Monday November 30, 2009

November 30, 2009

Dear Family,

Thanks for all of your great letters - I love reading my letters and the updates from you guys! It is the best! I have lots to write to you about today because lots of great things went on this week! Woohoo!

Thanks for the info on Thanksgiving - I sure missed you all! But I was happy to be here and to be able to have a good Thanksgiving Day. My companion was totally out of money last week, so I ended up paying for our Thanksgiving feast but it doesn´t matter - it was yummy! We had empanadas, soda, and a caramel pie for our feast. It was good! Except the pie made me sick - I had stomach pain for a couple of days, and it hurt pretty bad. I consumed more than half of the Tums that I have, so hopefully I don´t get more stomach pains any time soon, because I don´t have much left! But I´m feeling better now :) but yeah, it was a fun day! We still worked basically all day (Thursday is the big three-hour planning day, and it worked out nicely for Thanksgiving), so yeah, it was a good Thanksgiving Day! And it sounds like you all had a good Thanksgiving too.

The work is going good - we dropped an investigator this last week, which was kind of awkward and sad. He´s just too big into worshipping Mary, and we kept inviting him to read and pray, but he never did - just kept on worshipping his statues. So, we had to drop him. He told us thanks, though, and that we are his friends and he enjoyed our visits. Maybe sometime in the future he´ll turn things around - we´ll see.

We have one person with a baptismal date for the 26th of December - hopefully she follows through! Her name is Maria. She is a sweet lady, but she has lots of family problems. She is older and her family I guess just doesn´t respect her very much, and they´ve had lots of communication problems. Also one of her sons is in prison right now (for his second time), but he isn´t guilty of the charges - he´s in just because he was charged before so he appeared to be the guilty one. But yeah, she is doing good. We´re going to give her a giant Book of Mormon so she can read it easier, and yeah! She´s cool!

Our star investigators right now are Beba and Hugo (Hugo is the Argentine version of Troy - and a painter too! How crazy and cool is that?) They are taking the lessons very well, are reading, praying, and they want to be baptized! Woohoo! Except there´s a problem...they´re going out of town for the whole month of December to be with family for the holidays and such. Dang it! They´ve gone to church one time, so they only need two more times to qualify, so hopefully after the holidays (possibly with another companion), I´ll be able to see through that they get baptized. We´re excited for them and they are praying about whether they should be baptized our not, so hopefully they stay strong during the holidays. They don´t have any problems with drinking or smoking or anything else from what we´ve been able to see, so hopefully it stays that way. Oh, and Hugo is Beba´s son if I didn´t mention that.

Damian still hasn´t been baptized because he just doesn´t want to pray, read, or go to church. It´s kind of frustrating at times. He´s a really awesome kid, and I like him a lot, but he just doesn´t want to do this stuff I guess. His friends aren´t the best friends either, and he´s a member of a soccer club that plays every Sunday morning I believe. I´d hate to see his friends drag him down - we´ll keep trying though, because boy, he could sure use the sweet companionship of the Holy Ghost! He really needs the blessings that come from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

There was one contact I did that was with this weird guy who´s formed his own "church" in his house. The weirdest part was after we taught about Joseph Smith and the Restoration, because we ended with a prayer (like usual) but after we said "amen," they started like doing their own weird prayer immediately after us, and it was pretty awkward. And during the time we were praying they were muttering phrases to themselves - it was kind of awkward. Probably won´t visit them anytime soon. But oh well! We´ll find people who really want to listen right?

Oh and another factoid - there´s lots more Jehovah´s Witness and Evangelicals here than what I thought there would be. Man, those people are like just angry! And when we think they´ll actually listen, they end up lying to us about their address or something. Luckily, my companion knows the area enough that he can tell when they´re lying. Yeah, it´s kind of frustrating, and the Jehovah´s Witnesses have changed their Bible so much it´s like impossible to teach them. Yeah. It would be easy to get angry with them, but the spirit of contention isn´t of the Lord, so I just testify and let them go basically. I´m not here to Bible Bash.

This week was a kitty week! Holy cow, I was in heaven! Almost every day I was able to be in contact with sweet little kittens and cats, and it was just awesome. One day at lunch with a member, they had bought themselves this awesome new kitten that is way cool! It wanted to play with me, so I played with it for a while, and then it decided to take a nap on my lap for like thirty minutes. It was awesome! It reminded me of my beastly cats at the house...I sure miss them! It´ll be great to give them lots of pets when I get back home - hopefully they don´t think I´m a stranger!

But yeah, I think that´s about it! I´m doing great, my health is better, and I´m learning tons of great lessons. There have definitely been times when I´ve thought "Why the heck am I out here on a mission?" But then I think of everything I´m learning and all the blessings you guys are getting, and then I realize the reason why I´m here. I´m grateful for the Lord and His mercy towards all of us, and for all the blessings He´s giving us. I want to push forward with more energy and be a better missionary for Him, so I can help Him with the work as much as possible and so that He can bless you all even more! I sure love you all, and I miss you, and I know that this Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It´s perfect and without flaw! I know that by living the principles taught by our Master will bring peace and happiness that, truly, no one else can know without. Have a great week, I´ll be sending some pictures, and I hope you are having a great day! I love you all!!!

Love,
Elder Nuttall

From Carson’s letter:

The language is going good here - I´m starting to think in Spanish now, and to be honest, English is getting harder to write and to speak! The gift of tongues is real, and it comes with the work - if you study, pray, and work hard, all gifts from God are possible :). Also, the storms here are incredible! I have some pictures of the storms, and they´re pretty insane. I hope you like the pictures. The rain comes down super hard and in loads, and basically there are mini rivers in the streets! And at some intersections, literally the entire intersection is flooded - the storms here are crazy. It´s kind of fun to be in one, though, except that the wind blows super hard and you get soaked.

District Meeting November 18 2009

Here is a picture from a recent district meeting in Buenos Aires. It looks like a couple of the Elders are ready for battle. Jordan giving the thumbs-up once again.

November 23, 2009

Dear Family,

Time for the weekly report! Sorry it is so late again - today was transfer meeting, so I got to say goodbye to the Elders that are leaving from our zone (the whole mission met together to have a big long meeting) and it was really good. I´ll sure miss them, but luckily I´ll be able to see at least one of them at BYU, maybe the other if he decides to transfer! They are great guys and great examples for me.

The work is going good. This week wasn´t as good though - the weather wasn´t very good. Lots of rain, and because there was lots of rain that means that there weren´t lots of people on the streets to talk to. We´re supposed to be doing twenty contacts a day, and we didn’t make it. We´re definitely going to do better.

We had two people come to church this last week - yay! It was another special conference, with Elder Snow from the Seventy and his wife there. Wow! It was powerful. He centered his teachings on the family, and boy it was great! And it was awesome that a couple of our investigators were able to hear that, and they both said that they felt good about the meeting. This is something that applies to my family as well! He emphasized reading the Book of Mormon and praying together daily, having family home evening, and having fun family activities on a regular basis. I hope you´re all doing that! Because I sure miss you all, and family time is always fun! I love my family! It´s the truth though - from your great examples to me, I´m now on a mission! It´s sure an important thing to do - I want to be as good of a parent as you two have been for me for my kids, because all the experiences I have from you guys are the best, and I wouldn´t want to trade those relationships and memories and great teachings for anything! :)

Elder Bednar came last Thursday to talk to us - woohoo! Also very powerful! It was an interesting meeting - it was basically just asking questions to him, and he asked a few to us, and it was really great. There were a few missionaries who answered pretty weird questions, though, about like obscure doctrine and stuff like that - Elder Bednar answered awesomely, though, and basically brought the point across of "who cares?" That´s the truth! Who cares about the fine points of the gospel? The important thing is to have a testimony in Christ and of the basic principles of the gospel, like outlined in the Articles of Faith. If we are strong in these things, everything is going to be taken care of, we´ll be happy, and if we continue to live these things we´ll eventually be led back to the presence of our Heavenly Father. What a great blessing!

The rest of the work is going good - I´m trying my hardest. I´m really trying. To be honest, it´s not easy - this is the first time that I´ve had to be basically 100% independent, and at times I feel really alone and really helpless in all this. I´m sure praying a lot more than I ever have in my life, because I can´t do this on my own. Thanks for your great counsel Dad - I´m using it! Reading my scriptures and praying my heart out, and going to work, are the ways in which I´ll conquer my fears and not feel lots of heartache and homesickness. I´ll continue to work and do my best, because I know it´s what the Lord expects and that you guys and I will be blessed for it.

Hey Grandma Nuttall! This part is for you! I love you so much, and I sure miss you! Man, I loved coming over to your house basically every Sunday to visit with you all and talk about everything...I sure miss those days! I have pictures of when Carson and I were building our Lego guns, some of my birthday pictures that were taken at your house...they really bring back good memories! I´m sorry that you´re not feeling well - know that I´ve been praying for you every day, and that I hope you get feeling better soon! Also, tell Troy and Amy and Grandpa hi for me, and that I miss them and love them very much! It´ll be great to be able to visit with you all lots more when I get home and tell you about everything! I hope life is going great for all of you and that you´re enjoying yourselves :) I sure love you all!

I sure love missionary work! I´m setting goals to work even harder this next transfer - wow! Isn´t that crazy to think that I´ve already been out a transfer? Insane! I´m really going to work my tail off though - I want to work hard for the Lord, because I know if I do that I won´t have any regrets and that I´ll feel great, and that all of you will be blessed for it :) Aren´t we blessed to have this great knowledge of the gospel? I love you all so much, and I know that these things I´ve been taught from you are true, and I am so thankful for your wonderful examples and for all the great things you do for me. I am blessed more than I can comprehend to have such a wonderful family who has done so much for me. I love you all very, very much! Have a great week, continue doing the right thing, thanks for your letters and we´ll be writing again in a week! I love you very much Family!
Love,
Elder Nuttall


PS I´ll be buying a map, backpack, and a cheap wallet this week probably - I could use all three. Tell Carson the Spirit of America (MoTab) cd is pretty cool. I wrote him a nice big letter. Oh and I´m going start saving for our scripture covers, and ask him if he has a favorite scripture.

Almost one month in the field!

Dear Family,

Time to report for the week! Woo hoo!

Everything is great - no more baptisms unfortunately. We´re really trying to get to this boy Damian. He´s a good kid, he´s 10yrs old, but he doesn´t like church because it interrupts his soccer time. I understand him liking soccer, but it´s like it´s only three hours once a week. His grandma is a member and she always goes, but yeah, it´s kind of frustrating. I love the kid very much and I want him to find the happiness I´ve found, but we´re working with him. We have a "soft commitment" for the 21st of November to baptize him, but we´ll see if it holds out or not.
We´re teaching quite a bit here, and yes, it is hot outside! Today and for the past few days it´s actually been kind of cool, but it definitely heats up at times. I´m sure I´m in for more hot days here. For contacting...it´s a lot different than at the MTC!! Most people don´t want to listen, EVERYONE is "busy" and "works", and yeah - we basically just go up to people, introduce ourselves and testify of the message of the Restoration and how it can bless their lives. Sometimes people are interested, and other times not, and with some people it´s nearly impossible to get to meet with them. We´re trying and we have hopes for people, but yeah! It´s hard to explain over email, that´s for sure.
I definitely love the work! It´s difficult, that´s for sure - it´s physically difficult at times, but more so it´s a mental difficulty, with the language, getting doors slammed in my face (I had that happen for the first time last week- first door slam), people just completely rejecting the glad tidings of great joy, and yeah. I feel bad that people reject this stuff, because it´s the truth and man, they could be so much happier if they would accept it and just listen. Oh, and if they would pray and do their reading assignments...that´s been a problem. We´ll leave them with commitments, but most people either just read a little bit or not do anything at all. We´re trying, though. We definitely worked harder this week than past weeks, and we´re seeing improvements! Yay! We were a little low on contacts for this week, but higher than every other previous week and we´ll continue to boost those up. Missionary work rocks!
I haven´t been robbed yet! That´s the good news. But if I do, who cares, right? There have been times when we´ve had to walk really fast because we could tell that a pack of up-to-no-good guys/youngsters were kind of following us, but other than that nothing bad. It´s mostly because people can tell I´m from the United States...they´ll yell at me and start asking me questions, but we just say that we gotta go and walk fast! But yep, nothing too scary! Hopefully nothing scary ever happens right?
I had a good morning this morning - bought myself a jacket (70pesos, like 30 American dollars) and a sweet adapter that can use any type of camera card, so I don´t have to carry my camera with me to send pictures :) yay! Because I don´t want to get robbed - there´s been a couple of not dangerous, but kind of like "run away" experiences here that I´ve had. There´s a bunch of kids who are up to no good here, and I have to watch out for them. I guess this is a little more dangerous of a mission, but at least it´s not dangerous like Chicago right?
Sending information or packages- it goes to this address (the mission home):
La Iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días (or Iglesia S.U.D.)
Elder Gary Jordan Nuttall
Misión Argentina Buenos Aires Oeste
C.C. 92
1702 Ciudadela
Buenos Aires, Argentina
I talked to my District leader, and he got a package with medicine, pills, a bunch of other stuff, and yeah it was only $50 for his mom to send it. Maybe she went through BYU bookstore? I don’t know. BUT...If it´s possible, please send more meds (claritin) and deodorant with the hymn book- that´d be great. Let me know what you decide.
So there´s Nutella here!! Woo hoo! I´m totally buying some either today or tomorrow - it´s kind of expensive, but at least it´ll give me something else to eat besides cereal.
Some other details about the work...we don´t usually knock on a lot of doors. To be honest, we´ve probably knocked… (which here it´s actually clapping - crazy huh? They don´t knock doors like in the US, it´s always clapping or at times they´ll have a doorbell and we can use that, but mostly clapping) two houses in total, so yeah...not too much of that. And for clapping, we just stand outside the person´s house and clap like ten times or something, and then if they´re home they´ll answer! It´s pretty interesting :).
The members are great! And I love the Bishop! He´s a great guy, along with all the members. His daughter is learning the piano - she´s only been playing a month, and now I´m starting to give "mini lessons" to his daughter every Sunday after church. Cool huh? My music theory and lessons with Ron and Jay are paying off! She can´t read music very well, so we´re working on that for starters. The hard part is that I have to do it in Spanish! Yikes! Sometimes it´s hard enough in English, but in Spanish?!? But it´s working. She is happy and learning (her name is Tamara). Her goal is to get good enough that she can play piano for the ward when the missionaries can´t, so yeah. I think it´s pretty awesome that I´m able to implement my talents and everything I learned at BYU out here on the mission! It´s pretty great, and I´m sure thankful for the great instruction I´ve received from Ron and Jay. Thanks you two! Your great mentorship is paying off!
Speaking of which, there´s some pretty sick music here...it´s fun to listen to while I´m walking along the streets. There’s lots of music with congas and bongos, and lots of tango. The music is cool here! And the people here think it´s cool that I know how to play the bongos and congas - thanks again Ron and Jay!
Well, I think that´s about it for now! This work is amazing - I sure love it. Even when people completely throw it back in my face, I´m just grateful that I have it in my life, that my family has it, and that because we have everything we need we have the opportunity to have happiness and joy in this life and the ability to live forever as a family in the next life, with our Father and Jesus Christ too. What a sweet message! This is what makes me wonder why people wouldn´t embrace such a message! I feel sad for them, but it is their choice. I´m doing my best to present the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that will appeal to them, and with the Spirit. I´m trying to testify more of the truths I know, and my desire for them to know it as well. This church is the church of Jesus Christ, the one and only on the face of the Earth. We are truly blessed to have this knowledge - it is something we should all be grateful for.
I love you all family! Thanks for all your great letters - I love reading about everything you´re doing! Thanks for all your love and support, and I hope you all have a great week! I love you so much! Talk to you in a week!!
Love,
Elder Nuttall

Buenos Aires Temple

Jordan, Elder Sureda (his comp far left), and two other Elders went to the Temple two weeks ago. I do not know what is up with the thumbs-up in just about every photo, perhaps it is the "in" thing?

Mission Update

Hey all,

I will start posting Jordan's mission emails and pictures at this site.

Hopefully it will be easier for people to get his updates here - especially those whom I do not have an email address for.

-Gary