as we can we will accomplish the things that we put out heart and mind to. One other point that he drove was that member missionary work is so key to helping bring our friends and neighbors in to the gospel. Simply put when people have a friend who is a member and that member introduces a friend into the gospel that will make there conversion powerful. There are so many blessings that come from sharing the gospel. It does not matter if you are a member or a full time missionary, sharing the gospel and showing love for those around you will bless your lives. I know that it has been blessing mine! I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Elder Ben Kestner

500 miles on the bike in 3 months!