July 10, 2007 Letter

Hey!
...so did I mention I broke our toilet?... but we have a shower curtain now! :D yippy!
==Hey Mom, these marks == or these << will be my ¨note to mom¨ marks okay? :) see if you can get Dan and April Anthony´s e-mail on the list if it isn´t already... also add rieck.m.f.mexmonw@myldsmail.net and nickwest@cc.usu.edu to the list. Also, I hope you haven´t bought any shoes, cuz I discovered that I only wear my black ones for conferences and Sundays, and if I walk in them too much I can get blisters...yeah. But, man, I love my Tiva sandals! They just might last me my whole mission. Hna Robertson has used her pair of chacos for proselyting for her whole 11 months and they still look new. She says my Tivas will last a long time. So if for some reason I have an emergency with shoes I could probably just buy something cheap here and if I REALLY need some good shoes I´ll let you know. But for now I think I´ll be just fine. :) Thanks!! I take a Vit. C once a day, is that good? what´s Vit. C for? I also take about two Calcium a day. Oh,yeah, who´s Brad Christensen in the ward? I have forgotten so many things already... I don´t think I want mesh garments... I sweat through to my clothes to quickly... I figure if I´m gonna be hot anyways I might as well be dry. So don´t worry about garments either. :) ==

I think I´m getting a tan... I haven´t even touched my sunscreen yet and I´m in the sun a lot, no sunburns whatsoever... maybe my skin is happy. :)
So let me tell you about my first door... I was still confused about everything, what to do, what not to do, remember this and that...I was like a little puppy (Yay puppies!!) tagging along behind Hna Robertson keeping my eyes on the ground to make sure I don´t trip into a muddy garbage pit or fall on my face. I had no Idea where we were going or what was goin´ on, with no time to even breathe, but out of nowhere we stopped at this tiny little pink house. ¨*Gulp* already?!¨ I thought. Alright, just say what you know. Inside were two families hangin´out, we taught them a little about the gospel, everything went smoothly... we´ve been back a few times more and the one family that actually lives in the house are sucking up the gospel like sponge Bob... :D So far the Mom and their little boy have gone to church (the dad has to work) and they are progressing very well. Is this not a golden family?? And my first. How awesome! We have had other neat experiences with contacts and investigators. The members of our awesome ward have helped us a lot too, it´s good to have them come to discussions and share their testimony. We had a ward fireside and they did a fun activity to show how easy and important it is to share the gospel with neighbors and friends. It was really cool, it will be a great encouragement to all of them. This work has only just begun!
Thanks for all your prayers, they do help a ton! I KNOW I couldn´t do any of this work without the help of the Spirit and faith in the Lord.
When we leave Canasticas sometimes, we take the local transportation buses ´´Gua-guas´´... those are interestingly fun. ;) It´s almost a game to see how many people they can fit into a mini-mini van... inside and out... hold on everyone!! XD
I do walk in jungle parts sometimes... almost all of the roads are dirt and rocks or pavement-practically-dirt, and yes the roads get muddy... we practically live in the mtns and there is jungle all around (it´s so pretty!) the place we live is just partially civilized and paved-ish. :)
I remembered I have tapes and a recorder, but I don´t think I can send anything out but letters, so alas, I know you all want to hear my beautiful voice, but I will have to stick with e-mail and pouch... ;D I do love getting letters in the mail! They make me smile sooo big!! Thank you!
Mom and Dad, I got the typed letter from you, it was the one I didn´t open last week :)
Thanks Viki for the faithful encouragement! :)
Hey Ernie!!!! So what´s next for the ol´ adventurer??? Keep me updated... ;D
Thanks Dad for your news of retirement life. Sounds great! Catch some fish for me too ;D I´m excited to see how Farrell Edward´s invention works out in 6 months, it´s so fascinating! Science rules!!
Ah, dear Lisa, I know you would LOVE it here! Little black babies and old wrinkly people everywhere! We totally have to come back so I can show you around to meet these wonderful happy people! ;D
During our lessons Hna Robertson has an awesome system, as we SING a hymn and pray before each and every discission. :D yay! I love singing, and I swear I get the chills every time we sing, cuz I know how quickly it brings the Spirit... despite the noise around us...
Ha ha!! I just about lost it the other day...we were shopping at a big store, La Sirena, and got a bunch of supplies and at the checkout stand there was a little kid (that´s so illegal) bagging stuff...and seriously, almost every item had its own bag... seriolusly! I could not stop laughing ...ice tray, clorox... water jug... paper... we had like a million bags!!! The legend is so true...
It´s interesting to teach people here that are of another religion, and ther are a lot... just down the street are catholic churches and evangelicos that sing loud and beat their tamborines cuz they feel the spirit, and speakerphone preachers on the street...mm...we´ve got a lot of work do do.
Hna Robertson is so funny sometimes, she kind of reminds me of April Anthony, just her manerisms and how she talks and stuff... funny girl. :) She´s a major multitasker and it drives her nuts sometimes. She used to ski/teach ski a lot and work as a camp guide (that´s why she never gets lost out here!) and she likes to run every morning... which means I go runniung too. We´ve got 12 weeks together... I just hope I don´t drive her crazy. ;) Nah, things will be great, we´re havin´a blast!
As for my Spanish, I´m teaching a lot, I just jumped right into it, and I try to learn a little bit each day to expand my length of teaching knowledge...after I´ve said all I know, Hna takes over. My part gets a little longer each time. :) But as for speaking... ...um.... nope. Not gettin´very far there... All I know is Gospel... although I do understand words here and there as people are talking... just gotta take a little bit at a time so I don´t freak out about the language. ;D But like I said, your prayers do help! :)
Those of you who e-mail me, since I check mail on Tuesdays, your last chance to write will be Mondays or even Tues mornings... just so the timing is right. Thanks. :)
okay okay... that´s all for now
This has been another episode of... *click*
peace!
Love to all!
Hna Julie Benson