August 15, 2011

Beginning on the money question.
Ok last week I got an email from my Paypal (Paypal is used for Ebay and safe online purchases, and some of my email gets forwarded from my old email) Well it had an account balance for $62.72 So I checked it out and I moved it back to my checking account. Well good thing I did. I had a bit of personal funds floating around and so I took my suit to get dry cleaned... It needed it, but well if you remember about my shoes breaking. Well I was using those and those came completely unglued...Again. I changed to my other pair of shoes and they as well came undone or started to. Glue doesnt work, and the piece of rubber used to sew them had fallen off too. I asked some members and they told me to go get them fixed at a place, but I was gonna need a pair in decent shape. So I was left with but one option. I had to get shoes. No choice, and I got ones that will last, unfortunately It ran me 380 pesos or 95 dollars. =( I have a nice pair of shoes that will last me here and back home, it also appears that I have one leg just a little bit longer than the other and one foot bigger as well. the blister isnt bad. way bummed, cuz it was a big hit to the money that I dont have, but luckily I have been doing pretty good with my money and have been able to actually get my allowance on time, cuz I got my new credit card. and the mission owed me a little bit and i had that. So aside from all of that mess. thats my accounting of the subject. So I took alittle bit of money out because well yeah I had nothing left and had to get the dry cleaning, and because I have to go to Cordoba.

I am going to Cordoba on wednesday ish to go get my new comp. Thats right I am going to TRAIN! Training is a 2 transfer or 3 month process. So I will train and be replaced by a brand new elder.

I would love to get pictures, and I am not trunky just very aware of how much time I have left to serve. The good news is that everything is certain and I dont have to worry about mission things. What I would like is that you just hold on to that money for me so I can buy clothes or do stuff when I get home. I would like if you could put in a little bit so that I can have it there in case something like this happens again.

We need to be talking about the whole "I am coming home" thing. I am gonna be getting "the call" this week, so I am going to tell them that the airport is Burbank or Bob Hope International Airport. Unless you would prefer a different one...


I dont have a real checklist like that anymore. I have a list of things that come to my mind that distract me and I just right them down in my agenda then move them off to the list at the end of the transfer. It helps a lot to just put away those thoughts and save them for later, because they are not bad thoughts but not missionary thoughts. I love his [Lynn G Robbins] talk because it really separates the boys from the men. Lots of missionaries come on the mission thinking its gonna be a gas, a laugh and a fun time, but to come on the mission without goals is bad. Many think that to put a goal it means a number. How many baptisms are you gonna have? Wrong. How much are you willing to leave behind your boyish tendencies and the natural man and become a Man of God like our Savior Jesus Christ. Many missionaries check off their investigators as done when they are baptized. Thats not ok, they rely on us so much, its our job to hand them off to the ward and get the ward involved.

Yeah lifes good here in the mission. This week we were teaching the Retamozo family. they are way cool I think I told you about them last week. We were talking to them about the restoration and they are eating it all up. They seem like they are ready to be baptized. Gonna challenge them this week with my new comp. Other than that this week I helped Elder Vera pack his bags to go home. It kind of really hit home that it was coming up for me too this week. We'll see. Lots of work to do before than. but not alot of time.

Well I gotta be getting out of here. I love you all and I know that this Church is the only true and living church on the Earth today, and that we are led by a Prophet of God. I know that Jesus Christ is our one perfect example of how to live, and my life is dedicated to changing me and my weaknesses to align myself more with Him, and BE like Him. He is my Savior and I serve Him with all my might.

con amor
Elder Ben Ludlow