Jordan's January 11, 2010 letter

Dear Family,

Hey there! Wow! Holy Cow!! Holy Mitzy-flying Lucky-jumping kitties! I´m so happy to hear about everything that´s going on back home! Wow! Sounds like a lot! And with Carson?....that is amazing!!!! Tell him congratulations for me! Man, he is the coolest brother in the whole wide world. He is the coolest best friend I could ever ask for; I´m so grateful for him! Tell him congratulations a million times and that I am sooo proud of him, and that I am very honored to be his brother and that he is the best in the whole world. I hope you all can celebrate or something too! You should go to a yummy restaurant and have a nice family meal together and celebrate his success if you get the time!!
Wow - Elder Reyes, my new companion, rocks! We taught 50 lessons this week, we have 46 new investigators, three with baptismal dates, and we did 177 contacts. Wow! It was a great week! We´re working hard and we´re going to keep working hard, because it feels great and we know that we´re helping the people out with something that they´re going to value the rest of their lives, should they choose to accept it.
We did as you advised, Dad - we visited with a bunch of members the first couple of days, because yeah, it´s been harder to plan and do things like that because I don´t know the area as well. I´m starting to recognize things better now, though, and I´m learning the streets better and yeah I´m improving every day! It rocks. I´m not scared or sad like I was last week - I feel loads better! I´ll try to send a picture of me and Elder Reyes next week - I still need to take one with him and me. He is a rocking guy, though, that´s for sure!
I´m happy to hear that Grandma is back home! I prayed a lot for her that she could be helped back to recovery and back to her more comfortable home - I´m so glad to hear that that is the case! And yes, thank heavens for the priesthood that we have in the home. It is such a tremendous blessing to have! I´m sure glad I have a wonderful Dad who is a fantastic example for me on how I should be with my priesthood. I know I´ll be eternally grateful for the great example that he is and how he´s shown me the great blessings that come from being a worthy priesthood holder. I love you so much Dad! Thanks for all that you do!
Grandma! I´m so happy that you´re home! Definitely keep doing what the doctors say, with drinking enough liquids and all that - I want you to get feeling better! I hope you have lots of good books to read and movies to watch! That´s something I always liked to have when I was sick - it helped me to not think about being sick as much. Plus there´s a bunch of awesome movies like Up that would be the best to watch! Are you happy to be home? I know I would be! Oh and a kitty never hurts to have by your side :) Kitties are the best! Have my mom put another stuffed cat in your house so you can have a little kitty full of love to be with you all the time! I love you grandma!
Hey Marsh! Thanks for your great letter - wow! That is soooo cool! Sounds like you´re tearing it up back home, once again! And yes, I would have to agree with you; all the praying, reading the scriptures, and being righteous is paying off. They are all definitely blessings from the Lord to you, and that is so cool! Make sure to give Heavenly Father lots of thanks for all these blessings - I am extremely happy to hear all the blessings you are receiving. That is the greatest! Thanks for your great letter Carson! I sure love you and miss you a lot, but I´m grateful for the great experiences and all the wonderful things that I´m learning here in the mission. I sure hope you decide to go on a mission too! It is great, and although it is hard at times, all the things that you learn are fantastic, and the people you meet (converts and members) are people and memories that you could never find in any other place. There is no other place I´d rather be right now, without a doubt. Missions rock!
The work is really great - I love Libertad! I´m sure going to miss everyone when it´s time for me to leave, especially the members and the converts - they are all such great people! I love them all very much. Sometimes I think about how it would be nice to be back home when life is a little nicer, but then I remember all the great people I´m meeting and the great experiences I´m having, and man it´s all worth it! I love the mission, and I know the Lord is shaping me into the person I was meant to be. I have my imperfections, but I know He is helping me to grow and that through him I can do anything.
The Church of Jesus Christ has been restored to the Earth again, through the prophet Joseph Smith, and we are all able to enjoy the great blessings that come through Priesthood power and the saving ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What a great blessing! I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to hear the gospel as I was growing up, and that I was blessed with the best family ever to teach me how to live the gospel and be truly happy because of it. Thank you all so much for your great examples family - I hope I can be as good of a person as you all are! You really are examples to me and I thank Heavenly Father that He has given me two wonderful parents and the best friend and brother that I could ever hope to receive. I love you all so much! Thanks for all you do, and I hope that you all have a great week and that you have some time to do fun things as a family and celebrate the success of the "Marsh" (like Five Guys or something...yum!)! I love you all very much! Have a fantastic week!

Love,
Elder Nuttall