Elder Benjamin Hill: The Cracks Begin to Show

Friends and family, happy belated Father's Day!

I heard a joke from one of the other elders in the zone that is hilarious. ¿Qué es parecido entre una manzana y la novia de un misionero? (What is the similarity between an apple and a missionary's girlfriend?) Ninguna es-pera. (Neither is a pear/neither waits.) I am hugely entertained by that pun. I'm also entertained by the times that we approach and greet someone in the street, and their first response is to say, "No, ustedes son espías" ("You're spies"). When he said that, Elder Mazzeo just said, "Yep, but we share a message about Jesus Christ..." Gold.

It seems some of you have heard about the hugely widespread power outage that we had yesterday. We had no power from about 0700 until 0915, or so. That crept a few minutes into our Sacrament meeting time, but we started without power, using only the limited sunlight from the windows. As we were singing the opening hymn, the lights came back on, which was really cool.

Now, this weekend was a very strange one. We had transfers, and Elder Mazzeo and I nos quedamos, with various other people changing a bit and one elder in the district getting a new trainee. That was what we were told on Saturday night, which is the normal day in which we find out the changes. But then suddenly in the middle of the night of Sunday, we got a call from the Asistentes del Presidente, and they said that Elder Mazzeo se va a San Juan, which is a province adjacent to Mendoza, in the north. He spent the entire night packing (literally not sleeping a wink) and then got on a but at 0945 this morning and headed out. That was fast. And who is coming to join me in Cementista? A trainee, fresh from the CCM. I don't know yet who, but I will find out on Wednesday. Whoa. That's a bit different from the original plan of nothing changing. It was unexpected. And a bit overwhelming. I, a gringo who is only just starting to understand naturally the language, will be training a newbie how to teach in that language. But I really can see an opportunity in this to grow in a way that was not possible with Elder Mazzeo. I will not just be the senior companion, I will be training, and I will learn the workings of the mission like never before, now that I am thrown headlong into it all. I'm not sad at this change, but I don't have a "perfect brightness of hope", as they say; thus, I would appreciate all the prayers and positive vibes you could give me. I can shoot up like a rocket and begin to soar because of this, but the liftoff is always the bumpiest part of the process.

But don't think I'm without faith in this. In reality, I'm legitimately happy for the opportunity to grow more, despite the pain that will accompany that growth. And today I have found more strength again in the song "Snow" by Sleeping At Last. "May the melody surround us when the cracks begin to show." And I can say with certainty that in the song that I have begun hearing here in this calling, "the song of redeeming love" (Alma 5:26), has surrounded me every time the cracks begin to show, and every time my "bruises seem to surface like mud beneath the snow" ("Snow"). I am forever grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ who makes it possible to find reprieve in this fallen world, full of so much darkness and pain. I would not have been able to be here now if it were not for Him. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son" ("The Living Christ").

Love,

Elder Hill

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