Filled with the Spirit

25 April 2016

Hey mom! I’m doing good, but I'm not sure why my last weeks letter didn't send! I'm sorry it took so long to write you from last week, but at least now you have it! I’m sorry!!! I hate to break it to you, but tacos don't exist in Argentina, so fish tacos even less! :) But it’s all good as long as you think of me! :) I’m good with the comp, I'm really trying and its better. We don't really get to teach that much, we have very few lessons a week… this week we had five. It makes me miss my last area... we don't really have support, our branch has about 30 members who are active and then we have I think 5 members who work in the stake who can never come... So that sucks... but we get a lot of food! My comp will have food every day, I just leave it to him and he makes it happen… its awesome! No more studies, I have Gilbert’s disease other then that it may be parasites, so if its that like ya fue, I'm just going to wait until I get home to fix it all! :) 

Monday we had an awesome super p-day!! I was with Elder Bingham and Elder Romero and it was so awesome, just to be able to chat with them— to be able to be hanging out with them again! I have missed them more then I can even say! :) Then we didn't get in any house that night! 

Tuesday we went and did a little unplanned service for a family Galarza—it was fun! We prepared balloons and help set up the birthday party and then we went and taught Romiro and he is doing well, I'm still not sure if he understands why we visit them, but it was good and then we went and helped more with the Galarzas helping them make pizzas and it was awesome! I had a ton of food and got to eat so I mean I can’t complain! :) 

Wednesday we went and visited a less active lady who can’t go to church for her health and it was good and then we were going to leave she offered food to my compion and he was like food? Okay and so we stayed forever, and then her son who is not even close to active and smokes told us that we were bad examples for his kids and I was so mad!! We stayed because she offered and then he was just rude, I hate hypocrites... 

Thursday I had interviews with president! It was good!! I talked about some stuff and it was really good, but I was feeling really down on myself like I had failed the Lord. I’m not a disobedient missionary, but like everyone says if your not a perfectly obedient missionary you aren't doing what you should. So I was feeling really down… I felt like I wasn't a good person... So after the night finished I made a list of things I wanted to do with my last three months—a list of rules, a list of personal things and goals and it was good, but then I knelt down and talked to God... I begged for salvation and forgiveness in a way I never have, I was just trying to give all of what I am to God. I just wanted him to know how sorry I truly was for all the problems I had. As I cried and talked to God about all the things I felt...then I felt a unexplainable feeling. We feel the spirit as missionaries, but that moment I felt something so much stronger, I felt as if I was full, as if there wasn't space in me, like I might explode out of me. I felt like I was literally filled with the spirit in such a form that I can’t explain in human words. But it was truly incredible. The Lord knows me and knows that I am here and I'm struggling. He knows I want to be the best for him, but I fail. He forgave me of my sins and I know that he has used his Sons atonement to make me clean, I still fail, I still feel guilt and I know that the Lord loves me. I know he will make me what he wants me to be! 

Friday and Saturday we worked in the area of the district leader and it was awesome! I got to go meet Daniel Rojases family and it was awesome! I loved talking to them and then put an appointment for them! It was awesome! :) 

Sunday we taught Aldana and Cristopher and it was good. They don't seem that interested, but they said they would pray and read. Please pray for them so that they can progress and have more desires to learn! 

It was a good week! I love you mom! Be safe and happy—sorry for last week!

Love, Jayson

The Letter That Was Not Sent

18 April 2016

So this week has been good I got a lot done! It’s been good, but I've been tired! I need to hurry!

Monday we played soccer and it was so fun! Then at night my comp felt sick and I couldn't get him out to work til 830 so that sucked!

Tuesday we went to the hospital and got all that done. Then we had lunch with a part member family! Then we taught Miriam and Alberto they need to get baptized but marriage first—dang it! Then we taught Miguel Galarza he is a less active and one of his 13 kids just died in a moto accident and so we just want to help them in this hard time.

Wednesday we found a kid named Axel and he was awesome! Way great guy and then we taught Soriya a little, she is nice and wants to be baptized, but needs to be married too! 

Thursday my comp was in pain so we finally went out to work at 8 so we didn’t get much done!

Friday we taught Axel and he is awesome! He needs to just come to church I think he likes what we teach so I just want him to make it! Then we taught Franco and his brother way cool guys in the tarde.

Saturday we took off a old roof f!or a lady and then put on a new one made of metal! It was awesome! Then we had 7 appointments fall through... rough night!

Sunday we had to investigators at church Elizabet and the sister of the branch president from Chili it was awesome! Then we had a great lesson with the family Jaque! Awesome! He just wants to be in the path of Christ so thats what we are doing! I think it will be awesome! 

So thats the week!

I’m way over time! I need to be berret, so ya I'm bouncing out!

I love you like crazy! I’m sorry I don't have the ability to answer the questions, but I love you! 

Jayson

Really Hard Week

11 April 2016

This week has been really hard, like dry! We didn’t really get to teach like at all... so thats no fun, but I guess it happens! We are trying at least! kinda...

I put a pocket on the scripture cover

Monday and Tuesday my comp was sick, so I was just stuck studying and bored out of my mind... It was fine. I put the pocket onto the scripture cover. I sent you a picture! :) 

Wednesday we went out and contacted a lot of references, but they couldn't see us that day…that and my companion thinks our area is super dangerous and just won’t go almost anywhere, unless its morning or five to six at night. I’m really struggling to make it all work, but ya so no lessons that day.

Thursday we went to visit some people who couldn’t visit with us, and then we did open the mouth for a while. Then we had a meeting with the ward mission leader. He is a good guy, but old, but he wants to help! :) So good stuff and then we went and talked to a good guy who is not a member, all his family is, but he has no interest, but I love the guy! :) 

Friday we went and got in with a menos activo and his last name is Umar. He knows a ton of deep doctrine, like look up Gods real name. It’s not what we think it is… look in the journal of discourses section 2: 242 . He doesn’t go to church because he just wants to fight deep doctrine.

Saturday we visited the family Chafala and it was awesome!! She is a nice lady, lived in the states for a long time and then she stopped going to church because he got divorced and was sealed and all that. She just feels like she can’t go to church and talk about the plan of God knowing that she failed in it. We told her not to worry, it’s not her fault, God forgives, so I mean it was good. Nice lady!

Sunday we had a good service with 30 people and then we had an appointment with family Jaque and it was going to be awesome, we have a married couple who is in the same boat as them or who was and he is the branch president so it awesome, but they were sleeping, he talked to us for a minute, but just a little and then we didn't get in anywhere else... It was a rough week.

But I know with a lot of work we can have a lot of success here, we just need to really go to work and we can change the area. I just need to put forth everything I have and God will bless us in ways that I'm sure I can’t even imagine... I love being a missionary even though its hard, but I know it will all be worth it in the end! 

I love you mom! Be happy and be great! 

Love, Jayson

P.S.

I got my blood test results the other day and they said that I had too much bilirubin in my blood. So thats weird! It’s a enzyme that our liver or kidney should process that mine seems to not be doing. The most common thing is called Gilbert's Syndrome which doesn't sound horrible, but it can also be linked to other problems. So I have to go back on Tuesday to get more blood tests! So I will be getting more results on it here in another week, but for now we are just waiting. Other then that I was trying to wash clothes this week, and as I walked down the flight of stairs that are way too short for people my height (I always hit my head) my shoe stuck to the floor, but my foot kept going! I fell down a flight of stairs with all this soapy water and all my clothes. I was  confused more then anything, as I tried to clean out the water I was thinking “Man my elbow hurts!” So finally I checked…. just a ton of blood.... it’s right on the elbow, I can’t even see it without a mirror, but man did I feel dumb! So that’s my health! I will keep you all updated on what happens! Pray for me! :) Photo included of my new cut! Feeling like I'm awesome! ;)

First Argentine Hospital Visit

So its been a whole new adventures this week. I found out I now only weigh 165 pounds which puts me at 40 pounds down from where I started so thats fun! I went to a hospital in Argentina that for the first time…it didn't look sketchy. I got my blood drawn by a nurse and watched her do it, like i was way afraid, but I watched like a big boy. I had Burger King for the first time in 20 months and it was awesome. So that is the fun stuff that happened this week. 

So to answer the questions:

• What is Elder Plumb’s first name and where is he from?

His name is Alec Plumb and he is from Idaho. 

• Do you like your new Pens? Does this apartment have an oven?

To see how I like the new pension look at the pictures, it was made for small people, but it does have a working oven.

• Do you feel safe in your new area? Are you taking precautions to feel safer?

It’s a dangerous area, but I don't feel worried ever… God has protected me so many times I have no doubt he will keep doing it!

• Is Elder Plumb a rule follower? Are you?

Elder Plumb hasn’t really cared for the mission work. He is very lazy, but he is willing to follow the rules when I do… if I don’t he doesn't. So that’s hard, but he does go with me in the mornings when I want to run and watches me outside. 

• How far from the mission home do you live?

We live about 20 minutes from the mission office in car, about an hour by bus.

• What is your new ward/branch like?

It’s a branch, but I don't know how it is because I haven't met them yet! 

• Do you walk or bike in your new area?

We walk every where, my comp likes taking busses everywhere but i am way to cheap for that so we walk a lot now that im here. I mean i dont mess around!

Monday we said goodbye to the Hermanas in my district and it sucked… really they had become some of my best friends, I mean when my companion was weird to everyone, we just chatted us three a lot, it was like we were way tight! Then I said goodbye to the rest of my friends it sucked.

Tuesday I rode a nice bus to Mendoza and I saw the “Giver” on it. I loved it! Way awesome movie! It made me think of how the mission is kinda like the society, but not really. It was cool. Then I talked to 4 kids from London for a while and it was way cool. They had seen Book of Mormon the musical, but I was the first real missionary they had ever met! Then we got to the area. We had left the pension for maybe three blocks and my comp said his crotch hurt and we had to go back to the pens (apartment). Then we went to the pharmacy and I bought him baby powder so he could walk for the rest of the day. It was awesome. We taught a gal all about chastity… so that was weird... :)

Wednesday we went to the offices to pick stuff up for my companion in the morning. Then in the tarde we went to a house just to talk to anyone… to open the mouth, the man told us to try next door, so we did. It turns out they are awesome members that we didn't know where they lived, and then they gave us 8 references, and then 3 references to less actives, so it was just a huge miracle. Then we went and taught one of them and he was so awesome, Romiro. He was nice, such a cool miracle!

Thursday we went to the hospital for me, and that was nice…. not really. I have a way slow resting pulse of 52 beats per minute, I think so thats cool. Other then that I'm just under weight and really tired... :) So then I got the order for the blood test, but that had to be the next day. So then we went back to our pension, I made my comp walk forty minutes to get to lunch and he was not happy with me... but we arrived early still, so I mean I wasn't going to be early. Then in the night we went and visited 5 less actives that day with the ward mission leader. He just took us from house to house in his car. It was awesome!!! 

Friday we went and I got the blood taken out… it was really weird to watch it come out of my vain. I mean it was weird because I have pretty nice veiny arms now so it was like I could see that it was inside it and you could see as my heat beat the thing got more full.... it was really weird! Then I had Burger King. Awesome! Then in the night we got taken by a bishop of another ward to visit people in our area, the family Jaque, it was awesome. They are cool and then the husband said like he just wants to be on the path that is closest to the path of Christ, because he knows there has to be one path. It was awesome to tell him that he could find it for himself by the Spirit. He seemed to like all we said and then the bishop talked about it too and how he had felt it… it was awesome! :) 

Saturday way awesome conference! But thats really all we did!

Sunday we had more awesome conference and then in the night we talked to a family, it was the same lady we taught the law of chastity to. We talked to her husband who is a less active and I shared Corinthians 10:13 which is on my plaque in the church. He cried and it was awesome, so I felt like the Lord was helping me rescue. My comp doesn't like to do anything, unless we have something really set up and placed well… like no matter what it will happen, but I was like boom… listen to the Seventy speak. We need to go to the rescue now, we need to worry a little less about the procedures and rescue. I loved it! It was awesome! I loved conference… I told dad my favorites Uchtdorf in priesthood, Eyring to start the conference, and Holland to end, and then there was one other by just a random Seventy, I loved it! 

I know my Savior lives and he loves me, and he wants what is best! I know that this transfer won’t be easy for me, but at least I have the Lord to help me, and help me get better and get better.

I love you guys with all my heart! Never lose faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he will never let you fall. Get closer to him and he will get closer to you! We get credit for trying to keep trying! 

I love you all! 

Elder Jayson Benedict

New Area -- New Companion

28 March 2016

Again I don’t really feel like writing much today. 

So I'm leaving Villa Mercedes which is really just the worst news I think I've gotten in a long while. I love this area and it is really the best area I have ever had in teaching and having a lot of investigators and people who actually come to church. I mean it is just an incredible place that I don't want to leave at all—I'm serious... I really love it here!

I’m going to be going to Bermejo Guaymillen so that is cool I guess. It is a really poor area… there has been a lot of robbings there of the missionaries, so that fun. Whats not cool is my companion. His name is Elder Plumb, he has been out about 12 months in the mission, if I'm not mistaken, but he is just rude to everyone and he is way just not easy to get along with. Two of my good mission buddies called him their Gethsemane of the mission so thats like awesome....now it’s my life, I just have to endure it well right? Six weeks and then I'm betting I will train one of the newbies…I don't know, we will see. 

Monday we went to about 5 or 6 houses and 2 of those houses twice and no one was home. It was lame!

Tuesday we had a district meeting that I gave about the attributes of Christ and I liked it. Basically I just asked a lot of questions and tried that, the group taught more then me! It was awesome! I don't remember the night events!

Wednesday we went to visit Alan, but he wasn't there. I sat and chatted with his mom and it was nice. She is sealed, but they have stopped going to church. It kills me I want to help them so bad, I just don't know how. Then we went to a baptismal interview for the hermanas! It was awesome! Way great kid has 10 years and he is awesome. I love him to death! I love the hermanas also they are just great gals! My companion lost a bag of my clothes that day that he had asked to borrow... he still hasn't apologized... I hate that he never ever apologizes...

Thursday we planned and then I talked to the Warners, I love those people so much! Then in the afternoon we were out working and went to visit Jorge, he was awesome! We taught a little to him and then taught two of his friends, Franco and another lady with him and it was great, they seemed really interested! I love that feeling like I'm helping new people and Jorge talked about how the gospel was helping him and it was great! 

Friday we went to Flia Gulisa and I gave the lady a blessing last Sunday and she told me how perfect the blessing was and that I had said phrases and words that touched her, and in some form mentioned her dad and it was so cool. She cried as she testified of the power of the Spirit in that blessing. It felt good to know I was being guided. Then we taught the video of Easter to another family!

Saturday we cooked with the Funez family all day and I loved it! I love that family a ton and they make the world better for me, I am going to miss them with all my heart! Then we went to the hermanas baptism because the kid really wanted me to go. So we went and it was great, except there was no water, so I went running garbage can, by garbage can trying to fill it. We got it like mid-shin level and he kid got baptized fine! It was awesome! 

Sunday we had a great amount of the people in the church. I was way happy, and then in the night we did divisions with the young men and it was awesome, I taught four people little things and I loved it and then I  got the news of the changes and I’m good. I know the Lord is going to help me and everything is going to be better! 

I love the Lord and he is my rock and my salvation and I have no room to doubt in him. I love this gospel and I know what I share is true and that the Lord just wants us to be happy, even if we have to suffer a little, the joy he will give us is worth all the treasure in the world! 

I love you mamma!

Love, Jayson