Francisca’s baptism went really well

Hey Family!

This week the baptism went well. It got all pushed to the last minute. Our ward mssion leader is 18 years old and really doesn´t want to do anything. So, we had to plan and do everything last minute, but lucky for us everything worked out. The only problem is now that we don´t have any people that are progressing. We have to find some people to teach that can progress towards baptism.

Thanks for checking up on my garments...I´ve heard here in Chile that the mail gets lost a lot and so I am sure that in about 2 months more my stuff will be getting here. I am glad you sent it to me. I need new garments.

Wow Halo 4....that’s so crazy...and I heard Windows 8 came out. That’s so crazy....lots of stuff is happening now days. I am glad they had a good time playing. How is Silas doing? How does he feel being so old?

This Thanksgiving we were in the mission home...it was good. We got to eat some good stuff there...but today I went and found a new food joint and wow...La Gringa (an American hamburger) was AMAZING! Haha, I also got my hair cut from a gay guy from the Dominican Republic today. He is way nice and always is happy to talk. He does a good job.

2 payments left? Wow...that’s a weird thought. It’s going to be really cool to get it all paid for. Then you´ll be back to paying only for 1 mission. I will be going onto my next mission....the "eternal" mission. Let...the...hunt...begin....

I have seen parents come to pick up missionaries...it’s not that great to be honest. First off, you are still tied to the mission rules. Second, it’s A TON of money. Third, all you really do is visit the people you knew. I would much rather meet you at the airport and from there talk with all of you, show off my horrible Spanish skills and tell stories (and oh...how many stories I have).

Josh is out in Kentucky...wow. It’s so weird to think that in 2 more years Sam will be getting home and Josh too...and I will (HOPEFULLY) be married. I will be in school and studying. They will be walking around. Sweeet....Then I will be the one Skyping with them. They are going to have such a good time. The time goes fast...and you start to realize how bad the world really is. You also find out a lot about yourself. My next cambio is...the 19th of Dec. When I get changed...Sam will enter his mission. I think I am going to ask permission to write him straight to his email.

I am doing really well...I love life. I just keep on doing the best that I can and trying to stay on the right path. The closer to the end I get the more it seems I am tempted and Satan tries to bring me down. The pressure gets pushed up, and I have to keep on moving.

I sent some pictures of the baptism we had with Francisca. I hope you like it.

I love you all...

Ben

This week has been really good!

Family!

This week has been really good! We just blew this week up! We will be having another baptism this Saturday, and they picked me to do the baptizing! The last baptism was of Daniela. We found her when we were contacting on a Sunday. She had always wanted to be a Mormon but her mom never let her become one. She is now in Santiago. She says she wants to work in Australia. I am glad you liked the pictures, it was one of the weirdest things to happen to me in the mission.

Sounds like everyone has gotten MISSION FEVER! I will get home and not a single person will be there...not a single one. I remember when I got my call and then I started finding all kinds of Chileans in Tooele. It is so crazy. From the looks of things it sounds like Sam is having the same thing happen...but with his “small” people. I know he will have a good time on his mission. It’s a great thing to do and in the beginning it might be hard, but if he will just hold out it will become his life!

I am glad Emilee put in papers to go on the mission! It will be a good thing for her. She had always said she wanted to go. I am glad that she could finally achieve her wishes. Its fits that she should go to France as well. She always had a love for Europe and stuff.

Today came letters from the ward and the young women. Haha, I will now go home and open them and read them all. Hopefully I can answer them all. It will be sweet to see how everyone is doing. Thanks for sending me the package, I am sure it will be awesome. Hey...those garments never got here. I don´t know if you can check to see if they got here.

Silas, the big 16 years old! Wow, I can´t believe he is 16 years old. It just seems like yesterday that you sent me an email to say that he was turning 15. Now, when I get home I will be driven by my little brother to the house. How strange! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SILAS, I hope you have a good birthday and everything goes well.

Sorry that I am emailing on Tuesday...we had a Thanksgiving dinner in the mission home today, so they changed P-day to today. It was really good...I got to see lots of NEW faces in the mission.

Take care!

With Love

Ben

Back to Ecuador for a Baptism!!!

PICTURES!!  I hope you like them...I got called to go back to the Ecuador Ward to baptize the investigator I had found with Elder Barriga. In one of the pictures you can see that I am a bit...ODD. The mother of Daniel put her arm around me. It was really weird...haha but my face is priceless! It was super cool! It was good to see all my old friends and Bishop. He got a little water in his eye when I had to go again.

Things here have continued to go down hill. It’s been hard on everyone. Missionaries become unmotivated, investigators pick up on it and lose their will to progress. It’s really sad. 

As for the end of the mission coming up...I still haven’t thought much about it. I think it will hit me when I get my Carta Moroni. It’s a letter that tells you that you have 3 months left and they need to update your info to be able to send you home. Maybe then it will take a bigger effect. However, I am glad to hear that Kayleigh is ready to come pick me up. I will probably still be in Spanish mode...so she better start practicing Spanish!

As for Christmas, I really don´t have any idea of what you could send me. The truth is that I don´t know what I will need...after Christmas I will have like 2 transfers left till I get home. Maybe just send me candy and socks or something. Sorry, can´t really help you out too much.

Sounds like fun having to run around and getting stuff ready for Sam. It’s hard work, but in the end it’s worth it. It will be weird to not see Sam when I get home. However, I have gotten use to not seeing him. Shouldn´t be too hard...

The other day we had a class on the Word of Wisdom and an investigator was there. He read a scripture wrong and a guy in the class completely destroyed him. It was HORRIBLE! It started a huge fight between brethren...and in the end Nacho (the teacher) stopped it by destroying the guy who attacked the investigator. Haha, it was so funny.

Thanks for writing me...sorry I don´t have any crazy stories. I do love you all!

Take Care,

Ben

It will be really weird...Within the next 2 to 3 weeks my Carta Moroni should be getting here

Hey Family!! Looks like the difficulties of the mission life have come again. The baptisms we should be having will not be happening. It’s really lame...but hey that’s ok. I don´t think I will be leaving here until the final...cambio. It will be really weird...Within the next 2 to 3 weeks my Carta Moroni should be getting here. It’s the letter that asks for your info about your house before you go home. As for the stuff about Sam....I would follow the packet as close as you can. Waterpoof backpacks and rain gear will be very, very good to have there. The water proofing stuff only works for a bit...water is starting to get back in. To water proof here we put all our stuff in a plastic bag and close it up. Get him 2 thin but well closed (and with a good hood) coats so he can use one and wash the other. And if you can...try to find him some type of rain pants that go over his nice pants. Here I put on my normal pants and when it starts to rain I put on a second pair of waterproof pants to keep me dry. But we are coming out of the rainy season. As for the money...here things are much more expensive here than they are there. For example a liter of milk is 650 pesos, or like a $1.25. There you buy 4 liters of milk for the same price. All missions are different...all presidents are different too. The double sheets are so that he can wash one and have the other ready. When I was in the MTC you had to use your own...but if you didn´t have some they provided bedding. Hopefully I answered all your questions. Sam is lucky to not being learning a language, because he gets into the field faster...it’s a lot easier to learn scriptures and other things. Plus he will have a great time with the people, because he can visit them again really easy. Tell him to start reading the stuff in PMG...you don´t really have to study it but just read it. Sounds like it was hard for Daniel  Arnold to have his big brother leave. But he’s lucky...he will be able to see him again when he gets back. 2 years will go by in a wink of an eye and things will go back to normal. As for me I am getting close to the end of that very wink. It’s hard to get close to the end of the mission for 2 reasons; the first, is that you try your hardest and God throws down the hardest cards he´s got to try us and form us. Second, your body starts to wear down. I have been getting slower and the weight on my shoulders gets heavier. Things in my life are good....I am hoping I end my mission as a district leader. Shortly, this month which now has just started will be over and I will be making plans to talk over Skype with you all. It’s so crazy how fast time goes. Thanks for loving me! I love you all. With love, Ben