Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures--the new camera works!!!

So, it´s P-day again. I received the package with the camera and fudge. 

Ben at the Internet Cafe with his companion next to him and the other Elders he lives with on the computers behind him. His camera works! His comment on the computer he was using was that it was as old as he was and this picture took 7 minutes to upload. He sent us 10 pictures this week, so it must have taken most of his time. He also reassured me that he would be getting a haircut today but has been unable to get one for the last week due to street fairs that were going on that caused many places to be closed.

Thank you guys so much. Now that I have a camera I'm gonna send some pictures of some of the stuff that's a little different with Uruguay that I've been waiting to share. 

So, lets start with the money.  

In the picture I have the 1,000, 200, 100, 50 and 20 peso bills. There is a 500 peso bill, but I didn't have one. They're really colorful and look really cool (20 pesos is about a dollar here).

Then there are the coins.  

The biggest coin that I normally have is 10 pesos. We take the bus at least 3 times a day, and it cost's from 12-21 pesos depending on where you go. Thankfully it's reimbursable.

Next is a picture of our keys. 

Everything here is behind 3-4 locks and all the keys look like these. They're really big. When I first saw them I didn't think they were real. So, our house has 4 locks you need to undo to enter. One for the outer gates, two for the gate outside the door and one for the door. Don't worry, it doesn't mean I live in a dangerous part of town, everyone is just very cautious. One time our keys got taken while at a coat check in our supermarket so we had to run home and wait for a locksmith to change the combination on all of our locks. That was a crazy day!

Next we have milk in a bag. 

It's something I don't think I'll ever understand. You cannot simply buy milk in a carton, bottle, can... It's in a plastic bag. Then you have to put the bag in a tiny pitcher thing to pour it out. That was probably one of the first big culture shocks, the milk.

Next we have our house. 

It's one of the nicest houses in the mission, except for the the sister's houses. It has an upstairs room, a bedroom, study room, dining room, bathroom, kitchen, a tiny lawn, and  garage-shelter place where we hang up our laundry to dry. 

The other elders that I live with: Elder Ve´e from California (the left), Elder Romero from Ecuador (the right), and Elder Melgarejo Paraguay (Bottom)

We are currently fighting a wicked case of cockroaches. (This should be interesting--obviously we have never had them in our home and I am sure this is a new experience for Ben) We have taken all of our food that isn't in the fridge and put them in big ziplock bags and put them in a tote in the other room. We clean every dish twice-before we eat and after we eat. We've gone through almost 2 full cans of spray; I'm proud to say the worst is almost over.

So, this week was pretty awesome. We have a baptism planned for this coming Sunday. Her name is Nobelia. She is getting married to another member this coming Thursday, so she can get baptized. It´s been awesome to see her desire to get baptized. She's gonna be a great addition to the congregation. The baptism has changed dates 3 times because the stake keeps calling different meetings after we plan her baptism, and we need members of the bishopric there at the baptism. She's been a good sport about all the changes, and is rather unaffected, and keeps saying "Ni importa, Si todavía puedo bautizar me" when we change the date. (Doesn't matter as long as I can get baptized)

Libia Ward building

I hope you enjoy the pictures. Send me any question you have about the culture, my life, so on... (benjamint@myldsmail.net)

I love you guys so much, thanks for all your support!

Con Cariño (With Love)

Élder Taylor

Last week Ben was able to attend the temple with the Elders and Sisters from his Zone. It was a great day. Here is all of them from the Maronas Zone. Ben is in the back row, 2nd from the left.