Worried about the blisters

A se que como siempre empazo con la semana y comenso con sus praguntas

Lunas: Hoy.. Just kidding I’ll write you in English!!! But it would be cool in Spanish! So Monday after Pday which we got home late and had to go shopping after six, I repented don’t worry, and we got to our first appointment late and had to bounce quick and cancel everything else because of a ward mission leadership training meeting, that was good and I got some homemade bread which was awesome!!!

Martes: I tore off my huge blister this day and it looked really bad, I’ll send you the picture in another email, and walking was way rough, but at a meeting I showed it to a missionary nurse and he told me it was possibly infected and I had to start working on them to keep them healthy. I’ll send pictures of that too. Then we had to heavy hitter lessons one with Alejandra y Pablo--they were good and they read the part we left for them.  Pray for them to progress and to know this is the only true gospel!

Miercoles: We taught the lady who talked for days named Gladis with a neighborhood priest and he was a huge help and she seemed to like it, but when we passed by yesterday she said that we had some 'fighting' to do about the Book of Mormon, so tonight could be interesting. That and when I put my effort in and don’t zone out I can understand Spanish, and that’s awesome!!!

Jueves: I was burning for home a ton that  night, I just really miss you guys a freaking ton... and it’s really hot here so that’s not awesome! But we deal with it by showering and fans and not wearing clothes. but this day we had about an hour until lunch and all our plans fell through and we knocked a door and she let us in and we taught her the first lesson and got her a baptism date and it was way cool. We could see her getting baptized so I’m pumped! We have eight people with dates for baptism--people will accept fechas but never progress to them so we just keep trying!

Viernes: So the week declined hard from Viernes to today we didn't have any lessons but one and that was Bello, a less active who just works while we teach him so its weird, but it helps him and I get to stop walking so that’s nice! We also made plans for all the things we wanted to cook like ham fried rice. I think I have everything I need, but we need some recipes!

Sabado: I didn’t sleep at all the Friday to Saturday night so this day was rough, and that night we had Stake Conference and it was hard to be in the moment and not thinking of you! So that was rough! We had a lesson Tuesday with Ospaldo I didn't tell you about, so we started teaching him and asked if he had prayed about what we said and he said not really but I don’t need to. I’ve listened to you and it all seems good and right and that I agree with so it must be true! I was pumped and we get to teach him tomorrow so pray for us please and him!

Domingo: President was at Stake Conference and him and his wife had to look at my feet and they are worried so I have an appointment with a mission doctor lady and will probably have one with a real doctor too... So that sucks but we’re good and I’m doing fine, they hurt but I’m good! I had real conversations with the priests in my ward on Sunday and it was awesome! I can communicate with people now so I feel pretty good here! I do have days where all we do is walk all day on my blistered feet and I just want to come home and be with you guys again and be loving that little baby girl, but here is good too, the people are good, and investigators are going! So I’m good!

I didn't really get to cook much this week so that was a bummer, but this week I got some big plans! I already told you about our new investigator, and there are names throughout this whole email pray for those names please! The blisters are bad, people think they are going to get infected and I’ll need surgery to get them clean so they are pretty worried about it, but I can still walk and work so I’m good! My stomach is good so no stress there! What surprised me most is houses here, we have areas of houses made of nothing but cardboard that people found and tarps... So those are weird, but cool. But that surprised me. There are a ton of random starving dogs everywhere. Everything is always dirty so I don’t really like that... But ya its good! Weirdest thing is people just plopping out a breast and feeding their baby while they are just chilling in church or on the bus or just anywhere, the random dogs getting it on is weird, children smoking weed, it’s all a little weird! Fashion is pretty similar, but super sluttly, we call them snakes and rats it’s fun because no one knows what we say about them! The church house is like home with more screaming babies, but its fine! I write you from an internet cafe so its 20 pesos to write you every week, but its fine! Everyone has phones, but not everyone has a computer in the home, as in most do not. The envelope does get taxed, but not huge like forty pesos or something like that so don’t stress about it I want packages. Christmas presents I want: pedometer, medical scissors like your pink ones, rubber scraper with the red handle that I used all the time, your large recipe book, and a bread knife or just a good knife for cooking would be awesome! Yes I know when  I am coming home, Mikes is August 11th, but mine is before that by a lot. But you don’t get to know yet! I love you mama! I need you to get Jesika a baby shirt for Nella that says I get my looks from my uncle or my missionary I don’t care!! But that would be dope!

Love you tons and be safe!!!
Elder Jayson Benedict

Pretty Good Week

So this week has been pretty good.

Monday: I burnt a fool(totally homesick) for that stupid baby! I want to meet her, and every baby girl that I see I just talk to the mom and talk about Jes and its crazy and it makes me burn a ton. But we also got an investigator who will be baptized on the fifteenth of next month and that’s awesome!!! He is nine so it doesn't totally count because his brother has prepared him a lot, but pray for the familia Gomez because we want his parents to come to church with him so that they can be active again and get the whole family there! It’s a neat little thing we are doing!

Delicious Hawaiian Pizza!

Tuesday: We went and got some awesome facturas before service, Argentine pastry for breakfast and then we sanded some paint that we think was lead based and we are all gonna die from and then we painted afool and it was awesome!!! I’m tall and had to paint all the high stuff--that was rough! But it was good!

Wednesday: This picture sums up Wednesday!

Thursday: That is when I did all my cooking and that’s like it--we walked a lot!!!

I made these because--why not!!

Friday: We knocked over one hundred doors and that was rough, we had so little success that day, but that’s okay I guess.

Saturday: We got a reference of a lady and we went over to her house and she talked for 50 minutes before we even got one word in, it was crazy. She reminded me of you ;) and it was hard to teach her because of all the wild tangents and I just zoned out way hard.... but our landlord gave us empanadas and some dope cake that was freaking amazing! I love Joquin (Wakine) and he is nice to us...I really want to ride his motorcycle super bad!!

Sunday: I gave my talk and people said it was good! I hoped you liked listening to it. I have the worst gringo accent but I’m hoping to fix it as time goes by! Sunday was the Dia de la Madre and I burnt super hard and I wanted to call my mamma, but I have to wait until Mayo and then I can!

We made Peach Crumble--it's awesome!!

So I could use a picture of the recipe for cinnamon rolls that includes the dough. Me and Elder Evans want to make some soon. What is this about going to Cali to look at houses? That scares me a freaking ton... I would still fly home to Utah I hope you know and live with Kyle and them for a while, then just live on campus... but I don’t like thinking of that ...it hurts, but if we must we must. Amber died? What?

You asked me what food I missed last week, I miss Reese’s and all American chocolate, Mike and Ikes, Hot Tamales and all brands of American candy, there aren't really chocolate chips here... and I don’t really know what else....but ya, that’s my week!

My Zone of Gringos!

 Let me go answer your questions now!

• How are you and Elder Evans getting along this week?
We get along great really, he might go to Weber next August and you should invite him in for some food and talk--he is way dope!

• Do you go on splits with other missionaries in your Zone?
We were going to but we had emergency transfers of some elders in my district so it hasn't happened yet!

• Are you in downtown Mendoza?
Yes, you could say it’s downtown Mendoza.

• When you say Municipal—is that like Forest Hills or Peacefield Neighborhoods?
It’s not like either neighborhood, it’s more like where great grandpa lived--it’s not that nice.

• What is your apartment like? Please take pictures so I can get a better idea of what your living conditions are like in the apartment.
I have yet to see carpet and I really don’t see nice tile that much. We don’t have much dirt floor, but concrete floors are normal and its way weird and people’s houses are really small.

• I love to see your face!!! Send pictures if you can!!!
 I’ll send you pictures of the pens next week with me in them--I promise!  I will get lots of picture of my face next week I promise!

• Are you teaching any families that we can be praying for?
Pray for Alijandra and Poublo, Ospaldo, Famila Gomez, Cloudia Emilza and Jose Luis, and Roberto and Rene but mostly Alijandra and Poublo  and Famlia Gomez!

• How are the language skills coming along?
The language is good, its coming and I’m doing good I think! People tell me I speak very good, but it’s hard because I speak weird so they don’t understand me a lot! But we get it all taught and done good!

• Are you HAPPY? We are praying that you are!!!
I am happy, ready to come home, but happy! It’s gonna be a long 22 months ;) Its good and hard stuff! I love you a ton mom and miss you guys a lot! Give Nella my love and tell Jes and Tay I’m way proud of them! I got some Christmas shopping done for you guys today and I think you will like the stuff! I should send the package off this next week or week after that! Depends on how long it takes to find Jesika and one other thing I need to get done-- so who knows!!!

I love you guys a lot and you are freaking awesome!
With all the love I have!
Elder Benedict

P.S.
I’ll do better with pictures next week! Be safe and really show Nella my picture and get her to love me okay???
I love you! Gots to go now!!!! But I love you guys a ton!

Hey dad,

I feel like I have been neglecting you and I want to stop doing that! I miss you like crazy, and all this talk of motorcycles makes me miss you a lot too!!! But I like it, its cool here and to see it! Pushing back Derik’s motorcycle had to be awful and I’m sad of the fact that I couldn't have beat you home during that ride ;)

But really dad, I’m worried about you, I pray for you every night and I have complete faith that God will help you. Everything at work, all the activities you have to plan, and the new baby girl, and your two men out on missions... I know that God will help you as I pray and you do, I have complete faith in the power of my God. That went a lot different then what I planned to say but that’s okay. I just want you to know how much I care about you dad and how much I miss you! I really miss getting to sit and talk with you to just enjoy your company and get to just chat. I miss it a lot! I just wanted to make sure you knew how much I care about you and bear my testimony that this work is real and God is real and through the prayer of faith all can be made better. I love you dad. You are so amazing and I just want you to know I believe in you and I love you with all my heart...

Your son, Jayson Benedict

I'm a freaking Uncle!

Me and Elder Evans get a long super great, me and him are honestly already pretty tight we talk everywhere we walk and we just have a way good time!!! I don’t have any pictures of my area-- it’s hard to take my camera out, I don’t want it getting stolen, it looks really expensive!!! Municipal is actually Elder Irelands last area I think or one of his lasts! It’s way dope we have two visja´s where people make their houses out of nothing but garbage and plastic and what they can find but it’s a pretty nice area, but people are just never home so that really sucks but we try :) The other night I woke up at 1am after I fell asleep around 11:30pm and thought I was on deaths door because of how bad my stomach hurt, but I just laid and tried not to think about it and it went away around 5 in the morning so other than that I’ve been pretty good with my stomach. I’m sleeping much better this week then I did last week but I wake up a lot during the night but I sleep-ish! I am now up to ten blisters on my feet in three weeks here!!! Oh yaaa!!!!  Going way too hard in the mission life ;) But really they are not a problem that much-- I can handle it and I just walk like an old man! I don’t really miss food things, I miss Chinese food a lot!!!  Going to China Hill my last night was a good call!!!! I don’t really miss too much, our pens (apartment) should get gas this Wednesday so I will be able to have more than cereal for breakfast, but its good here!!! Last night I had a 20 minute conversation with my landlord with only some difficulty so it’s coming! El don del linguas es reál! and God helps me a lot!!!

Elder Evans and Elder Benedict

So this week!
Monday: We just stayed home and chilled and it was so nice we took a nap and I tried to write some letters, but failed! I bought me a local team jersey! I’ll try to send a picture!

Tuesday: We had meetings but there was a guy on a bus and he spoke English to me and I taught him about the first lesson, shared the First Vision and gave him a pass along card-- it was way cool! We also had milanesa and people make it like Parmesan chicken and it is so good!!! I loved that, the beef one was nasty, but chicken was good!

Wednesday: More meetings and then work after studies, we had a lesson with a family I love, but they feel like all churches are true if they follow Christ, so that is really hard but fine!!!

Thursday: We had two whole lessons and that was nice, but they were less actives so... but they count too! One family gave us these tiny fruits and they had three mongo seeds in them it was like there wasn’t even fruit there, but that’s fine! The other family talked for days and it took us an hour to share a fifteen minute lesson...but good day!

Blisters inside of blister

Friday: I got a way bad blister that day and popped it and it hurt like a beast, but I was fine! We taught a guy but he was all kinds of not interested and I zoned out pretty hard. We had another lesson that day with Ospaldo and he was interested and really a great investigator, but when we tried to put a baptismal date with him he felt pushed and it hurt the spirit, I hate trying to place fetchas after the estoration but Elder Evans says its mission rule... Whatever... I’ll deal.

Saturday: We had a lesson with an inactive crazy family in the morning and they were all too tired to talk so we just got to share it all!!! It was way nice! We made these cool deserts with a family for the ward party that night, like crab cheese wontons but with strawberry jam and we used  pieces of bread paper that is cut in fourths after deep frying them they got a sugar glaze and they were great! The ward party was awesome and a success, but while playing soccer with the kids I rolled my ankle so bad I thought I was gonna die but it’s getting better now!

Sunday: Our ward is super young and they are great still, but I never can hear a thing on Sunday. I only fell asleep during leadership meeting so that’s good for me!!! All our plans always fall through so that sucks but I’m doing really good and trying really hard!

We have been hearing about this world wide disease that started in Africa and I was wondering if you knew anything about it! I’m a little freaked out about it, but you guys don’t perchance know anything about it do you?

Baby Nella

I’m a freaking Uncle!!!! You have no idea how trunky those pictures made me of Nella I want to be there so bad and helping her. She looks beautiful and I want to love her! Tell her Uncle Jayson loves her! Lex said she tells people she got a new niece too and I’m like wooo hooo!!!! Haha!!

I’m doing good and being happy and working as hard as I can!


I love you and should be sending dad a ton of pictures!!!!
Love you so much!!!
Elder Benedict

P.S. I am so jealous of dads biking and I miss that a ton!!!


Jesika and Taylor
Congrats on the Baby, I didn't have time to read your email but will try to later!!! I love you guys so much!!! Be happy and give her so much love for me. She looks like an angel and this uncle and brother is happy and proud and sad that I am missing that beautiful little girl... I cried as I wrote that, but know I'm happy and cant wait to get to know her when she is two!!! I love you guys a lot!!!

Seven Blisters on my Feet!

So I will answer all your questions at the end and see if I don’t answer any more then you asked! This week has been hard for me we have had to do a lot of missionary work to finish and other necessary things.

Lunes-- after writing you and moping for a little while I talked to Hermano Echegary in Spanish for like twenty minutes and it was really cool that me and him could even communicate because I don’t speak great yet but somehow I did!!! It was awesome; the gift of tongues is super real!! We went and played soccer with other missionary’s and that was way fun. Two elders Elder Moita and Elder Veater convinced me they were Latinos but they are both from Cali they are sweet kids and I really just love my entire zone! We also went and had a visit planned with Alujandra and Poulo and we got there and they were working so we helped them for maybe an hour, answered a ton of questions about our church and our beliefs on birth and abortion and then after that we went in and talked to them about part of the restoration it was awesome and one of my first real teaching experiences! More about them in other days-- I’ll get there!

Martes-- so on Tuesday I had to go do Visa work so we had to take the buses for two hours and go do that for like three hours we barely made it home for lunch with a lady in the ward. Every day we get fed by the ward members, certain families have certain days and so we just make our rounds. Our pension or apartment is nice but it doesn't have any gas for cooking right now so we just have cereal and then lunch at about one o’clock and then since we get home at about nine, we don’t eat dinner and if we do it’s just a small snack. We had a lesson with a man named Chrisitan and I thought it went really well, we gave him a Book of Mormon and we got him to promise to pray and all the good stuff that has to happen, but after words Elder Evans told me what I had feared, he had told us he wasn't super interested he was catholic, but wanted to listen out of pity because he sees us working so hard all the time, but that’s fine. If he does what he said he will, he will still feel the spirit and we may have a chance!

Miercoles--we had interviews with President this day and so we took a bus back and forth wasting more hours and the interview was fine he is a good man and he just wants me to focus on being happy and all that jazz. Really I just need to stop thinking about you and Lex so much and I will be fine. Dang did she look good in that missionary gram you sent me! Dang, I’ve done good!!! How did I score her???  That night we had an interview with a lady for baptism for one of the elders in our district Elder Evans is district leader and he had to go do it. But it was cool to see that conversion is possible!!!!

Viernes--so this day we just wanted to go out and invite everyone to conference because who can teach better than the prophets’ right? That was cool to teach and we had three lessons in one day!!! It was crazy! Of course all of them were less actives and already members, but I didn't care we got to stop walking and actually talk to people!!!! We had one lesson with Hermano Bello though and he was just such a bum he doesn't want to go to church anymore because it makes bad things happen to his family and life. But he was really just being lazy so that’s fine I’m not gonna worry about it, we will keep working with him. He was a bishop and should have tons of faith, but some people just lose it....

Sabado--tons of rain!!! It was so cool! We went out street contacting and had to run home because it started pouring rain! Then we walked to the stake center in the rain and it was all kinds of awesome!!! It made me miss dancing in the rain with Lex and playing in the gutters with you a ton, but its fine!! I got to just sit for six hours that day for conference in the stake center, don’t worry they had a greenie room for all the green-gos! We also got to see the baptism so that was awesome!!! I don’t know if you noticed but Elder Cook told me I need to get married pretty quick so I don’t know what I’m doing here (insert winky face, but Spanish keyboards) and that night when conference ended at 11 o clock at night I was just thinking of you guys having Chili’s without me and I burned like a beast because I couldn't stop thinking about how good that stupid dessert sounds!!!!

Domingo--we again got street contacting done in the morning and people were sort of rude but I guess they had places to go so I shouldn't worry about it! Sundays do not feel like Sundays, they are just another work day but conference was way dope!!! I was bummed that I couldn't have Sunday lunch with you guys in the middle of the sessions and I was actually pretty hungry we didn't have lunch Sunday because we were way out of Municipal which is my area! But I loved conference! We got home planned and went to bed!

Over all a good week! Elder Evans first name is Dwitt and he is from Arizona he is twenty and will be dying with me. He goes home on the twenty sixth of December, bummer for him but kinda cool!  He entered the MTC the 13th of February the same day as Tason I think, but he doesn't know him. His birthday is the tenth of December and he is dope. He played soccer and tennis and plans to go to school on scholarship for tennis. He is a little trunky but not a ton. Down here we call trunkyness burning and its fun we talk a lot about home and movies and songs and stuff but it doesn't hurt me to bad!  He served in the offices for 8 months and I’m one of his second sons, the last one had to go home for testicular problems... But ya he is awesome. We are like 7 on the friend scale we’re tight but not super! I do still like the food but it’s fairly repetitive... that’s fine though. I eat meat off bones and I struggle but I do good enough that they don’t notice! We have hot showers at night, but in the morning we got nothing but I don’t worry about it! When we get gas in the apartment we will have showers that are warm but its summer now-ish so I want cold. I’m sleeping okay so ya that’s good.... and yes I used my oils on my feet, grand total I have seven blisters all on just two spots of my feet I’ll try to send dad the pictures! It’s rough but they are better now!

A dueno is our landlord so he is cool he actually asked us about the church this week and we shared some of the restoration and gave him a foillata... pamphlet.  I think. He is a good guy but makes sure we take good care of the house! Our area is probably like the size of Layton, but a little smaller we walk a lot but it’s more like 8 to 10 neighborhoods so we do good! The language is coming good and it’s awesome and it is only getting better, but when people ask me questions I have nothing so I just try my best. I’m doing good I burn a lot but I’m doing good and miss you guys like crazy! I’m bummed Nella isn't born yet and I need a picture of Jes sideways to see her belly!
 
I love you lots!!! Write me!

With Love Elder Jayson Benedict