Dear Family,
Hey there family! I´m happy to be writing!! Thanks a MILLION for all the wonderful letters and all the awesome pictures that you sent me this week!!! I loved the pictures with Carson and the cats. Man, I miss my cats! They look like they are very fluffy and happy, so I´m very happy about that. I´m glad my family is taking good care of my mangy cats! Give them lots of pets for me today :).
Today is a holiday in Argentina - I´m writing this letter inside of Carrefour, a big Walmart-like (or Target-like) store. They have way nice computers! The only bummer is that we can´t print stuff out, so I guess I´ll just have to go somewhere else to get that done. Because it´s a holiday NONE of the stores or internet places we tried to go to were open - and tomorrow is like Independence Day of Argentina. It´ll be their 200th anniversary of being a country. Wow!! Yeah, it´ll probably be a little tough to work, but I´m excited - there will be a big church activity the whole day long and we´re allowed to go, and it sounds like they´ll have lots of fun things going on and really yummy food...yay! It´ll be a happy Elder Jordan day :).
I´m so happy for Carson!!! Man, he rocks!! From what you guys wrote me it sounds like he got the coolest award out of all the kids there at scholarship night - that´s amazing!!! I´m sure happy for him. I love him and I´m glad he´s having so much success in his life. It´s what I´ve been praying lots about lately and I know Heavenly Father is blessing him!! I´m way happy for him - good job Cars! You are the man!!!
I´m so glad with all this great news you guys gave me - it really has lifted my spirits up more. This week, (and the week before), have been extremely difficult to work here. I´m trying to work hard and I´m trying to teach, but it just seems like everyone has been rejecting us lately. I want to teach but man, it just seems like nobody wants to listen at times. I was kind of depressed last night while we were working, because it seemed like everyone was just mad at us, didn´t want to listen, it had been raining a lot all day, etc. There was one person who was really nice to us, so I´m grateful for her. We´re going to pass by her house tonight to see if we can get a lesson in. I´m just really frustrated with how things are going right now. I´ll just pray for more strength and not to lose faith, because man it looks really easy to give up right now. I´ll keep working though, for sure.
Yesterday was District Conference (that´d be like Stake Conference). It´s different here - it´s way long! It started at 9 and ended at 1. I told some members how it is in the states and they were amazed. I thought to myself, "Yeah, it´s nice - a mini church meeting is nice to have once in a while- ha ha… lucky us!" It was a good experience though. President Benton and his wife were there, so it was fun to get to chat with them a bit.
No news on the package yet - I imagine it´ll come soon. I´ve also been discouraged with the offices a little bit lately - we haven´t received any pamphlets of the Restoration for like three weeks, and man it´s hard to teach other lessons without somewhere mentioning Joseph Smith, especially the Book of Mormon. I hope those guys get me those soon!! I also need to buy the church videos to show to people - they´re really cheap though, just 3 pesos each one (dirt cheap). Yay! I´ll be getting those soon I hope too!
There´s a girl named Diana from Paraguay who wants to get baptized. Yay! She is 8 years old and living with a member family - none of her "real" family are members, so we´ll need to teach her everything. We´re going to do it real simple, maybe even like draw pictures or something, to teach her the lessons. I asked my Zone Leaders and they told me the same thing - she´s so young we need to teach everything primary-level, so it shouldn´t be too bad to teach her. I´m excited though!!!
Miguel, the guy who was going to get baptized, doesn´t want anything to do with the Church right now. He answered us very frustrated and said we´re always welcome to pass by and teach his wife and daughters (who are all members), but that he´s not interested at all right now. From what it looked like, I think it´s probably because his new grand-daughter who was born just recently died. I´m not 100% positive, but I think that´s the reason. We´ll give him some time, because I still have hope that he´ll pull through ok eventually.
Thanks for all your great letters! I love you all very much and I will write to you again soon!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
Monday, May 24, 2010
Jordan's May 17, 2010 letter
Dear Family,
Hey there! Yeah, you guys are right - it´s another great week that really flew by fast! Man, that sounds like you guys all have a million things going on at once - between Carson´s West Point stuff, swimming, graduation from just about everything you can graduate from (ha ha… that rocks!)...it sounds like you´re really doing well though! Man, I´m sure proud of Carson. He´s the best brother ever, and I´m sure happy that he´s doing so well and accomplishing so many great things. I know he´ll have success in life, without a doubt.
Yep, I´ll get you lots of details about this week! Here they come!
So it was an awesome week - a little tough at times, but we were able to make it just through on time! First of all, because there weren´t many people on the streets on Saturday and Sunday (and a little bit Friday), we ended up "tracting" as Dad has done many times before on his mission. I sure was nervous at first - I´d never really done it, because usually there are plenty of people on the streets to talk to so we don´t have to worry about it. But, because of the cold here (it is starting to get cold, and I heard winter doesn´t even officially start until June 21st), there weren´t a lot of people. (Although I DID see basically an army of J-dubs on the street on Saturday...it was amazing how many there were out on the street.) I´ve gotten better at it now, though, and now I think it´s kind of fun! I guess it just depends on how the people act. If they´re nice, it´s all good, but sometimes they´re not...but that´s what makes it fun, right?
I had to pay the light bill for the apartment this last week - the apartment missionary gave me money to do it, but it cost more than expected. So I had to pay 40 pesos out of my pocket to get it covered. They´ll reimburse me for it, but for now I´m kind of hurting, because between that, being on divisions for two weeks, having to pay unexpected payments and stuff like that, I´ve been sucked dry of cash. And today I found a gas bill that the previous missionaries had tucked up on a shelf that´s overdue, and new ones in my mailbox...and I have to pay them...holy guff-balls. And now I´m going to have to pay a gas bill. I know I´ll get reimbursed for this stuff, but man I do not have money anymore and now I have to pull more off my personal card. I guess I´ll just pray harder and get it all taken care of asap.
Other than that, things are good. Elder Anderson is a great guy! I´m really enjoying working with him. He is from Apple Valley, California - he said it´s about three hours away from Mexico. He has an older sister who´s 23 working at a high school in West Jordan, and yeah! He likes baseball a lot and has fun MTC stories. I´m grateful for him and for his efforts in the missionary force. We´re working on his Spanish - I need to work on mine too - and on his contacting, because sometimes he´s nervous to do it but I´m helping him out lots. It´s fun to train! Sometimes it gets stressful because I have to handle everything, but I love doing it and I´m learning a lot. Training is awesome!
There is practically NO ONE in my teaching pool right now- that´s another reason I´m frustrated. I´m trying to do short discussions like mad to build my pool up again, because I really need new people. We´re starting to get something built up, but that´s our main objective right now. It was tough not working there in my area for two weeks - that kind of "eliminated" my pool of investigators. We´ve been clapping lots of doors lately because there haven´t been lots of people out on the streets, so that´s been fun. We´ve had some success with it, though, so I like it. The members here are really great too.
What are you guys up to? Something fun tonight? You have scholarship night tonight right? I hope all those things go well! Marsh is number one so he should be happy, and happy to go to Prom! That´s awesome :).
There´s another Michael Bublé song playing right now that Superband always played.. that brings back good memories.
I love you guys and thank you for all that you do! I´ll talk to you in a week!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
P.S. Tomorrow I´ll be taking out some more money from my card to pay this bill - sorry. I´ll just take what I need to get things taken care of. And I´ll make sure they give me the money back that I spend on the bills. Yay!
P.P.S. Give the cats pets for me!
P.P.P.S. Love you more Mom!
Hey there! Yeah, you guys are right - it´s another great week that really flew by fast! Man, that sounds like you guys all have a million things going on at once - between Carson´s West Point stuff, swimming, graduation from just about everything you can graduate from (ha ha… that rocks!)...it sounds like you´re really doing well though! Man, I´m sure proud of Carson. He´s the best brother ever, and I´m sure happy that he´s doing so well and accomplishing so many great things. I know he´ll have success in life, without a doubt.
Yep, I´ll get you lots of details about this week! Here they come!
So it was an awesome week - a little tough at times, but we were able to make it just through on time! First of all, because there weren´t many people on the streets on Saturday and Sunday (and a little bit Friday), we ended up "tracting" as Dad has done many times before on his mission. I sure was nervous at first - I´d never really done it, because usually there are plenty of people on the streets to talk to so we don´t have to worry about it. But, because of the cold here (it is starting to get cold, and I heard winter doesn´t even officially start until June 21st), there weren´t a lot of people. (Although I DID see basically an army of J-dubs on the street on Saturday...it was amazing how many there were out on the street.) I´ve gotten better at it now, though, and now I think it´s kind of fun! I guess it just depends on how the people act. If they´re nice, it´s all good, but sometimes they´re not...but that´s what makes it fun, right?
I had to pay the light bill for the apartment this last week - the apartment missionary gave me money to do it, but it cost more than expected. So I had to pay 40 pesos out of my pocket to get it covered. They´ll reimburse me for it, but for now I´m kind of hurting, because between that, being on divisions for two weeks, having to pay unexpected payments and stuff like that, I´ve been sucked dry of cash. And today I found a gas bill that the previous missionaries had tucked up on a shelf that´s overdue, and new ones in my mailbox...and I have to pay them...holy guff-balls. And now I´m going to have to pay a gas bill. I know I´ll get reimbursed for this stuff, but man I do not have money anymore and now I have to pull more off my personal card. I guess I´ll just pray harder and get it all taken care of asap.
Other than that, things are good. Elder Anderson is a great guy! I´m really enjoying working with him. He is from Apple Valley, California - he said it´s about three hours away from Mexico. He has an older sister who´s 23 working at a high school in West Jordan, and yeah! He likes baseball a lot and has fun MTC stories. I´m grateful for him and for his efforts in the missionary force. We´re working on his Spanish - I need to work on mine too - and on his contacting, because sometimes he´s nervous to do it but I´m helping him out lots. It´s fun to train! Sometimes it gets stressful because I have to handle everything, but I love doing it and I´m learning a lot. Training is awesome!
There is practically NO ONE in my teaching pool right now- that´s another reason I´m frustrated. I´m trying to do short discussions like mad to build my pool up again, because I really need new people. We´re starting to get something built up, but that´s our main objective right now. It was tough not working there in my area for two weeks - that kind of "eliminated" my pool of investigators. We´ve been clapping lots of doors lately because there haven´t been lots of people out on the streets, so that´s been fun. We´ve had some success with it, though, so I like it. The members here are really great too.
What are you guys up to? Something fun tonight? You have scholarship night tonight right? I hope all those things go well! Marsh is number one so he should be happy, and happy to go to Prom! That´s awesome :).
There´s another Michael Bublé song playing right now that Superband always played.. that brings back good memories.
I love you guys and thank you for all that you do! I´ll talk to you in a week!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
P.S. Tomorrow I´ll be taking out some more money from my card to pay this bill - sorry. I´ll just take what I need to get things taken care of. And I´ll make sure they give me the money back that I spend on the bills. Yay!
P.P.S. Give the cats pets for me!
P.P.P.S. Love you more Mom!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Jordan's May 10, 2010 letter
Dear Family,
Hi there again! Man, it was so good being able to talk to you all this past Sunday! I loved being able to talk to you and hear how everything is going on back home. Thanks for the picture of Carson - he is buff! I am a wuss...still a little "buh-blumpt". I´ll work on that for sure :). Thanks a million for your letters and for the great phone call. I know I am part of the army of the Lord and that it is a privilege to be out here. I think about all the young men in the church and that the average is that just 1 out of 4 end up going on a mission - it sure is a privilege to be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and to help these great people here in Argentina. The mission is great!
So here´s the news.......I am now officially a trainer!!! I don´t have a companion still - I will be receiving a new fresh-out-of-the-MTC missionary tomorrow night. I have to report to Ramos Mejía at 1100am with the rest of the Elders and Sisters who will be training to be able to receive instructions on what we need to do, etc. So tomorrow I´ll have a new guy!!! I´m very excited. I hope I show him a good example of what missionary work is. I´ll do my best, pray hard, and work hard as I should to train my first missionary the best I possibly can. PS that´s the reason I didn´t write earlier today :).
Today was crazy! It was transfer meeting, and man it was awesome when my picture showed up on the slide show. My pic got moved over to the Senior Companion slot and in plopped in a picture of Moroni with the title of Liberty that says "Refuerzo" under it (that means reenforcement). Yay! Elder Sureda was so happy - he gave me a big hug and said he was happy for me, and I told him thanks again for being such a great trainer for me. My excitement for the mission definitely got a boost today! I´m excited! A little nervous, but very excited too.
It´s also been crazy in the fact that I had to haul my sleeping equipment today far away to another apartment (just for the night), I found out that my light bill is overdue (usually the mission pays for them automatically, but they gave me last-minute news that I have to pay it myself here in Luján and then get a reimbursement) which means I might not have electricity in my apartment when I get back (can you say cold? And no refrigerator?), plus I have all my laundry dirty because I couldn´t get it washed today, etc. Man, I´m kind of stressed, but I´ll eventually get it all done. It´s just kind of stressful at the moment.
I took lots of cool pictures! I can´t send them today, but I´ll make sure to send them to you tomorrow. Man, I also have a million letters to write to members from my other ward that I haven´t done...man, that´s kind of stressful too. Not that I don´t like writing letters, just that it takes up p-day time and sometimes it´s hard to do after writing like three or four. I´ll get them done, though, because from what Elder Reyes said that there are lots of people expecting letters in Libertad :) I´d better get writing away I guess!
I love you guys so much! I´ll be talking to you more this next week - sorry I wrote so late today. I would´ve written earlier if I´d had the time! I´ll be writing much more this next week, because I´m sure I´ll have lots of fun stories to tell you about concerning my new missionary man in the mission and I. The mission rocks! I hope you´re all well and I´ll be writing to you again in a week!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
Hi there again! Man, it was so good being able to talk to you all this past Sunday! I loved being able to talk to you and hear how everything is going on back home. Thanks for the picture of Carson - he is buff! I am a wuss...still a little "buh-blumpt". I´ll work on that for sure :). Thanks a million for your letters and for the great phone call. I know I am part of the army of the Lord and that it is a privilege to be out here. I think about all the young men in the church and that the average is that just 1 out of 4 end up going on a mission - it sure is a privilege to be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ and to help these great people here in Argentina. The mission is great!
So here´s the news.......I am now officially a trainer!!! I don´t have a companion still - I will be receiving a new fresh-out-of-the-MTC missionary tomorrow night. I have to report to Ramos Mejía at 1100am with the rest of the Elders and Sisters who will be training to be able to receive instructions on what we need to do, etc. So tomorrow I´ll have a new guy!!! I´m very excited. I hope I show him a good example of what missionary work is. I´ll do my best, pray hard, and work hard as I should to train my first missionary the best I possibly can. PS that´s the reason I didn´t write earlier today :).
Today was crazy! It was transfer meeting, and man it was awesome when my picture showed up on the slide show. My pic got moved over to the Senior Companion slot and in plopped in a picture of Moroni with the title of Liberty that says "Refuerzo" under it (that means reenforcement). Yay! Elder Sureda was so happy - he gave me a big hug and said he was happy for me, and I told him thanks again for being such a great trainer for me. My excitement for the mission definitely got a boost today! I´m excited! A little nervous, but very excited too.
It´s also been crazy in the fact that I had to haul my sleeping equipment today far away to another apartment (just for the night), I found out that my light bill is overdue (usually the mission pays for them automatically, but they gave me last-minute news that I have to pay it myself here in Luján and then get a reimbursement) which means I might not have electricity in my apartment when I get back (can you say cold? And no refrigerator?), plus I have all my laundry dirty because I couldn´t get it washed today, etc. Man, I´m kind of stressed, but I´ll eventually get it all done. It´s just kind of stressful at the moment.
I took lots of cool pictures! I can´t send them today, but I´ll make sure to send them to you tomorrow. Man, I also have a million letters to write to members from my other ward that I haven´t done...man, that´s kind of stressful too. Not that I don´t like writing letters, just that it takes up p-day time and sometimes it´s hard to do after writing like three or four. I´ll get them done, though, because from what Elder Reyes said that there are lots of people expecting letters in Libertad :) I´d better get writing away I guess!
I love you guys so much! I´ll be talking to you more this next week - sorry I wrote so late today. I would´ve written earlier if I´d had the time! I´ll be writing much more this next week, because I´m sure I´ll have lots of fun stories to tell you about concerning my new missionary man in the mission and I. The mission rocks! I hope you´re all well and I´ll be writing to you again in a week!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
Jordan's May 3, 2010 letter
Dear Family,
Hey there! This letter probably won´t be QUITE as big as normal, because this week was basically just a little crazy but there weren´t a whole lot of cool events or anything that passed. I´ll do my best to write something good, though!
We´ve been traveling a TON this week - our areas are both next to each other, but when you combine the two together...wow!!! It is huge! There have been days when we´ve literally walked many kilometers in just one day, because of the different places we had to go. Elder Ibañez decided that it is like "Lord of the Rings", so he decided to be Aragorn, me Gimli, and the other Elder was Legolas. It was fun! Man, we´ve really walked a ton though...it´s been fun to have three as a companionship, however. It´s never really boring, which I really like.
The work is going well. I had my President interview this week and it went really well - he said he´s expecting a lot out of me, and that he´s proud of what I´ve been doing so far and just to keep pushing myself as a missionary. I sure love President Benton! He is a great man and I know he was called by the Lord, because he´s really been helping me out a lot this at this time in my life.
I wanted to talk about Carson in my interview with him, but I didn´t get the chance - he asked me how Mom was doing. I wanted to talk about Carson because (as I wrote in his letter just a little while ago) this has been really hard for me. This week has been the toughest emotionally for me to handle. I prayed and fasted a lot this week to get the strength to continue on, but there were moments where the last place I wanted to be was the mission. I love the work and I love serving the people, but man, I don´t want to see Carson go. I know I can´t do anything about it, and I´m very proud of him and his hard work, but it is hard for me to let go of him. I have the best memories with him, ever since we were kids - I did everything with him, and I was never ashamed of hanging out with him or including him in everything I did. I love my brother to death, because he is my best friend. It is very hard for me to see my best friend go away and know that he won´t be there with me like he was when we were younger. It has been extremely hard for me and still is. I´ll continue praying and fasting, because I need the strength to keep working out here. I need all the help I can get from my Heavenly Father. Cars, I just love you so much man. I´m so happy for you, just so sad to see you head off. I´ll always be rooting for you though, because I´m your number one fan! Just work hard and keep the Lord by your side, and I know you´ll be taken care of.
Besides that, the work is going good. I´ll do my best to keep my area afloat for one week more, until I get another companion to help me out here.
As with the package, that sounds great Mom! If there´s another CD of Motab you want to send, I could use it - whatever is possible. As for cocoa - I haven´t seen it here anywhere, not even in Walmart, so I´m not sure...I´ll keep looking. As for medicine, Sudafed I think would be prime - my nose is usually what bugs me when I get sick, and I´ve got plenty of Dayquil for now (and I found out they sell it here in the pharmacy! It just has a different name - I´ll call Sister Benton to find out what it is). Thanks so much for helping me out Mom!
Also, for Mother´s Day! Yay! I get to talk with my family for the second time in my mission! The plan is still 6pm (3pm your time) that I´ll be calling, so I hope you´ll be able to arrange things so that will work out okay.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support, prayers and love that you give me - I am a very grateful son and brother for all that you do. Sorry your egg exploded Carson- ha ha :) but other than that I hope nothing else is exploding! I love you guys very much and I hope to be able to talk to you soon! Have a great week family!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
Hey there! This letter probably won´t be QUITE as big as normal, because this week was basically just a little crazy but there weren´t a whole lot of cool events or anything that passed. I´ll do my best to write something good, though!
We´ve been traveling a TON this week - our areas are both next to each other, but when you combine the two together...wow!!! It is huge! There have been days when we´ve literally walked many kilometers in just one day, because of the different places we had to go. Elder Ibañez decided that it is like "Lord of the Rings", so he decided to be Aragorn, me Gimli, and the other Elder was Legolas. It was fun! Man, we´ve really walked a ton though...it´s been fun to have three as a companionship, however. It´s never really boring, which I really like.
The work is going well. I had my President interview this week and it went really well - he said he´s expecting a lot out of me, and that he´s proud of what I´ve been doing so far and just to keep pushing myself as a missionary. I sure love President Benton! He is a great man and I know he was called by the Lord, because he´s really been helping me out a lot this at this time in my life.
I wanted to talk about Carson in my interview with him, but I didn´t get the chance - he asked me how Mom was doing. I wanted to talk about Carson because (as I wrote in his letter just a little while ago) this has been really hard for me. This week has been the toughest emotionally for me to handle. I prayed and fasted a lot this week to get the strength to continue on, but there were moments where the last place I wanted to be was the mission. I love the work and I love serving the people, but man, I don´t want to see Carson go. I know I can´t do anything about it, and I´m very proud of him and his hard work, but it is hard for me to let go of him. I have the best memories with him, ever since we were kids - I did everything with him, and I was never ashamed of hanging out with him or including him in everything I did. I love my brother to death, because he is my best friend. It is very hard for me to see my best friend go away and know that he won´t be there with me like he was when we were younger. It has been extremely hard for me and still is. I´ll continue praying and fasting, because I need the strength to keep working out here. I need all the help I can get from my Heavenly Father. Cars, I just love you so much man. I´m so happy for you, just so sad to see you head off. I´ll always be rooting for you though, because I´m your number one fan! Just work hard and keep the Lord by your side, and I know you´ll be taken care of.
Besides that, the work is going good. I´ll do my best to keep my area afloat for one week more, until I get another companion to help me out here.
As with the package, that sounds great Mom! If there´s another CD of Motab you want to send, I could use it - whatever is possible. As for cocoa - I haven´t seen it here anywhere, not even in Walmart, so I´m not sure...I´ll keep looking. As for medicine, Sudafed I think would be prime - my nose is usually what bugs me when I get sick, and I´ve got plenty of Dayquil for now (and I found out they sell it here in the pharmacy! It just has a different name - I´ll call Sister Benton to find out what it is). Thanks so much for helping me out Mom!
Also, for Mother´s Day! Yay! I get to talk with my family for the second time in my mission! The plan is still 6pm (3pm your time) that I´ll be calling, so I hope you´ll be able to arrange things so that will work out okay.
I love you all so much! Thanks for all your support, prayers and love that you give me - I am a very grateful son and brother for all that you do. Sorry your egg exploded Carson- ha ha :) but other than that I hope nothing else is exploding! I love you guys very much and I hope to be able to talk to you soon! Have a great week family!
Love,
Elder Nuttall
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