The Ivories Have Been Sufficiently Tickled

Sometimes, I feel old. Not old in the way that more than half of the Centralia ward is, but old in a missionary sort of sense. I feel as if I have entered into some sort of dimensional bubble that is its own pocket of time away from the rest of the world. Here I am, in Washington. I love it. I feel I am changing. Time seems to gently coast by at a semi-rapid pace out on the mission, while it seems time at home is passing in a blur. It is like being on a mystical train. I will call it the WaTac Express. Here I am, walking around a beautiful passenger car. I am eating yummy food, and sipping hot cocoa. The atmosphere is warmly lighted, and life continues on at a normal pace. Then I look out the window into the dark night and everything is rushing past in a blur. I seem to be in my own little bubble. That is how I feel. So many things are happening at home. My brother is home. We have a dog. My sister is now 4. Out here, however, I just get to do the same, wonderful work every day. It is easy to focus on my purpose. My purpose is clear. It can be summed up in a single, easy sentence: My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

Not much happened this week. The coolest part was when we had a missionary musical fireside for our stake. I was asked to play the piano for it and I was way nervous, especially for one of the songs. I practiced the best I could with a missionary schedule for the week leading up to it, but when the time came, I was still nervous. As we started the practice two hours before the fireside began, I made some pretty egregious and obvious errors on the easiest parts of the song that I hadn't ever had trouble with before. Things weren't looking good. Well, I did my best, and I prayed that God would help things work out. And guess what? He took care of it. I did my best and worked my hardest, and I still wasn't good enough without his grace, but he enabled me with his power, and the fireside was wonderful and spiritual and one of the best I've been to. So anyway, that's all I have to mention today. (Although please keep praying for Rose, because she is struggling)

P.S. I am learning Sign Language. I really enjoy it. It is a lot of fun. 

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Elder Benge