Emails from today

Hey Guys!

Today is my first p-day, and I feel like it has gone pretty well so far. When I got here the first day, we arrived at the airport to find that we did not have a ride to the mission home. We were supposed to be greeted by the mission president, but nobody showed up to greet us, and we were left alone at Veracruz airport for a couple of hours until we could get ahold of someone in the mission office.

And guess what? I got put into the hottest area...NOT!!! I am in the coldest area of the mission. Most days I end up wearing a heavy coat, and I always carry an umbrella. As we speak it is raining here, but it really is a beautiful area. I am not allowed to take pictures in the street for safety purposes, so I won't be able to take pictures of my area. Its sad, but it is even more reason to come back after my mission. :)

I have a few pictures, one of me and my companion, and some of my house. My house is an actual house in a neighborhood in Orizaba (my area) and it is a small little house, but it is home. My companions name is Elder Lumbreras, and he is native to Mexico. He speaks a little english, so we are helping eachother learn english and spanish. He lives in Iguala Guerrero, Mexico.

How is everyone doing back home? Is everyone doing well? I pray for all of you every day.

We actually had one of our investigators, Lety come to church with us Yesterday, and she is great. She even stayed for our Gospel Principles class. :)

I cannot speak spanish very well. I realized that when I got into Mexico. But I am getting better. I can start to explain things, but I mostly just testify of things that we are talking about with investigators.

I'll be on for a while, so ask any questions you want. :)

P.S. I would just probably use the mission home address for now. I think they send the mail to our area, but I am not sure, because the mission home is a 3 hour drive from my area.

-Nick

I can't do what I did in the MTC. I can only send one email, and that is it. So I can't chat back and forth, but at least you get to hear from me at least once.

I will make next week’s email even better, and longer. I wish I could talk back and forth, but Elder Lumbreras said that it is against mission rules to do that, so I really will try to say more next P-day.

I love you guys so much, and pray for you every day, multiple times.

I love you,

-Nick

Emails from last week

The first pictures I sent are of me and one of my zone leaders, Elder Combe. And then there's one of me and Elder Merrill, and he is in my district. Then me and Elder Taylor, another one of my zone leaders. Then me and Elder Capell. The next couple of pictures are of me and Hermano Holman, and the district with Hermano Holman. Our night class last night consisted of all of his mission stories from Nicaragua. That is all we did, and it was awesome. In one of his areas he had to speak an indigenous language called Miskitu, and it is in no way related to Spanish. He said it has the same grammatical structure as Japan and you read the sentences backwards. He had a lot of cool stories. Well, I will be on for a while to talk, so let everyone know and I will answer any questions.

-Nick

Mom,

You're welcome!! The guys going to Veracruz with me are the blonde guy right next to me, Elder Lind, and the guy kneeling down next to Elder Ryum, Elder Sowards. I am going to be very busy getting ready to go. That's why we all decided to get all of the laundry done early, so we could have some time to pack all of our things. It was a great class last night. Hermano Holman is such a good guy. He actually told all of us to hit him up when we get back, and we could go to lunch sometime. He has helped me so much on my Spanish skills. I am a little congested lately, so I have had a little cough, but it really isn't that bad. I am just glad I haven't been too sick since I am flying out tomorrow.

I love you too Mom!

-Nick

Mom,

I haven't been too sick. I am very grateful for all of that medicine that you packed with me. Especially when I had the migraine that required 4 pills. That was no bueno. I am so ready to get into the field. I just told Kenzie this, but we call the MTC "spiritual prison" which is preparing us for the actual mission. I am so glad I am missing the snow. That is one thing I don't necessarily like about Utah, is the winter. I like snow, I hate the cold.

That'll be fun for when I come back to watch all of the movies that you guys are putting on the list. You guys will have to make a list of TV shows too. I will definitely have a lot to catch up on. Haha

I love you too!

-Nick

Dad,

I honestly cannot even wait to get to Mexico. I am so done with the MTC, and I am just ready to get out into the field. I have one more class tonight, but I am not sure if we are going to do anything though. We learned all of the grammar principles that were required to go into the field. I can't wait to talk to you either.  They have scales in our residence halls to check the weight, so I should be good on that. I am going to do my best to make sure I have them both under 50 pounds.

-Nick

Dad,

I am just so ready for the field, it isn't even funny. That's cool that there are a lot of similarities between Mexico and Thailand. It should be such a cool experience. Don't worry, you know me. I will make sure that if there are sister's in my district that they are taken care of, or even just have someone to talk to if they are having a hard time or something. It feels insane that on Monday at 2:00 I will be in Veracruz. It is a crazy thought, but it is also so exciting. I know I will miss the snow, but I like the snow, not so much the cold part. But it really does wake me up in the morning. Haha

-Nick

Mom,

I am glad I haven't been too sick either. I had a really bad cough at some point, but that was also when every single person in our zone was getting sick. I can't wait to get to Mexico. I want to actually start experiencing the mission instead of a daily routine set for me in the MTC.

If you hadn't moved to Utah, I wouldn't have been born and I wouldn't be on a mission. That's a good reason for moving to Utah. :)

It really will be fun to catch up on shows and movies for when I get home. But I really am more excited for Mexico.

-Nick

Dad,

My hour is starting to come to an end, but I just want to send everyone one last email before I end my hour. Elder Ryum leaves after me, and my new companion will be Elder Dawson. He was actually the first person I met at the MTC when I first got there. He is a cool kid. It really is funny how similar our experiences in the MTC are. And how we both got called to very tropical climates.

I will definitely let you know if I need/want anything while I am down in Mexico. I am so excited for the experience of a mission, but I am not looking forward to how fast it will fly by. Judging by how fast my time in the MTC went by, the mission itself will just be a pinpoint in time. I am so excited to start serving the people of Veracruz. I can't wait!

I love you Dad

-Nick

P.S- I wear your cancer pin every day. I have people ask about it all the time. It is something I cherish of yours.

Mom,

This will be my last email, but I hope you have a good day today. I will always love Utah. It really is a beautiful place, and our family wouldn't have started without you moving here. So that is a good point. :)

I am glad you enjoy getting my emails. I really enjoy getting all of yours too. I think my P-day should be on Mondays once I get into the field.

I will check for the package today sometime.

I love you Mom! Have a great day today

-Nick