November 14, 2007 Letter

Whoa! Crazy couple days:

So, sorry I didn´t get to write yesterday. Sometimes they like to throw a Random Zone conference on our prep day. So, that, PLUS there was an intercambio with two Hermanas. I needed to switch companions for one day with Hna Carela, and Hna Cornillez stayed with my companion because those two weren´t getting along very well. Aparnently Hna Carela was the problem. But we had a good time together. ANyway, so we just switched back a couple hrs ago, back to normal... (if you call this country normal.)

Yesterday I gave un Libro de Mormón to a nice kid that works in the colmado (little store) next door almost 24-7. He will have lots of time to read it and already he has read a bunch. He (Juan) has wanted to learn English, so we teach him some words when we pass by. It´s hard to teach colmado people cuz they are always working, and he has school. But anyway. I think he´ll soak this gospel up like a sponge. :) *shloop!*

Since yesterday was zone conference, today is our P-day. Our zone went and toured the botanical gardens, tourist park. FUN!! and stopped by a really cool restaurant that looked like a western saloon. it was all decked up in everything western, even swinging doors at front. really cool. we all ordered burgers and a jugo, had a good time with our zone. I will send pic next week and maybe not write so much, depends on my time. Today I just don´t have as much as usual. we need to teach a lesson soon. :)

Another neat story: One night we taught a bunch of jovenes (kids) not members all of them, but I love it how they all are eager to learn more from us. We sang Called to Serve at the end and we sang loud and clear. we messed up on the words one time and laughed, but everyone learned the chorus well. It´s good to see good strong spirits in these great kids. :)

Something that freaks me out a littlë: our neighbor´s phone rings off the hook a lot... but the thing is that the ring is exActly like our phone at home (in Utah)... and it gets me EVERY time. weeeird....

We have one baptism lined up for the 24th: Janella, sweet teenage girl who seems to get more and more excited every time we come by. Good thing her cousin is a recent member to support her. He knew he recieved the preisthood, but thought he couldn´t baptize. But I told him he CAN and could even baptize Janella! How cool is that. This Saturday I will be visiting my other area to see the baptisms of a bunch of my old investigators. Cool! I love baptisms. :D

Wow. Christmas is just around the corner... I´m gonna really REALLY miss Egg Nog...and pumpkin pie... and the smell of pine trees... today I missed girl scout cookies mmm thinmints. Well, there´s enough junk food to get down here. So what are everyone´s plans for Christmas and Turkey day??? We´re having ¨Pavaso¨ dinner, activity party night next week where they play games and stuff. What did you think of my gryphon idea for the t-shirts? I´m afraid they might not use it.. just cuz E Fernandez wanted to keep his silly buffullo soldier idea. Well I think the whole zone should decide for themselves, and not just him. Plus I think we´ll win the BBal game if we have a more fierce maskot. Right?!? yeah. ;D

Well, things are good... still have a lot to learn. Spanish is getting really good, and it really helps to have a lot of confidence to speak a lot and ask questions etc. We had 12 investiagstors that came to church SWEET! That is also going well with them.

And by the way... I´m SO blessed to be on this mission!!!

Thanks again for all who wrote. I will print it out and enjoy reading all your news until next week!

Con amor,

Hna Julie Benson

ps - pics next week I hope =)

http://juliesmission.blogspot.com

November 6, 2007 Pictures

More pics:

Baptism

cute little kids, the little girl went crazy about the photo before it even went off!

Kids lining up to fill their jugs with water...there´s been a shortage...
mi compañera, Hna Delgado from AZ, people think she´s Dominican. She does have Mexican family, but she´s all American. :) She´s very sweet and diligent in the work.

November 6, 2007 Letter

Greetings and salutations!!!

First of all, thanks for all your prayers and thoughts… They really make a difference here in this perilous battlefield… the power of prayer is real.

Yeah, TOTALLY forgot it was Halloween… I -think- I ate some candy… lemmy see: Jelly Bellies, or a granola bar… hmph. I did dress up for a ward activity the week before (if you want to see my costume, you have to guess what it is…) :D Though on the 31st, I taugh some good lessons, and actually found the father of a new member in my last area! Cool stuff that Spirit can do… ¨mmm! Great power you have young Skywalker¨ ^_^ …Anyway, How was everyone elses´ Halloween??

The Zone is planning a BBall game and are making t-shirts… no one liked the first design, so I threw a really cool one together… if it goes through, we´ll be the ¨Gryphons¨ Yeah, it´s cool. I´ll atatch the file.

Also, there´s a pic of an older baptism in my last area, Aneuris, with his mom, Taylor and I, and his friend.

Didn´t get water in the house until Monday in the later morning time... that´s bad English for ya... we were praying for water to come... and it came! ...if only for a moment, but we had enough to do the dishes and fill up a bucket to save for later. Blessings! But before even that, a guy from the bishopric, and another guy from the ward, Santiago, came with a van full of buckets filled up from the church! Blessings! We are grateful to have water. You guys have it good in the states...

I´ll remind everyone that Satan is always at our backs... that´s not a good thing. Lately, everytime wére headed to another appointment I always get these dark feelings that say I want to go home, I´m tired, etc... but then we teach the lessons and it´s always SO worth going. Because I know those people needed to hear our message. Got to learn to ignore that darn Satan voice...

Okay, the other pics: cute little kids, the little girl went crazy about the photo before it even went off! - Kids lining up to fill their jugs with water...there´s been a shortage... - mi compañera, Hna Delgado from AZ, people think she´s Dominican. She does have Mexican family, but she´s all American. :) She´s very sweet and diligent in the work. That´s good for me, I´m learning a lot... I may have to take over the area when she goes home in January... Aaaa! We studdied about some deep doctrines of the Atonement this morning. I loved it. There is so much to learn about our Savior!

Anywho...

Thanks for the Love. Hey, somebody play Settlers of Catan for me, k? Rack up those sheepys! ;D

*ahem* (send me pics) ;)

Hna Julie Benson

PS - ¨Start wearing purple, wearing purple...¨ - who can guess the movie?? They get 50 superpower points for guessing right! (let me know if anyone finds that soundtrack...) -peace

November 1, 2007 Pictures B

More Pics:

1- two-week house in Los Alcarrizos

2- Got my hair trimmed by Wendi. She made my hair beautiful again!... For one day... ;D

3- Hna Taylor and I with pretty hair

4- Chicken foot.... I kind of ate it... there just wasn´t much meat!

5- Taught a bit of English to the neighborhood of kids that gathered on a member´s porch on night. Fun!

Sorry, camera died. Maybe more pics (especially a few more baptism pics!) next week. :D

Thanks again everyone for everything! Family, it´s so good to hear from you guys, and hear what´s happening when you tell me family news and get toghethers. Keep it up =)

Love to all,

Hna Benson

November 1, 2007 Pictures A

Okay pics:

1- me with the Bishop and his family, saying goodbye from Los Alcs

2- oops pic

3- Baptism: (in white) Tito, Colón, (Erik that did the baptizing), Felix, (Elder Rojas), Lupe Tito´s wife.

4- Lupe and her ADORABLE baby

5- Tito and Lupe´s marriage! They have to get married before they´re baptized. These legal marriages last for only a few minutes... sign a book, hand to the square, kiss the bride and that´s it! Gotta love the DR.

more comin up...

November 1, 2007 Letter

Yes, I´m alive. w00t! Sorry for the delay everyone... If anyone´s been checking the here there´s been a huge tropical storm down here. I thought it was another hurricane, but these are a lot worse I think, not really though ... it had been raining for... at LEAST 6 days... non-stop. well, POURING. if it stopped at all it was only for a short breather...luckily that was when we would run to the next cita (apointment) before it started again. SHeesh I´ve never seen so much rain!

Whoa, news: Transfer - I´m in Los Angeles (no, not California) with Hna Delgado from Queen Creek, AZ, I¨ll get a picture out eventually. It´s kind of closer to the capital. It´s gonna be great out here. Our neighborhood is pretty ghetto and It´ll take a while to get to know the streets, but I have high hopes things will be good. But switch back to my last area... for my last two weeks there we moved to a new house... but we never got electricity... we had to borrow light from next door just to keep the fridge goin´... but with all the rain nobody had power... AND the water pipes were shut off cuz of so much rain, so we didn´t have water either! heh, we were catching rain water dripping off the roof to use... okay, not bad... and here in Los Angeles there still isn´t water... I hadn´t showered for like... 3 or 4 days. Yum! I´m so hot. I did get clean yesterday though cuz Hna Delgado had 3 huge buckets of water saved up. Yay! and I got to wash most my clothes that had been in desperate need of washing. cha-ching! God loves me! ;D

(After our first couple hours of sunshine... it started pouring again...just now... when will the maddness stop?!)

After I washed my clothes though... the air is so EXTRA humid that nothing gets dry... all my stuff, papers, books, bed, whatever, is damp. :P just don´t have the sun to dry anything. Things will get better though. ;D Work still moves on rain or shine.

Oh yeah: in the six weeks I had in Los Alcarrizos (THAT went by fast) we had 13 baptisms. yeah. Crazy, I know.

some happened when I just arrived, so I didn´t help teach them much, but still. The work is on fire over there. Hna Taylor is a little firecracker. ;D I´m still learning... I´ve learned so much from her about teaching. She KNOWS how to baptize... as our pres. put it. Good times. I will miss that area... it´s not far so the baptisms that are coming up, I´ll be able to go back and attend the baptism. sweet! Love those guys.