Benjamin's first baptisms!

These past few weeks Benjamin and his companion have been quite busy teaching the gospel to a number of people who seem to be quite interested. And the biggest and best news is that they had their first baptisms: Susana, and her daughter, Jessica decided to get baptized on July 4th(See foto). Ben described it as an extremely exciting experience for all involved and noted that he and his companion sang a duet. He also reported that it took most of the day as he and his companion had to clean the church and also fill and empty the portable baptismal font. Filling it took about 3 hours and required them to get a neighbor to allow them to use his hot water via a long hose. And they had to empty it with buckets(See fotos).

Although this may not be the first time for Ben, some members recently served them an Italian-Argentine dish, ñoquis, potato pasta, which he describes as. "ohhhh so goood. but soooo filling"(See foto). And on Father's day, Benjamin and his companion gave all the fathers a piece of banana bread that they themselves had cooked.

A couple of weeks ago the missionaries had a zone conference so Benjamin and his companion had to take a 5 hour bus drive over to Córdoba. He said it was an inspiring conference and noted that he was glad to have a number of letters delivered to him from the States.

We were a bit concerned to learn that the flu has hit Argentina quite hard, including the swine strain. Ben noted that some members in Merlo have come down with it. Please say a little prayer that he and his companion will stay well.

The area in their church building where the font was set up.



The font being filled with cold water; the hot water had to be "hosed in" from a neighbor's house. The process took several hours.



Ben with Susana and her daughter and Elder Maw. Ben's first baptism in Merlo.



It took an hour to empty the font by using buckets.




Fried Bananas, Eggs, bread, and ?

Ñoquis(potato pasta)

The Beautiful Sunrise in Merlo:

Merlo until September!

Recently Ben wrote saying they were going to the city for transfers. When he wrote again he told us that he and his companion had not been transferred. He also told us that he will probably be there until September. He said that Elders usually stay in Merlo for three transfers. He is excited! He loves the people of Merlo as well as his companion.


Here is Ben in front of the Branch Building. He lives in a little apartment on top of the building.

It looks like this may be the mode of transportation for some. What a beautiful horse!
The scenery in Merlo is beautiful. Here is Ben in front of one of the many waterfalls.

Ben is even venturing to try new foods. This is a rather appetizing picture of cow intestines they prepared and ate.

I'm not sure if he knew what he was getting into. :) I love his face in this pic! I remember when he would be picky at home, I can't believe he at this!

May 25th is a holiday in Argentina. I think this is some of the food they cooked and ate as part of the celebration!

Ben even made friends with the local dinosaur!

Another beautiful waterfall!

Another great view of Merlo! :)

I will try to update again soon! Until then please write Ben! He looks forward to mail and I don't think he has had much to open lately! His address is posted on the right. He says the Gay Lussac address is the best to reach him at! Also you can write to him using www.dearelder.com if that is easier. But don't forget to actually send him something every once and awhile! :)

Merlo and other Argentinian Stuff

Ben recently sent some pictures of Merlo and his room there:

Elder Corbett says that he is getting used to different foods and treats in Argentina. Some of the treats down there are boiled milk with honey and sugar, alfajores-a huge selection of moon pie-like desserts they sell everywhere, and dulce de leche - its like caramel (he says they use it on everything). He says they eat a lot of pasta down there also.

ALFAJORES:

SUNSET IN ARGENTINA:

Ben says their bathroom is kind of small and the shower doesn't have a ledge so the water runs all over the bathroom and the room they live in. His companion Elder Maw from Utah has made a makeshift water bag ledge to keep the water in.

The Bathroom:


Notice a soccer ball in the room. It is definately Ben's room! :)

Elder Corbett's Room:

A view of the neighborhood:

I don't know if you can see the dog in the bottom of this next picture, but Ben says that there are a lot of dogs roaming around because they don't neuter their pets down there.

Another building and view of the mountains:

Hope you have enjoyed the pictures! Have a good week!

He is now in the mission field!!!!

Well, Elder Corbett has finally arrived in his mission field in Argentina! It took him 36 hours, but he made it. He departed from the MTC at 800am on Wednesday(6th) and spent a couple of hours in the Salt Lake City airport before flying to Dallas, Texas. So close to home but yet so far! After a layover of 7 hours(his flight had a 3 hours delay due to a need to change pilots), he took off at 10:30pm for Argentina. After a 10 hour non-stop flight he landed in Buenos Aires. The Church had arranged for someone to pick up him and take him to one of the mission offices there in the capital to await his connecting flight to Córdoba. While there he studied and had the chance to get his first taste of Argentine cuisine…..at McDonalds. At 5:30pm his plane departed, arriving in Córdoba at 7:30pm. There his mission president, Stephen Olsen, his wife, Sister Olsen, and Elder Corbett’s first companion, Elder Kelton Maw, were waiting to give him a warm greeting and take him to the mission office. There he had his first interview with President Olsen and enjoyed freshly made “empanadas,” a truly typical Argentine dish(bread turnovers filled with meat, chicken, or seafood, and other possible ingredients like potatoes, sliced hard-boiled eggs, raisins, etc.). He said that they were delicious.. The next morning he and his companion took a 5 hour bus ride to their area of labor, Villa de Merlo, located about 125 mile southwest of the city of Córdoba. Elder Corbett told us that it is the smallest area in the entire mission and that it has only been open to missionary work for about a year. I believe he said that there are about 50 members in the branch. Merlo, with a population of about 20,000, is located in the foothills between two mountain ranges. It is a favorite vacation spot for many Argentineans due to its “micro-climate”, i.e. relatively dry with mild temperatures and air with a high concentration of oxygen and no pollution. He is very happy and excited to be able to start his mission there and with such a great companion, Elder Maw. He is from Ogden, Utah and has been out on his mission for 19 months. We look forward to hearing about his labors and will be keeping you posted from time to time.