Busy but Doing Great!

March 22, 2014
Hey I am doing great!

Things have been going much smoother in the office. I am finally getting the hang of what I am doing around here. I think this week was the first week that it really hit me that my mission is almost over. It is probably the most bitter sweet feeling in the world. I really want to stay but I really don't want to stay either! I think what I like the most is the members. They are just such good people. They have become my family when I had none nearby and they sure took good care of me, and they just love the missionaries! It is really great. I’m thankful for them.

Sorry but we are very short on time today. 

Elder Benson

Historical Trip

March 15, 2013



Torre Pallice Hike

Spring!

It's here it's finally here! Spring has arrived! It has just been absolutely gorgeous this week! Sun sun sun. I think we got to like 65 degrees here and it was just fantastic. Today we made a historical trip! I don’t know how much you know about Italy but if you know anything you will know that Lorenzo Snow opened Italy to missionary work. And where did he do this? Torre Pellice (TO) Italia! So one of the perks in the office is that we get to be lab rats sometimes for the president in trying things out.

 

Torre Pellice  Site is nob on the left

In May, President will be taking a group of people up to a mountain where they dedicated the land of Italy to missionary work. And well, he had never been. So we decided to go and find out how to get there! We read the journal entries in the car on the way there (about 2.5 hours in car from Opera) and we also read the account of President Benson when he came to Italy to re-dedicate the land of Italy for the reopening of the missionary work. Both occasions took place on a rather high mountain above the tiny town of Torre Pellice in Piemonte. Wow what a p-day it was. Unfortunately after much hiking we ran into about 4-6 feet of snow in some places and were forced to turn back before reaching the very peek of the mountain where Lorenzo Snow and President Benson once stood. We tried our best to make it wading through the snow waste deep but after soaking and freezing we called it quits and came back down. We never made it to the place where the dedicatory prayers were given but we were so close and could almost see the top. But on the way up we got some just incredible views of the Italian and French Alps. I even could see some ski resorts in the distance. I hope that I will get to go back when we go in May. But we are not sure if it will be before or after I go home. However if we ever come to Italy we will go to Torre Pellice and finish that hike. I will say that it was not an easy hike. Man the Italians just make trails straight up the mountain. They don’t really know what switchbacks are. The straighter the less time right!? Not sure what they were thinking when they made this trail! Man it was a doozy. It was really great though and I would have to rank this up in the top 3 p-days of all time in Italy. It’s a must do. It was probably one of the most beautiful hikes that I have been on and well you know Idahoans, we know hiking better than some of these Italians! But I do have to say they beat us on this one. It was just fantastic. There was a little bit of smog and fog in the low valley so the pics did not turn out that great. But it was one of those first hand experiences that you have to have. I am exhausted. I will attach a file explaining the story about all the fun we had today written by a historian professor at BYU. It is great and has tons of cool pictures and facts in it including the prayers.

Well that’s all I got for today! Love you family!

 

Just Ask for The Beckham!

March 8, 2013


Well I am doing very well! Not much to report on here. It’s been a really busy week and we have done a lot, actually, a ton of overtime here in the office. But we aren’t getting paid haha. I am really enjoying the office. I like being busy, makes the time pass faster. After this experience though, I’m not sure I will want to work in an office as a living haha. Well we will see. I think that it’s crazy that next week we will be starting week 3 of the transfer! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I don’t like this! Only 9 weeks left! Time is just flying too fast. I just got here. When you say just 9 weeks that is just not enough. Well looks like I am on the slippery slope to going to the land of never ending p day as they call it here in the mission. I’m not sure if that place exists though. People go to the other side but they never come back! Haha Anyway, we really don’t have a lot going for us as far as missionary work goes. I’m not discouraged, but just rather lost. I mean we took over an area with no investigators. There is not really anyone that we are teaching right now. We are working with a few less actives, and I’m doing all that I can.

My New HairDo

 I have to tell you something funny. So in the mission I have never gone to the barber, actually I have never been to the barber in my life! Really no joke! Mom has always cut my hair, and usually in all the apartments they have hair clippers so I just do it myself and it looks bad but who cares. Well, there are no clippers in the mission office. So I had to go get a haircut.  In the area book it had a reference for the local barber. It said "go to this address and ask for the Beckham. EURO 14." That’s all it said. I said ok! I went and did it and man am I styling now! I look just like the real Beckham! I think it might be on the border of almost non missionary appropriate and it just barley makes the cut as presidentially approved haha. This is a sweet stylin hairdo. This thing is a chick magnet! I’ve been missing out after all these years on good haircuts! Oh well.



Just ask for The Beckham!

 
Love,  Anziano Benson





Barely Presidentially Approved!





Not Enough Time

March 1, 2013

Well after week 2 in the office I still haven’t got everything figured out. There is just too much work to do and not enough time. Usually I have someone to help me learn all this but they just gave me an office chair and a computer and said go to work! I don’t really know what I’m doing but things are getting better. It will be really nice though to know all this for college. It will make life easier. The office if far from a well oiled machine. It’s usually chaos and papers flying all over and things usually never go according to plan. Copiers not working, computer updates messing up the entire Microsoft office, lost information.  We used to have 150 missionaries now we are at 250. When we do one thing it’s not easy because we do it for 250 people not just 2. Everything here is just multiplied. To do one simple email it takes forever because we have to add all the new missionaries emails  and delete the old ones. It’s just really complicated.

Well I am doing good all in all. Teaching time is short as is, and lately it usually gets cut short by office work. But I think we can have an extra hand in this. I will forward you a letter from Taylor that talks about the golden key! That is what I am shooting for. He talked to me about this and it gave me the drive to work towards the golden key. Anyways I love you all and I hope you have a good week!

 Elder Benson