Skype is a Miracle!!

Last night we were able to Skype with Ben for an hour and twenty minutes!! It was so awesome!! It was great to talk to him and to be able to see him was great!! A big thanks to the awesome family in his ward that opened their home to Ben and his companion so they could Skype with their families, despite the fact they had two missionaries of their own to talk to yesterday!!  It is also Mother's Day in Ecuador.

This is the family!

They also gave them dinner. They made them hamburgers!! I bet they tasted good! This family also has 4 large rabbits. They showed us one!! I couldn't tell what kind of animal he was holding up until he told us!

Ben sounded great!! He spoke in half English and half Spanish! It sounds like his Spanish is coming along well. He says he thinks mostly in Spanish now. He says that once he starts to testify the words come! Will asked him why he gives the thumbs up in every picture. Ben said it was because he was thumbs up! Ben told us that he has some extra roommates like cockroaches, termites and ants, but they bought some bug killer and they find dead cockroaches everywhere! Sounds fun!! He said they usually cook breakfast like pancakes, french toast and German pancakes (they taste more like crepes and are pretty good until you eat them 5 days in a row). They make syrup with brown sugar. There is only one problem now, their fridge broke and they don't know when it will get replaced. We asked Ben if he had eaten anything weird. He said no. I think he mostly eats chicken, rice, soup and plantains.  Ben also told us that the mission nurse thought he might have some gastritis and they sent him to the clinic for blood work, but he feels fine, he is just trying to eat a little less acidic. Ben said that on Sundays they get up at 5 am to go to their investigators houses to pick them up for church. He said they take the bus when they are going to do interviews and things because his companion is the district leader.  Otherwise they walk. Ben did say he fell off the bus last week because they were trying to catch someone they could see from the bus. He is ok though. 

Ben bore his testimony and told us a little bit about the couple they baptized and the changes they have made in their lives since joining the church! It was so awesome!! The church is true and Ben is happy serving his Heavenly Father.  Ben seemed to be himself and was laughing and joking with his companion and the family he was with! 

This was the perfect way to spend Mother's Day!! I am so grateful for my Stripling Warrior, for his courage and diligence in bringing the Gospel to the people in the Santa Monica ward in Guayaquil!!

Here is the email we received today:

Hola Familia,

It was so great to be able to talk to you guys yesterday. And HAPPY MOTHERS DAY MOM AND GRANDMAS I am so sorry I forgot to even say that yesterday. I guess I just got too excited. It was great to see you guys. I am still doing well. I got the blood tests back from the Doctor and it turns out I don´t have any dangerous gastritis or anything like that. I can now eat and drink what I want but just not drink huge amounts of Coca Cola which is great news. Everything is back to normal. Today we did not have a meeting it was a normal p day besides that we had to go get my test but it was all good. We decided to clean the house really well today that took a bunch of time. We are practically scrubbing the whole entire apartment with Clorox because something in the house we don´t know when they have been cleaned  The apartment is a lot cooler now but I did not have enough time to write an actual letter to you guys but I am going to throughout this week after planning in the night because we always have 20 minutes or so free. How is Ali doing? How is her spleen? I hope that all is well with her. I want all of you to know how much I love you all. I miss you all but it is so worth it to be here. 

Love, Elder Benjamin Berg Duzett