Week 35: Posadas, Argentina

This week was pretty good, and then i got sick with the flu and it's hard to do missionary work with the flu... but i'm pretty much all better now..... And yeah its a pretty stressful job, sometimes the leaders make it tough because we always verify with the missionaries what they are doing and some don't really know how to treat the missionary lightly and help them move along, but rather get mad or tell them they need to do better, but president is focusing on that and helping us do better always. 

And yeah i don't think we would surivive if the members didn't do our laundry. The stuff here is super expensive and its frustrating because i could buy a camera in Paraguay for cheaper than here but its tough to do that and i'm afraid if i gave the money to someone there it would lose it or something would happen. But i shall see. and the week was pretty good, and the zone is.. good- some people good some not so great.  There are 2 hermanas that are really struggling, but the rest are doing really well, they are just really needy because they are new and need lots of help and think they arent good missionaries cause they don't have lots of lessons during the week or not that many come to church, its just they're missionaries. And we want to have a zone activity the last p day of the transfer so we shall see. And we found some new people, some good people too, but the really cool ones are the ones that can't walk and can't get to church and there aren't too many members with cars that can go get them.... one lady that was super poor and had a fever paid for a taxi to come and said she loved it, but she's like a 85 year old and has 18 kids and cant really walk.. but shes really cool. 

And we had a conference today with the president which was super good, about working with the members and it was pretty nice.  The assistant to the president from Peru that's been the assistant for like 8 months who is just fantastic, like probably will be a 70 one day, leaves in a week and gave his testimony today at the end and it was pretty cool to hear, but i learned alootttt from him and it's sad to see him go. But yeah everything is going pretty well, can't complain too much seeing that i'm a lot better off compared to a lot of people here.  It's pretty sad the drug use and just all the problems that come from it. Cause it's super cheap here- like 20 dollars worth of weed in the States is like 1 dollar here. And it hurts the people pretty badly, but i guess we are here to help them. 

But thanks Mom for everything! How was Costa Rica for dad? How did prom go? Is everyone getting excited for summer?? When's the last day of school? Talk to you next weeeeek, thanks!!!

Love,  

Elder Roberts

Week 34: Posadas, Argentina

Hmm, no we didn't really do anything for easter, just had some people come to church which was good, but the people here really dont do too much, its kinda weird. We ate rice and hamburgers. 

yeah i watched The District on the Mormon Channel..... its pretty Americanized... its a lot different here. i watched them and learned from them but its hard to apply some of the stuff when there isn't ward council and your mission leader is inactive. but its fine, we are starting to work with the members a little more. 

But okay thanks for the whiteboard!! i think that will help, and thank grandmom for the movies. i'm not sure i can fit more pants in the suitcase haha but ill try. i think i'm going to need to buy a new camera. when you send a package for the next time, maybe you can send a little book, like any book and put 5 dollar bills in the pages, you can take it out of my account, because if i take it out here in the card i lose tons and tons of money in the transfer, i basically can get double on the street than what i would get on the card. thanks! and haha i did eat ice cream when i completed 6 months, but not a lot. 

And we are finding people.... just not people that want to commit to things, i'm not sure, but its hard. the members don't help too much, they also seem to be busy and we don't really get to spend a lot of time with them. there aren't too many refereces here,so if we can get the members to believe that it is possibly to have success maybe they will help us more, but they really don't seem to be too focused here. the people here are just different from the members in the states... but like president zeballos says that we have to be creators of the situation and not be created by the situation. 

But wow i'm sad i'm missing the playoffs and all the clash of clan playing....... haha not really.  but thats fun to teach seminary. Do Liam and emma like early morning seminary? tell them to take advantage of it. and my comp is good..... quiet and he's been stressed cause his girlfriend's grandmother is really sick and might die soon and he was really unfocused like reading her letters every morning that he printed out. His girlfriend is serving a mission in colombia and she might go home if her grandmother passes away.

I'm teaching english classes every week, not too many people come but we are going to have a baptism as a result, well the elder in the other area of our ward will so there are a few fruits from the class. and i think we are going to baptized a lady May 3 if everything works out well.  and we went and gave two blessings with the president one with a lady that was on her death bed with cancer, it was pretty scary to see here in that situation and her daughts around her crying, pretty sad, and one to a menos activo that was super super grateful that we came and started crying after and hugging us, so that was a good experience. And we have had some interesting lessons, usualy people are really interested at first, almost always accept a baptismal date but then kinda fall away. 

And the week was actually pretty good, we taught a lot.  I'm not sure what the standard in maryland is for lessons taught per week, but i think we are averaging like 38 to 40.. but its more like we have to filter through people a lot and its bascially lots and lots of contacting. so i think its a lot different than the states missions. and we walk a lot sometimes. some days no, some days yes, depends if there is a soccer game or if its a holiday and everyone drinks or if its raining there arent too many people, but if not its usually not too much walking- just talking a lot. 

But thanks for the letter!! hope the easter break went well for everyone!! have a good weeek!!! i think we will be able to Skype in like 3 or 4 weeks for Mothers Day right?? i forgot when it was...but thanks!!love and miss everyone!

ben 

Week 33 Posadas, Argentina

Our week was pretty good, there're always ups and downs, but its better to focus on the ups. But i really dont know what we are going to do for Easter, i kinda forgot about it until today. and wow thats a lot of people at grandmoms for Easter, haha sounds like fun!

Today, we cleaned a little, went to see if my camera can be fixed and we have to go back another day when the guy is there but they think they can fix it, so ill let you know but i feel like its fine. And then we cut our hair, bought food and just kinda rested for a little bit, it was kind of a chill day which was much needed. and yeah the members are still washing our clothes and i think all of them here have washing machines. im pretty sure. and for our lunches, hmmm we have had some rice and the noodles, some chicken, some more noodles and some soups and hmmm not really sure. pretty much that, but its usually pretty good. We like to cook hotdogs and eggs and put them in little tortillas at night if we have time. But we are teaching a few people.. but one called raquel that is cool, old and fat and cant walk but is really funny and i think shes going to get baptized may 3rd and a few other people, a really intersting guy luiz that is really catholic and smart but we are tryting to get him to read the book of mormon and rosa and paula thats a mom and daughter that are praying and reading and everything right now and are on the edge about it but i think that they are going to progress and maybe get baptized in may. But honestly we kinda have to go look for some new ones this week. and wow that is super crazy that mark johnson uses skype and with his friends on his mission. i dont think the chruch trusts some the missionaries down here with that kind of stuff... when they already do that kind of stuff anyway......... but thats super cool. and thats great that that lady that lives near the church is going to get baptrized, sounds like the hagerstown ward is doing really well!! i bet bishop castle is working hard as mission leader and dad is doing well as bishop, but wow im jealous he gets to go to costa rica, which part? there is an elder here i know that is from costa rica. and ohhh noooo is he really the junior class advisor....thats a  lot of work. Tell him good luck, but im sure he will be fine he always does a good job with the stuff he commits to. 

I think I just need the whiteboard, if you can, a new watch, just a cheap one from walmart like the one i started which, it endured a brutal 9 months haha but it was comfy i liked it. i think it was timex. now i have a new pocket watch. it kinda broke. and the movie 17 miracles if you can find it. i want to watch it. and the other side of heaven. just to be able to watch on pday in the future. But sorry im so expensive... hopefully everyone at home is going well and everyone enjoys easter break!!!! Thanks for everything!!! love you!

Ben

Week 32 Posadas, Argentina

Yeeeeeeep watched all 10 hours of General Conference, I have to admit to falling asleep a little becuase we were in a dark room with air conditioning.... and I think my body was a little exhausted, but good job Nathan for going to the preisthood session!! 

Thats interesting about the two teams in the basketball final. But not very exciting seeing that its kentucky and uconn.. for like the 10th time. But woooo josh is leaving in july!!!! thats when he put his date?? 

Yeah Sister Craven ended up like write next to my area like 15 minutes away, different zone but same city. 

And yeah i think its good to have the people talk about their missions during seminary, it gets the kids excited I think. 

And my companion is from Lima, from what he told me he's from the really dangerous scary part. He has lived on his own since he was 18 and worked and found the church through his girl friend who was less active and then he ended up getting baptized when she reactivated. 

And whattttttt unlce jeff is going to Berlin?!! woahh, does he have to learn German?? or does he already know it? And Uncle David is going to Islamabad whatttttttt thats crazy! And afterwards retiring. Wow haha thats pretty cool but sounds scary. Whats so dangerous about it? do the people like to harass americans there? 

And no i haven't gotten to use the object lesson, i can buy cups here but i've been so caught up in things that i haven't really had the chance to think.  And yeah i still get to study spanish almost everyday, we started the winter schedule again where we study in the morning till 10:30 eat lunch at 12:00 and then work till 9:00, so its a little more intense especially walking in the sun right after getting fed a lot of heavy food, but more motivation to talk to more people and sit down in their house so we can rest a little haha. And yesss the accents are pretty funny, the Colombians never lose their accent, there's is a Colombian hermana that told me Cali is a tough mission, the one dad served, I don't know if he thinks the same.  And the Peruvians speak pretty normally, pretty well, Argentinians from Buenos Aires have accents that are reallllly different, or from the southern part. Their y´s are sh´s and their double ll´s are sh´s. But yeah its funny to hear how they all talk differently. But thanks for everything!!!!! I think the only thing I want for my birthday is a small whiteboard, if you can find one with some dry erase markers and also if you can find of copy of the movie 17 milagros. I don't think I need too much, don't spend a lot of money on me. You can save it for college books or a food plan at BYU. Or a chiptole fund for when i come back. But we had a little activity in the chapel with the other missionaries in the zone and it made us get here a little late so i didn't have too much time to write. But thanks for everyone!! Tell everyone i love them as well. I also heard lots of love and service and courage and gratitude in conference, it was pretty good. But thankssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love, ben

Week 31: Posadas, Argentina

My new companion is pretty cool, Elder Arenas from Peru and he has a year and 5 as a member and 5 months in the mission. And he is super humble. I think he was pretty poor before, he lived by himself and worked in a shoe factory. And yeah we are finding some people to teach its just kinda like the people here don't like commitments.... which is probably why 90 percent of them aren't married. But we commited 20 people to be baptized and only 1 came to church..... it rained so im glad we had at least one. We had a meeting with president Lapierre today and it was pretty sweet, he is a super smart guy. And I learn alot from him. 

Tell liam to stop procrastinating and that it will serve him well. And woooahh thats sweet dad gets to go to costa rica. for free!! haha thats awesome. Nice little vacation. 

And yeah i got the envelope with the shoe inserts and the candy!! thanks!!!!!!!!!!! and i actually got the little box as well!!! thanks!!!!!!!!!! its still pretty warm but I'm sure I'll be able to start using the Under Armor pretty soon. Thanks!! And woahhhh Liam is almost as tall as dad??? thats crazzy. I'm sure he's still super frail and has noooooooo muscles hahahahahaa just kidding, but thanks for everything!!!  

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love and miss everyone!!!!!

ben