Closing in on his two-year mark, but he won’t be home until the end of March!?

Here I am again to bring you up to date on what Elder Corbett has been doing. The last time I reported it was just about Christmas, so that is where I will pick things up.

As it has been for the past two years, one of the most exciting experiences for our family was to be able to speak with Benjamin on Christmas day. We were pleased that all the members of our immediate family were able to be there to talk to him and feel of his spirit. He noted in his next e-mail message that it was great to hear our voices!

As I noted in my last update, at the beginning of December Elder Corbett was called to serve as one of the two assistants to the mission president. So in this update you will learn much more about what his responsibilities have been.

Elder Corbett’s and his companion’s first week of the year was, using his own words, “packed full of WORK.” As has been the case most of the time in his new position, they only spent one or two days a week working in their own area of the city with their own investigators. The rest of the time they were busy working with the president to make plans for the missionary work or visiting and working with missionaries throughout the entire mission. More specifically, this is what he had told us about this new call: “As an AP[assistant to the president] I see the mission from a different perspective. I am grateful for the trust Heavenly Father has in me. My daily schedule is waking up, getting ready, heading to the office for a couple of hours to take care of computer work or meetings with President Salas, we have been super busy , so that makes things a blur.” In one message Benjamin reported that they were up late planning with the president and that it was a great experience because they talked about the gospel and future plans.. He added “the bad part about it is less sleep! But sleep I can get back, ...time with the president, no.” He continued, “I am so blessed to be side by side with President Salas. He is such a role model!” Elder Corbett is very optimistic about their labors in the mission, he predicted that “Great things are going to happen here in CORDOBA!!!

For the month of January the mission leaders felt inspired to set a goal of 100 baptisms for the mission. Benjamin noted that in 2010 they never reached that number in a single month. And during the first week he and his companion were blessed to see two of their investigators get baptized, Romina and Lucia. He noted that they were so happy during church and “their smiles were huge during the whole baptism.” And this was despite the fact that when they filled the baptismal font, the water came out green. One special baptism Elder Corbett and his companion had was María Gómez, the 74 year old mother of a member who has been very faithful!! They had invited her to be baptized in December and she was ready a month or so later..

In his January 31st message he indicated that they had reached 96 baptisms in January, oh so close to their goal of 100.. But then a week later he reported that all the zone leaders celebrated with the mission president their 100 baptisms in January. So it appears that they did reach their goal.

Another of Elder Corbett’s new duties as assistant is to work closely with the mission president with the transfers of missionaries from one companionship and area to another, something that takes place every 6 weeks. As he described it to us they begin on a Wednesday and end on Saturday and it is a long, tiring process, but one that is guided by inspiration from the Lord.

During these past two months he has travelled to the other two provinces that make up his mission, Catamarca and La Rioja. He noted that Catamarca is hotter and drier than the places he has worked in Córdoba.

In January two new missionaries were assigned to live with Elder Corbett and his companion, Elder Pacheco. Elder Cerda, from the same ward in Chile as Elder Pacheco, and Elder Flake from Orange, California, very close to where Benjamin’s Aunt
Caryn and Uncle Ken live.. He says they are both hard workers and that they all get along well.!

Well, now the biggest news that we received from Elder Corbett during the past two months. About the middle of January, after he had already been given his flight plans for a return near the beginning of March, his mission president, President Salas, asked him to consider staying an additional 3 weeks in order to train the two new assistants. Since both Benjamin and his companion, Elder Pacheco, were to end their missions at the same time, the president wanted to have one of them train the new ones. We told him that we would support him with whatever he decided. After Benjamin prayed about it for a week or so he decided that it was the right thing for him to do. After being away from him for almost 2 years(his two year mark is February 25th), we can surely wait an additional 3 weeks to have him come home(can’t we?!?)

In his most recent message Elder Corbett told us that they had a great “missionary” Valentine’s day. It was their preparation day and they were able to get invited to a private country club to play soccer and have an “asado”. And Presidente Salas again played soccer with them. Benjamin noted, “I was able to be with my love today…...SOCCER!!!!”

Another highlight of this past week was a special meeting for the members with one of the area authorities, President Arnold. As a part of the meeting for the youth of the area, all the full-time missionaries sang in a special choir. He noted that they all entered the chapel singing “Called to Serve” and the spirit was strong. He then observed, “Being an elder is a special blessing.”

And the best part of the week was that they found some neat families to teach and that a number of them came to church .

The next update will be the last as it will come right before Elder Corbett completes his mission. As the say in Argentina, “chau”!

Bonus Fotos!

Like Dad, I am very behind in my duties as the photo uploader for this blog. So I added some to his previous post and here are a few random ones that I couldn't incorporate very well into the last post. Ben said that he has thousands of pics and we are so excited to see him, to look at all his pics and hear him tell his stories! :) But until then... Here is a little taste of his adventures!


October 2010 Ben at the Acuario Cordoba



Another famous "package face"!


The streets of Argentina


The fields of Argentina

The Missionaries helped knock down the old church building

Jack Bauer in Argentina... Ben was excited! :)

Ben and his Companion with some kiddos. At first I thought he taught them the Red Raider's GUNS UP... But when we talked to him at Christmas he said that people, mainly children, do this when something is cool! :) So same thing! ;)

This is little Luciano and his new baby sister!

21 Years Old and Almost 22 Months Served on his mission!

As you see it has been over three months since I last did an update of Benjamin's blog, but it hasn't been because there hasn't been much to tell you about! I will just share with you a bit of what he has shared with us. As some of you may realize, he only has a little more than 2 months left in his mission, so he will soon be able to give you more details when he returns.

During the first part of September Benjamin got some good news from his last area in Villa Maria. He learned that one of those he had been teaching decided to get baptized and that Raquel, the doctor that he baptized, gave her first talk in church.

Benjamin and his companions still do service projects for members or investigators. He mentioned that one day they helped an investigator move large cinder blocks, which he called a "great workout." On another occasion they power sanded a wooden door frame for a member.

Later that same month they were blessed with the visit of one of the General Authorities of the Church, President Arnold, who came to explain some significant changes, for example, some new ways to teach and a new focus on the work. One thing that President Arnold said that impressed Benjamin, was a quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell, a former apostle, "when we finish our mortal lives, we will look back at all the temporal things and realize that they had relatively little importance while even the small spiritual experiences we had were far more important than we imagined(not a direct quote)." Benjamin noted that the Spirit was great and that his testimony was strengthened.

During the last week of September he reported another blessing. They didn't have much money left for the month and it was the end of the day as they were walking up the stairs to their apartment, tired and hungry, when their bishop, who lives below them, came out with a plate of empanadas.

(Their house: The Missionaries live upstairs and The Bishop lives downstairs)

He started off the month of October in a wonderful way: being able to watch all sessions of the General Conference broadcast from Salt Lake and having a very meaningful interview with his mission president, Presidente Salas, in which he shared with Benjamin his vision for the Córdoba mission.

(Ariel's Baptism)

Then later in the month the mission had its regular six-week transfers. Benjamin was excited to learn that he would be staying in the same area and that he had been assigned a new companion, Elder Silva, from Chile(this is the 3rd Chilean companion he has had). He later noted that Elder Silva has a great desire to serve and that his father joined the Church just 6 months ago.

(Elder Silva)

And on the 25th he hit his 20 month mark in the mission. He noted that his "vision is still the same: work hard, be obedient, love the people, and baptize." He went on to say that "Each day is one that I will never have again; I will only have one mission, and I will not have regrets."

(Ben says it was "meant to be"!)

October ended on a sad note for Argentina as their former president, Nestor Kirchner, who was also the husband of the current president, died unexpectedly at the age of 60.

The month of November brought a new cultural experience for Benjamin and all the missionaries in Argentina: the country had its national census. Apparently it is completed on one single day and all citizens as well as foreigners are required to stay home during certain hours until a census taker comes by. Furthermore, this meant that missionaries couldn't go knocking on doors until after 5:00pm.

(Asado with Nilda Sunday afternoon)

The highlight of the month of November, and possibly of the past several months, was the long-awaited ground breaking for the Córdoba Temple. As some will recall, this temple was announced by President Monson a little over two years ago. One of the Church's apostles, Elder Neil Anderson, came from Salt Lake to officiate at the ceremony. He also spoke to the missionaries in a special conference and shook hands with each of them. Benjamin noted that he shared many inspiring thoughts, in both Spanish and English, and that he, Benjamin, received a spiritual confirmation that Elder Anderson was truly called of God.

(Ground Breaking of the Cordoba Temple)

Argentina's weather in November is that of early summer and Benjamin observed that it was getting super hot and that they had seen quite a bit of rain which, of course, made it quite humid.

(His caption was: Flooding Cordoba with the Book of Mormon)

One day Benjamin's companion told him that he needed to walk slower, because he couldn't keep up. Benjamin observed in his letter that he had always remembered me, his father, walking fast, and he thanked me for the good "training." He also noted that on his mission his "brain has been set to not walk slow" as he feels that he needs to be doing much more.

(Nicola's Baptism)

(Milana and Candelaria's Baptism, November)

And he reported in that same letter that they have been having much success in their labors with several people planning to be baptized on December 25th which, in his own words, would make it a "true white Christmas."

(Lara's Baptism... Not one of the Christmas ones...)

Although Thanksgiving isn't a holiday in Argentina, Benjamin told us that he followed his personal tradition of eating pizza(he doesn't like turkey dinner) and ice cream. He also shared with us the things that he is thankful for: "for my family, for being a missionary and for the blessings God has given me; I love the gospel, and I am thankful for a prophet who is a special witness of Christ. I am eternally grateful for Jesus Christ."

To end the month of November, Benjamin had a unique experience: a preparation day(Monday) with Presidente Salas and all the zone leaders in the mission. In addition to having a very productive and inspirational planning meeting, they had fun soccer game. Benjamin noted that President Salas is a great soccer player and scored a goal(as did Ben).

(FUTBOL!!!!)

(Team USA)

And now I'm getting to the current month, December. Benjamin described the first week as "one of the most intense weeks of my mission." To start things off, on the 1st he celebrated his 21st birthday. As he put it, "I am now a man...legal in 56 countries." He also noted that he was grateful to have received a shirt, a tie, and a nice, new pair of socks(something a missionary always appreciates) and some goodies from his family, and that he went out with his companion, Elder Silva, to get a nice "lomito" hamburger for dinner.

(Presidente Salas as Santa)

Then on the 4th there was a Church Christmas activity in Córdoba and all the missionaries sang in a special missionary choir for which they had been practicing for quite awhile. Benjamin wrote that they did a great job and that about 800 members and investigators were in attendance.

(Choir Practice)

This was also transfer day for the missionaries and in the evening he got a call from his mission president in which he was informed that he was getting a transfer, a very special one. In Presidente Sala's own words, "Elder Corbett, I wanted to be the first one to tell you that you are going to be the next assistant of the Argentina Córdoba Mission. I have a lot of confidence in you." Benjamin couldn't believe his ears. He wrote, "I felt humbled and excited, but mostly humbled, and also shocked, knowing that there is a ton of great missionaries who could easily have been called."(Note: only two missionaries serve as assistants to the president at the same time). During the past week we have started to learn about his new responsibilities, and it is clear that he is working closely with Presidente Salas to move the missionary work forward in the entire mission, and that he is enjoying the challenge greatly.

(The Mission President with the office elders and assistants)

(Packages waiting to be delivered in the office)

In a few days Christmas will be here and our family looks forward to speaking with our missionary. It will also be his 22nd month mark in the mission field. How time has flown!

(Ben with Charlie Brown Tree #1 and his package face!)

(Ben and his Companion with their Charlie Brown Christmas Tree #2!)

(Christmas dinner?!? Baby Pig? :( )

Elder Corbett hits his 18 month mark in the mission field!!!

During the month of August Elder Corbett spent much time getting to know his way around the big city of Córdoba. He and his companion also have gotten to know the missionaries in their new zone by working with them in their areas. He observes that they are all hard workers. But he and his companion also found some time to work in their own area. In fact, their first week there they spoke with 140 people and invited them to come unto Christ.

He now lives in a big, comfortable “pension” with 3 other elders: his companion, Elder Correnti, Elder Alcaraz from Buenos Aires, Argentina and Elder Gomez from Uruguay. So Benjamin continues to get to speak Spanish 24/7. He did note one negative about the living conditions: they don’t have a heater. And with the cold fall weather upon them, according to Ben, he has to wear 4 shirts, 3 bottoms, a scarf and use 3 blankets to stay warm at night. But he did optimistically observe, “I will survive!”

The second week he was there he got some great news from Villa María; Heliana, a single mother he and Elder Isla had been teaching, finally got baptized!

Elder Corbett and his companion also had their first experience in an Argentine police station; but ONLY as visitors. Benjamin wrote that they were going door to door sharing the gospel when they saw a dog on a roof that was obviously starving to death. In his words “it was just skin and bones.” They unsuccessfully tried to locate the owner and then went to the police station to inform them of the sad situation. However, since the laws about animal cruelty are not the same there, there was nothing they could or would do. But, Elders Corbett and Correnti took advantage of the situation and shared a gospel message with a number of the policemen..

The 3rd week of August, Pam, Stephanie and I, had the privilege of meeting President Olsen and his wife, We had a great time in their home in Salt Lake City hearing them talk about some of their experiences in Argentina, including some involving Benjamin. They are wonderful people and we can see how he came to love them during his first 17 months in the mission.

On August 25th Benjamin hit his 18 month mark in the mission field and informed us that he celebrated it by eating an “alfajor”(a local, tasty cookie). He also observed that he still has a lot to learn and achieve before he’s through. And noted that he loves being a missionary and that it is a huge blessing!

During the last week of the month, Benjamin reported that he had a “delicious” horse sandwich for breakfast with mayonnaise and cheese(from what he told us later, not his first).. He noted that it was getting close to the end of the month and that he didn’t have much money left. But then assured us that he would soon get his money for September and so, in his own words, “No worries. [It’s] missionary life!”

And we were happy to read in his most recent message that this past week, the first week of September, he did get his money for the month and that they went to Walmart to buy a lot of groceries. Specifically, he noted that he bought some more peanut butter and, for the first time since he left Texas, hot sauce and jalapeño seasoned chips.

Benjamin also had some good news related to his missionary work. First, one day last week they found 9 new people to teach. Then a member gave them a list of his friends and relatives to go visit. And finally, he received news from Villa María that another one of the people he had taught there, Isabel, decided to get baptized. He noted that she is the one that read 1/3 of the Book of Mormon(175 pages to be exact) in one day!
Amazing!