2/16/2015

Hey Guys,

Elder Armstrong and I were talking that you guys and his parents should get together. Elder Armstrong thinks that Dad and his dad would get along great together. You guys were right about these types of companions not lasting very long. I went to a meeting last night and they announced that I have a special transfer. I am now in the main part of Veracruz, and I am guessing that it is probably so that I can be closer to president. I am not in the offices, but I am with a new companion that only has 4 weeks left in his mission. His name is Elder Ramos. He is a pretty cool guy, but it was kinda fun to have an American companion for a little while. I think that they are doing this just so we can try to figure out what is going on with my headaches. I still have this headache and it is still chronic. I am going to go to the hospital today to try and figure out if we can't do anything else, because every pill that I have tried hasn't helped with the pain at all. So I hope that we can get this thing figured out. I am going to work with the mission doctor today, and also talk more with President Cordova to see what we can do.

Dad, I have been working with President, and with the doctor of the mission and I feel like I am getting great support. I haven't been able to work very hard in the past couple of weeks because of the pain, but maybe coming to Veracruz and being closer to President could help. Especially if it doesn't get better, because then I could easily go to the offices after my companion finishes his mission since this is his last transfer. That is fun that your date with mom worked out. I thought that was a really clever idea. And I really like what President Rowland is doing about the tablets and phones. It is a problem even here in Mexico. People are more focused on their phones than the spirit. I broke the sabbath yesterday too. Haha I left Sunday School so that I could go and buy myself a water bottle. I really needed water though and we don't have water fountains at the chapel in Orizaba. My companion Elder Armstrong only lasted 2 weeks. It really is true that these great companions don't last long. I love you too Dad!

Mom, You guys really should try to get together with Elder Armstrongs' parents. I can tell that he and I will be great friends for life, and it is cool that he lives not too far away. He lives over off of 11400 south in Sandy. I guess it’s true that the Lord knows what is best for me, and even though it was sad to leave Orizaba hopefully I will be able to get some help. I have been getting fed really well by the members, they always make a ton of food for the missionaries, and I try to drink water as much as I can even if I have to break the sabbath and go to buy one during church. Haha :) I think Dad is lacking testosterone in his life. He is resulting to watching Sister Wives. Haha I remember in the voice recorder Dad said, "This house is lacking testosterone." Justin and Alex will have to keep him whipped into shape. :) Elder Armstrong has a very similar sense of humor. He and I really got along great, and I was kinda sad when I got transferred. But I guess the Lord has a new plan for me in the mission. It really was easier to speak English for 2 weeks, because in English I don't even have to think about it, but in Spanish it is a lot harder for me especially since I still am learning the language every day. I hope that we can find something today to help my headaches, and hopefully I can stay in the mission. I talked about it with Elder Armstrong and really if it came to the point that I had to come home, I would be at peace with it, because it would just be part of the Lords plan for me. I will keep you guys updated with everything that is going on with the Doctors, and if I start to get relief from these headaches. I love you too Mom!

Kenzie, My head is still pretty bad, and I haven't really had much relief, but maybe being in Veracruz will help. That stinks that Justin had to work and that you guys didn't get to go on a date, but that is fun that you got to take Syd out for a girl’s night. I am sure that just made her day being able to do that with you. I miss being able to just come over and hang out with you all the time. I really am glad that we got to hang out a lot before I came out, because we became so much closer. I can't wait until we can have the chance to do that again. That stinks that your dogs have been sick since they got haircuts. :/ Hopefully it’s just a little bug and they can get feeling better soon. I hope that you have a great week Kenzer! I will probably go to the hospital tonight to see if there is anything that we can do. I will try my best to get better so that I can enjoy it more. I love you too Kenzie!

Syd, How’s it going little sis? I hope that everything is going well for you. I am glad that you got to go out for a girl’s night with Kenzie. That is always fun. :) And don't worry about not having a Valentine. Dad can always be your valentine, or in this case Kenzie. :) I hope you are having a great week and that you continue to enjoy your life. I love you little sis!

I hope that you guys all have a great week! I will try to keep you all updated on what goes on now that I am in Veracruz. I love you all!!

-Nick

January 19th

Hey Guys!

This week has kind of been a bummer for me. I have had migraine pain since January 9th, and it is still going as we speak. I spent a couple days in home, a day in a members house so that Elder Lumbreras could work, and 2 days in the hospital for observation. They said that it is really probably just due to the stress of the mission, the change of culture, the change of food, etc. etc. They gave me medication that I take every 8 hours, and one that I only take in the night. I find that medicine really does not help this pain though, and I was getting really frustrated this morning with the pain. I decided that this is just a trial of faith for me in the mission, and that I really have to push through it so I can help bring people unto Christ. I know that the Lord wouldn't have called me here if he thought that I was incapable of doing so.

Anyway, the negative parts of this week behind. Elder Lumbreras and I had a miracle baptism yesterday. It was my second investigator when I first got into the mission, and her name is Mariana. She isn't part of our ward, so she kinda stopped taking the lessons from us because she only wanted to be baptized if it was by one of us. She showed up at church in our Gospel Principles class, and told us that she wanted to be baptized, and we got permission from our bishop to baptize her here in Orizaba, and she was baptized yesterday by Elder Lumbreras. Another miracle investigator is my very first investigator in the mission. We only have like 2 lessons with her, then she moved to another part of Mexico. When we were in the hospital Elder Lumbreras received a text from her just saying "muchos saludos elderes." We thought that was a little strange so Elder Lumbreras called her. She said that she had an experience similar to Joseph Smith. She had a dream, and she saw a very bright white light, and then she remembered seeing Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. She said that Jesus said repeatedly follow in the way of my church because it is true. She didn't want to listen to the missionaries where she lives because they were pressuring baptism on her, and she didn't really like the teachings of these missionaries. She told us that after this dream she told her mom(who is a member) and then called us and told us that she wants to be baptized by us. That really was such a cool experience to listen to her say that.

Mom, I really do hope that the headaches are just from all of the stress of the mission life, and the  adjustments that I have had to make. I am on a special diet now and am not allowed to eat chocolate, cheese, milk, ham, and other things that apparently can make the migraine stronger. It stinks, but maybe it will actually help me, but I don't know. The thing about keeping snacks in my bag is that we are not allowed to eat in the street, because it looks unprofessional, but I will try my best to get rid of these headaches, and prevent them. We are still living in our tiny house, and it is freezing. It could be 65 degrees outside, and our house would still be freezing. We don't have a lot of progressing investigators right now, but we are working really hard to make it so that a lot of these people can become progressing investigators. I hope that you are doing great in school! From what it sounds like you are enjoying it a lot.

Dad, That's nice to hear that Taylor had a hard time talking to the family too and I am not alone. It really was such a great experience, but it just made me miss home more. But I think it will get easier as more time goes on. Just think, with the MTC I have almost 5 months in the mission. The 1st day in February will be 5 months. It really is flying by fast, and I only have 2 weeks left in this change. And I don't know if I will stay with Elder Lumbreras, but from what it sounds like I might be a trainer, and that honestly kinda scares me. But I know that I can do it all with the help of the Lord. I have a couple of best buddies in the ward, one is Ivan and the other is Benjamin. They are both returned missionaries and are both great. Benjamin stayed with me for like 4 hours in the hospital so Elder Lumbreras could go out and work. It really is fun learning more of the language, because it helps me to truly have friends in my ward. The Hernandez family is really cool too. The dad is one of the counselors in the bishopric, and he is really good to me too. I stayed like 3 hours in their house one day also, and they are really good friends of mine as well. I don't see a whole lot of my MTC buddies because none of them are in my zone, and 4 of them are in a completely different part of Mexico. But I saw them one time when I had to go to Veracruz for my VISA and it was kinda fun to see those guys again. The food here for the most part is great. You can usually find a Dominoes or a Mcdonalds, or Burger King around parts of town. When we were waiting to check into the hospital the other day we went to mcdonalds, and I had some chicken nuggets and fries.

Kenzie, I'm sorry that work has been so tough for you this week. I miss you a lot too. That really was one of the highlights before the mission was getting to hang out with you and Justin so much in the apartment. But just think, I have almost 5 months in the mission. Almost a fourth of the way there if that seems crazy to you. Haha Before you know it we will be hanging out again, and having Halo parties. Thats so funny about Ollie. :) He really is a funny guy. Has he calmed down a little bit now that he is not a man anymore? Haha I hope that work goes well for you this week, and I will pray hard that it does. For Justin as well so that he can have this new job be a blessing for you and for him as well. I miss you so much sista, and you really are my best friend. :)

Syd, OMG Patch favorited your tweet. I am SOOO jealous. :) I hope that everything is going well with you little sis! I am so proud of you that you made honor choir, it shows that you are recognized for your talent. I mean come on, with us Carbine's. :) Have a great week at school little sis!

I sang a solo in sacrament meeting yesterday. I was more than just a little nervous. I sang I'm trying to be like Jesus in English. We had a little program with all of the missionaries kinda like a primary program, and it was a really beautiful spirit. We called it Domingo Misional. I hope you guys all have a fantastic week! I love you all.

-Nick

Hey Guys!

Yesterday and the day before were miracle days in the mission. The other day we had a interview set up for Jose Luis, but when we got to his house he wasn't there. We tried to call him all day, and he didn't answer his phone. We thought for a while that he just didn't want to be baptized anymore, but we still had faith. He called us at like 6:00 that night and told us that everything was great, and he felt really good for his baptism yesterday. And yes, that picture was from yesterday. :) My bishop showed me the picture on facebook, and Jose Luis told me that you guys commented on it, and that it was in English. Haha It was a very good day for him. And that same night that we had the interview set up with Jose Luis, we got a call from the Hermanas in my district, and they said that his Grandma decided that she wanted to be baptized as well. Elder Lumbreras had an interview with her, and she was baptized as well. That same night we got a call at 11:00 at night saying that Jose Luis' aunt wanted to be baptized as well. We had an interview with her Sunday morning, and she was baptized like 2 hours later. It really was a miracle day for this family. I really am happy for them.

Dad, I thought about that as well about my accident. It seems crazy how fast I recovered and was back in school and work. I really do feel that it was Heavenly Fathers way of helping us to become closer through this trial of my accident, and also through your cancer. I really am happy with how close our family has gotten over time, and how much I have grown and the family has grown in faith. My home sickness is still there, always, but it seems to get easier as more time goes on. It was just hard seeing everyone together and just wanting to be there with all of you watching A Christmas Story, and just hanging out as a family. And it is just hard being a whole country away from all of you guys. But I really am starting to feel it subside. I had my second interview with President Cordova, and I think he was pretty happy with me. He told me that for 2 months in the mission I speak Spanish very well, and that in 4 months it will be perfect. Elder Lumbreras told me after his interview that President said I will be a trainer in a few weeks. I am honestly kinda scared, because if is a gringo I have to teach them Spanish, and if it is a Mexican, I don't have to worry too much. I like that you went to Thai food. I really do miss Thai food, it is my favorite. But I have had a lot of really good food here as well, and I can't wait to come back and introduce you to some of the food, and all of the people I have come in contact with as well. Speaking of food, my bishop took the missionaries in my district to an all you can eat buffet for lunch, and man that was some really good food. My bishop really is a cool guy. I get to eat with him again for lunch tomorrow! Haha  I love you!

Mom, This week has been pretty great in the mission, as I expressed in the first paragraph. It really was a miracle week, and it just makes me more excited to work even harder in missionary work. Jose Luis is the person in the picture with me and Elder Lumbreras, and he was very happy. He is my age as well, and I really do think that we will be good friends for life. The weather has been pretty cold and rainy lately, like always. Just kidding, It really is kinda like Utah weather here. One day it will be freezing, then it will be hot. Freaking Bi-polar weather. It is crazy that this is the start of my fourth month in the mission, and that I will be a trainer, AHHH. I know I can do it, I just know that it will be very hard work to help make my companionship an effective one in the Lords hands. You will do great in school mom, I know it. Don't worry too much, go with the flow, and do homework.(hah Homework) But that will be me most likely after my mission as well, but I don't know what will happen then. I still have 21 months left in the mission. The food is great for the most part. Some food is better than others, but I still really like all of the food here. Like I said last week, It is pretty much impossible to starve here, because the people feed us so freaking much food. And I am losing weight, partly because we haven't had a lot of money throughout the past couple weeks so we were trying to conserve as much as we can so that we can have more money throughout the week. We only use taxis and buses if it is absolutely necessary, because my area is huge. I cant believe that you and dad are celebrating 23 years of marriage. That's crazy how fast time flies. It gives me hope that time will go fast here as well. Not because I want the mission to end, but because it means I am closer to getting to see all of you again. And time really does feel like it is flying by faster now. It makes me happy and sad at the same time, because the mission really is great.

Kenzie, I really hope that time continues to fly by, I really do miss you a lot. I am so glad that we had the chance to get even closer before I left for the mission. It really was nice to have someone to hang out with whenever I was bored and had nothing to do. :) I really do think of you as my best friend, and we will be best friends for life. I really can't wait until we get to hang out again just like before the mission, and have a good old-time Halo party with you and Justin. :) The person who posted the picture in facebook is my investigator Jose Luis. My bishop showed me today that it was posted on facebook. I am glad that it made you happy to see that in your news feed. I really hope that this job will help you and Justin to get a house sometime in the near future. It will be nice for you guys to get out of your little apartment. I had to take the opportunity to say something about Alex and Nicole. It was just the perfect opportunity. Haha I miss you like crazy sista, and I hope that you have a fantastic week.

Alex, So...you and Nicole. You guys like steady dating now? Just gotta ask because i'm in Mexico and can't tease you like the family does. Haha I hope that your work is still going well. I really hope that this job continues to be a good one for you. I hope that you have a great week, and I miss you bro.

Syd, How is school going sista? I hope that you are doing well in school, and that you are staying happy. Remember to always say your prayers, morning and night, and also whenever you feel the need to throughout the day. You really can pray anywhere and at any time. I have prayed standing in the middle of the street before, really you can anywhere. Haha And remember to read your scriptures. It really will be a blessing in your life. I miss you sis, and hope that things continue to go well.

Justin, I am so happy to hear that you got the job! That sucks about the hours though. Hopefully with more time in the job, you can get better hours, or request better hours. I hope that things continue to go well with you, and that this job turns out to be a great one for you. I miss you bro, and hope that you have a great week.

I hope that all of you have a great week, and stay happy. I really do pray for your happiness every day. I hope that time continues to fly by so that I can see you all again. I love you all!

-Nick

Nick and Jose

Buffet with the Bishop, Elder Lumbreras, and the Hermanas.

December 29th

Hey Guys!

I started out my P day today by getting a haircut. There is an Hermana in my ward that does haircuts for us for free, so its pretty nice. I still don't know how I feel about parting my hair. It just isn't me. Haha But it will be my hairstyle for the rest of my life I guess. Oh well. :) Elder Lumbreras says Mucho Saludos a ustedes!

Christmas was pretty good for me! It was a normal proselyting day, but it was very good. I was a little homesick after skyping, and so was Elder Lumbreras. I gave him a blessing to help him. He only got like 20 minutes to talk to his family, and I think it was pretty hard on him. He only got like 8 minutes to talk on the phone with his mom, because she was in the car, and he got 20 minutes with his dad and brothers. We both had a little bit of a hard time, but we are powering through here and it is really paying off. The dinner at my stake presidents house was really good, really really good food. And one Hermana in my district gave everyone in the district a lava lava, because she is samoan, but she lives just down 4800 west from us. Well past the olympic oval, but not too far away. I will have to see if I can get the picture of all of us wearing our lava lavas.

We have been working a lot with the members this week, and trying to get referrals every day if it is possible. The other day when we were out, we stopped by a members house in our ward to use her bathroom, and after ask for references. She didn't want to change into real clothes to go out and help us get references, and said "estoy ocupado" when we asked her if she would help us. I gave her crap for that after. Haha But we have two great new investigators because we worked with a member, so that was a highlight of Saturday!

Yesterday we had a baptism, and that was great. Her name is Leticia, and she was really happy when we baptized her. We had an interesting circumstance because she has really bad back problems, so Elder Lumbreras and I baptized her together so that she wouldn't have pain in her back. The other picture in this email is from the hike 2 weeks ago, and I thought that this was a funny picture.

Dad, You will have to get me caught up on all of the TV shows and movies when I get home. I sometimes miss watching Doctor Who with you and Syd. That was always fun on Saturday mornings when we were just relaxing in the house. Christmas day wasn't really different at all than any other day in the mission. We just taught lessons, but one Hermana gave us some really good food to eat in the night, lasagna, and crepes. Man were they good. I still don't speak Spanish great, but I feel like it is getting better. I can understand the language a lot better than I can speak it. I hope Steve is right and that I sound good in Spanish. Haha

Mom, If things go as usual, then I should have a transfer in 4 weeks. Can you guys believe that I have been in Mexico for 8 weeks now? It is going by really fast, and it really does seem faster and faster every day, especially since it is almost 2015. I hope it continues to go fast for all of us. I don't want to wish away my mission by any means, but I really do miss seeing everyone all the time, and I can't wait to come home to be with you all again. We are being very careful every day. We sometimes decide not to go to a certain area because we don't feel good about it. And we are always very cautious. The other day we saw a group of guys with stuffed animal type people in their trucks piled pretty high. Elder Lumbreras told me not to look at them in the eye, because they are killers. Needless to say, we got away from that area pretty fast and got back to teaching. You will do great in school Mom, I have faith!

Kenzie, It is crazy to think about how fast time is flying in the mission. It will just continue to fly, believe me. Here days are weeks, and weeks are days. It may not make sense, but in the mission it is very true. Haha I blink and here we are in another P day. We only had the ice cream that night, because we had a big dinner at the stake presidents house. And pizza is 200 pesos to eat. Its really not that much, but we only have 1500 pesos every month, and sometimes I even have to use my debit card from home to get pesos. I can't wait until I am just a drive in my truck away to hang out with you and Justin again. I am really glad that we hung out a lot before the mission, but now I wish that I could be there right now hanging out with you guys. Haha But I know that it will come fast for us to be able to have Halo parties again. I miss you sista, and hope that everything in your life continues to go well.

We lost one of our golden investigators a couple weeks ago. It was Angeles, the woman that found all of the Anti Mormon crap in the internet. She texted us and told us that she didn't want it any more. And now every time we go to her house and knock on the door, she tells us that she doesn't want it, and thank you. It is kinda sad to see people go cold like that, but oh well. We sparked a fire of the spirit in her that she will never be able to deny. She told us herself that she had beautiful feelings in her heart when we talked to her. Freaking Satan!

Alex, I hope things are going well for you in your life right now. And that you continue to date Nicole, and never forget to make her feel happy. Haha I hope that you continue to keep this job, and that it is always good work for you. I can't wait to see you again, and nerd out on video games again. Haha Have a good week bro, I love you!

Syd, Hows my little sister doing? I hope that you are still enjoying seminary, and learning about D&C. Remember to read the book of mormon from the beginning as well as your studies in D&C. It really will be a blessing in your life if you continue to study in the scriptures, and you will always have a love for studies in the gospel, and enjoy reading your scriptures. Mark them with certain colors for certain topics. Believe me, it will be cool when you can go through and see what meaning you found in all of the scriptures, and you will have a reference for your scripture study. Never forget to pray. You can pray at any time, and in any place. I have prayed in the middle of the street many times, and it really helps me to have the spirit with me throughout the day. Have a good week sista, and remember that I love you. I miss you, and can't wait to see you in a short amount of time. (believe me it will go fast)

Justin, How is your new job in South Jordan going? I hope that this job turns out to be so much better than the District. Hopefully you will be able to go to family functions more with this job too. Have a good week bro, and I can't wait to hang out with the family again. We will have a great Halo party with a lot of Voltage when I get home. I hope that things continue to go well with you, and that you and Kenzie continue to have a happy marriage. I love you Bro!

I love you all, and I really mean it when I say that I can’t wait to see all of you again, and talking on skype really was great. I really do miss home right now, but I have a better purpose here. I have seen miracles in the mission, and it is a really humbling experience. My faith is so much stronger now than it ever has been. I really do love the people here. The members are great, and all of the people we come in contact with are very humble no matter what religion they are. But people that are hard to work with are Jehova's Witnesses. They are just a little bit difficult because they try to debunk everything in our religion, and find reasons why it isn't true, but we are firm in our faith and just ignore those people if they are a problem for us. We don't encounter a whole lot of them, but some of them are not very open to listen to our message. But nothing can stop me from preaching the gospel!

I love you all!

-Nick

December 22nd Email

Hey Guys!!

I figured out that I can Skype if I want to, so I would try to get that set up soon. But if I don't have time to get to a computer or something, it will probably just be a phone call. But I really hope that It can be Skype, and I will try my hardest to make it possible for us to Skype in 2 days! We are planning to call at 6:00 just so you guys know also.

Christmas is a lot different down here. They celebrate on the 24th, have a huge meal, then they sleep all day on the 25th. Unfortunately the sleeping part will not be a part of my day. It will just be a normal day in the life of a missionary! haha

And Dad, to answer your other questions, I have a couple really good investigators. One is named Victor, and the other is very new and his name is Cesar. Victor is great but he has a lot of doubts. He was supposed to be baptized yesterday, but he told us again that his answer was no. We explained to him that all of these feelings of not wanting to be baptized are from Satan, and that he really has received his answer through the spirit. He had an interesting experience during a prayer the other day after a lesson. He experienced an immense amount of pain in his head, and he took that as his answer to not be baptized, and remain in the Catholic church. I showed him that in the Bible it says that feelings of the Spirit are Joy, Happiness, and Peace, not pain. He still said no, and that he isn't ready at the moment. We are going to work very hard with him to get him baptized, and we are holding a family home evening with his family in their home. His sister and her daughter and sons regulary attend the church. Her daughter and son are baptized in the church, but she cant right now because she isn't legally married, but we are going to work hard so this family can go to to the temple in one year. And Cesar is great. He was a street contact like two weeks ago, but he is turning out to be great. So far we have had two lessons with him, and our last lesson was great. We actually taught every principle of the first lesson to him, and it was very interactive. He asked questions about doubts, and had a lot of questions answered in that lesson. We invited him to church like we do with all of our investigators, and he said that he wanted to go to church! We hoped that he would come with us, so we went to his house before church and found him waiting for us with his door open. That never happens! He asked us if he should bring his Book of Mormon with him, and he is just turning out to be a golden investigator. He actively participated in Sunday School, and also in the Priesthood lesson. He is very excited, and asked us yesterday, "So who can I have baptize me when my date comes around?" He really is golden, and is very excited to learn more about the Gospel.

Also the kid that I baptized last week was confirmed a member of the church yesterday, received the office of a priest in the priesthood, and baptized his little 10 year old sister in the same day. It was a very happy day for him.

Cerro Del Borrego is the name of the mountain that we hiked last week. You can look it up, I am pretty sure that it is a State park. So they probably have a website for it. We hiked with another member in our ward Mauricio. He is really cool, and was glad to go with us.

Mom, That's awesome that you were accepted into the program in BYUI. I know that will be a great thing for you! Have fun with the homework! haha At least be glad that it is not my homework that is late, or due the next day. :) That is one thing that I am not looking forward to in coming home is going to college. But it is something that has to be done. haha And that's funny that Syd was so excited about the fact that he was still wearing her rainbow loom while he performed on stage. Things have been going pretty well around here!

That's awesome that they are getting a Cafe Rio in Jordan Landing. Man, I miss me some Cafe Rio. It will be weird seeing all of the changes in Utah when I come home. I'm sure they won't be drastic, but they will definitely be noticable when I get home.

Not much has changed around here, other than the investigators, and also our work ethics. We are working so hard, so that we can have a baptism every week. That really is a goal that I want to see happen with all missionaries here, because it is completely possible with the right work ethic.

Kenzie, Dad better be famous because of that video that you took of him. You need to make sure of it that it happens before I come home.:) I promise that these 2 years will go by fast. Think of how fast almost 3 months has gone by. Only 21 more to go. Its not really that long when you think of how fast time is already going. That is awesome that yesterday was the 6 year anniversary of you and Justin dating! That really makes me feel like the time in the mission is going to be gone in the blink of an eye, and it really will especially with how much I am enjoying it. I blink and another week has gone by. My week has been pretty good. Same old, same old in the mission. Haha Teach all day, sleep, teach all day, sleep. And man, 8 hours of sleep really is not that much when I am out proselyting all day.

I don't have a whole lot more time, but I love you guys all very much and hopefully I can have more time to adress a part of my email to everyone in the family as well. I had to do a sirvey about preach my Gospel that President Cordova wanted all missionaries to complete today. Enjoy watching A LOT of A Christmas Story for me, and have an enjoyable Christmas in the family. Eat a lot of food, and make sure to BE HAPPY. And always remember why we celebrate Christmas. Its in the name, CHRISTmas. He was the first gift of Christmas, and always will be the most important that you can share with everyone.

I love you all!!

-Nick

December 15th

Hey guys!!

Today I had a pretty good P day! We actually went on a hike in the mountains. It was about a 35 minute hike, and it was beautiful. It was a lot of fun, but it made me realize just how out of shape I am. Haha I'll send some more pictures from the hike next P-day if I get the chance.

My baptism was great yesterday! He is such a cool kid, and he was ready to be baptized. I asked him how he felt after, and he told me he felt very peaceful, and that he felt great. When he asked me to baptize him, he told me he wanted it to be special for both of us since it was my first baptism in the mission. It was a great day yesterday.

Our zone hasn't been meeting our goals lately, and it isn't good. We are all working so much harder now, because we have a goal of 17 baptisms for this next month. And I know that we can do it!

Mom, to answer your questions. I do not know when I will get to call you, and I don't know if I will be able to skype with you guys, but I only have 40 minutes to talk. I can talk either on the 24th or the 25th, so hopefully I will be able to plan and let you know more before hand. I have not gotten the package yet, because the president hasn't been back to Orizaba for a little while since our zone conference. The weather has still been pretty cold here, but it got a little bit better today, because the sun was actually out for a good portion of the day. But it still has been pretty cold. I wish I had more pictures of the mountains here. They are beautiful, and not one part of any of the mountains is bare. They are all covered pretty much completely by trees. And to answer your question on food, we eat at a members house every day except for P-day. And for the most part I really love all of the food that is served. The store that we have for food is called Soriana, and it is pretty much a Harmons but in Mexico. Usually we only buy stuff that we can eat quickly before bed, and usually cereal and other things for breakfast. I took 600 pesos out of my account today, because I don't have my mission card yet. But don't worry, 600 pesos is only like 60 dollars. But I need it for the week. I am doing pretty well. My Spanish is coming along a lot better, and I can speak a lot more in lessons. I need to learn the lessons better still, but it really is coming along.

Dad, I don't know about the calling, whether it is collect call or something else. I have not heard too much about it myself, so I will let you guys know as soon as I can. I actually did get a letter from Lia a couple weeks ago, and the letter was actually from when we were both in the MTC. She sent it straight to the mission office because it wouldn't have gotten to the MTC in Provo in time. She seems very happy. She also emailed me today, and it sounds like she is enjoying it a lot in Chile. And she is having great experiences as well. I figured why not email her. Because everyone here emails friends, so I just decided to email her as well. He is the gift is awesome huh! I get kind of sick of it at times, because I usually watch it a few times a day, but it is a beautiful video. Don't worry about making me homesick. It has been getting so much easier with more time here, and understanding Spanish better, and also getting to know the other Elders and Sisters in my zone and the members in my ward. Everyone here is so great. Tell Uncle Doug that I say "Hi!" as well. haha I am glad that people enjoy reading my letters. And about your dizzy spells. I know how you feel, because I had a lot of them in the MTC, and also I have had a few here where it just feels like the entire room is spinning. I miss you every day too dad. I was glad that we had the little trip to Bobby’s before I left. In a letter that Grandma sent to me she said that Grandpa still talks about that trip. I really enjoyed that trip as well.

We think that we may lose two of our investigators this week, because they have been acting strange. One is the one I talked about in my email last week. She is so great, but now she never answers her phone when we try to call, and she never answers the door when we go to her house. We have the same problem with another one of our investigators, Lety. She is great as well, but she told us that she knows the church is true, and she believes it, but she doesn't want to change. It is a little difficult, but we are hoping that we can turn them into progressing investigators. Because if that does not happen, today will be a goodbye lesson for both of them, and I really do not want that, because they are both great.

Kenzie, That is awesome that you got spongebob socks from a white elephant exchange. It was just meant to be. haha :) Like I said to mom and dad, I am not sure if I will get to skype with you guys, but I really hope so. If not, calling is just as good. You need to get shopping, or you are going to procrastinate everything until Christmas Eve. haha I really hope that Justin gets that job in South Jordan! I will pray that he will, and cross my fingers and toes. I pray so much more here than I ever have in my entire life. It really does help though, especially when it is a prayer in faith. Never forget to pray when times get tough. I pray for you and Justin every day, and for the entire family. I hope things continue to go well with you. Hab a na da!

Justin, My ninja brother! I really hope that you get that job in South Jordan. It will be so much better for you than the one in the District. I pray for you always, and I can’t wait to see you again, and have an awesome Halo party. I love you bro!

Syd, I hope that you are having a good time in School. I pray that you do every day. Never forget to pray, EVER. It is very important that you continue to pray, and read your scriptures. It will bless your life more than you can imagine. Have a good day sista!

Alex, I hope that work and everything has been going well with you. I hope that this job continues to be a great job for you, especially with all the time that you spent trying to find a job before this one. I can’t wait to see you again Alex, and I can’t wait to have a Halo party when I get home!! haha Have a good week Bro!

Can you guys believe that I have been here for over a month now? Time is flying by already in the mission and it is crazy. I hope you guys all have a good week. Know that you are always in my prayers.

This is all I have time for, but I love you guys all so much.

Para siempre Dios este con vos.

See if you can figure the last part out without a translator. :)

-Nick

December 8th - One Week Late

Hey guys!!

I hope that everything is still going well. I did get the new debit card at my zone conference the other day, and I have some pictures from the zone conference that are attached in this email. One picture is with President Cordova and his wife, and the other is all of the zones in Orizaba. And I promise to keep taking pictures as often as I can. And my prayers were answered yesterday on a bus believe it or not. I got of the bus and we started walking towards our house, and the bus driver got off the bus and ran towards me, and he had my wallet! He told me that a kid that was on the bus gave it to him. I seriously prayed that someone would be honest and return my wallet to me. They took the 150 pesos, but that is not a big deal, it’s like 15 dollars. But it had my insurance card, other debit card(which i cut up), and it also had my license in it, so don't worry about working with the DMV now. Man I was so happy when he handed my wallet to me.

And mom to answer your laundry question, we usually have a member do our laundry, or we go to a members house and use their washing machine. Laundry has been great. Like today, we don’t have to worry about our laundry because a lady in our ward is washing our clothes. And we did start putting up the decorations in our house. We have the little tree with the lights on it, the Merry Christmas thing, and the felt Christmas tree. We had fun one morning putting up decorations. And I did not get any pictures of opening presents....lo siento(i'm sorry). My church debit card will be here in probably like 4 weeks, because it has to come in from church headquarters in salt lake.

And Dad to answer some of your questions. We have a pretty good sized ward! Probably 100+ members in our ward. Our bishop is really cool. He took me and Elder Lumbreras out to a fancy restaurant in Orizaba. It was really good food. He is such a cool guy. I can’t wait to hopefully introduce you and mom to him after my mission. One member that I am pretty close to is Ivan. He kinda took me under his wing when he met me, the new gringo. Haha He is really cool. He tries to speak English to me, everyone does, and it is actually kinda humorous. All of our finding with new investigators is either with street contacts, or references from members or other people in the area. We aren't allowed to just go door knocking for safety purposes, and its more effective to get references or talk to people in the street, because those people are usually ready to hear the gospel.

We had a golden street contact the other day with a woman named Angeles. We approached her in the street and presented our Christmas message to her. If you guys haven't seen it already I encourage you to watch it. Go to christmas.mormon.org, and watch the video. This is what all missionaries are sharing to members and investigators in the Christmas season. Anyway, We presented the message to her, then we asked her if there would be a time that we could set up an appointment with her, and she said, "how about this Tuesday?" We were so surprised when she just invited us into her home like that. We gave her a restoration pamphlet also. When we went to her house on Tuesday, she told us that she had read the entire pamphlet for the restoration, we were so surprised. She had a ton of questions that we tried to answer and clear up, and told her to keep pondering questions that she had, and we would try to answer them in the next visit. We got a text from her saying that she wasn't interested anymore and that she was too confused to decide on whether or not to keep taking the missionary lessons, and that she hoped that we would understand that she wasn't interested anymore. We went to her house that day still, because we did not know what was going on with her. When we started talking to her, her and her husband had found a crap-ton of anti-Mormon stuff on the internet, about how Joseph Smith had 7 wives, and lots of other things. We sat and explained to her that the only website that she can trust for Mormon things are mormon.org, and lds.org. I also told her that it isn't the church of the internet, it is the Church of Jesus Christ, and it is the same teachings that Jesus taught in his time. She agreed to keep taking the lessons, and only trust us to answer questions that she has for us. Her husband is very skeptical, but she told us that she has wanted to find the truth for years, and has investigated many churches. So now she has found the true church. :)

Another investigator that we have is great. His name is Jordy, and we have been working with him for a while. He has a very strong testimony, and we conducted a baptismal interview for him the other day, and he will be baptized this next Sunday. Elder Lumbreras asked him who he wanted to baptize him, and he said that he wanted me to baptize him! It will be my first baptism of the mission. :)

All missionaries got to watch the first presidency Christmas Devotional last night, and that was awesome. They had a room set up for the gringos to watch it in English. It was kinda nice to be able to understand everything. We actually didn't do any proselyting yesterday, it was just a very relaxing Sunday for the missionaries.

The days really are weeks, and the weeks are days. I blinked, and now I have been in mexico for 4 weeks. It just keeps flying by! I am enjoying it a lot more since I understand more Spanish, and since I can speak a lot more. I still am not great, but I am very confident in lessons with investigators, and I am beginning to learn all of the lessons better so I can have them in my head for when I need them.  

Just think, one more Christmas in the mission, then I will be home the next September. It really will fly by. I dont know about all of you, but it feels like time is just flying by. My training will be done soon, and then I could potentially be a trainer. My companion just told me that he wants me to be a district leader in the mission. And that is a lot of pressure. Haha But I am going to try very hard so that President Cordova will see me as leader material.

It’s funny. With more time in the mission I find that more and more regular songs from home pop into my head while I am on a bus or walking down the street. Today the song was Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons. I figure if it isn't a bad song, then it is ok if I sing them and have them in my head.

It has been raining here for the last 3 days, pretty much non-stop. And it is so freaking cold in the nights. That’s what I get for being in the coldest area. Haha There is like 5 other people from Utah in my zone, and District. It makes me laugh that we all got assigned to the coldest area.

Kenzie. I can’t believe it will be 2015 soon either! It makes it feel like the mission is flying by even faster. If you count the MTC, I have been out for 2 months in the mission. It is crazy how fast time is flying by in the mission. I found some spongebob toys in some cereal boxes, and they sit on my study desk to remind me of you each day. Haha The little spongebob dude broke off of your pen the day that I actually decided to have it sticking out of my shirt pocket. You should be proud of me. :) I even wore it to ward council. Haha I miss you sister, and I pray for you daily. I hope things continue to go well with you and Justin. And hopefully Justin can get a job in the West Jordan Harmons. Especially since Brother Norris is one of the managers.

Justin. What’s up my brotha!! I hope you get that job in West Jordan. I will pray for you to be able to get that job. I hope that you and Kenzie continue to have a happy marriage. I also pray for that. :) I saw a commercial for the new Halo in a member’s house the other day, and it looks sweet. I can’t wait to have a halo party with the new one when I get home. And that really won’t be too much longer from now. Miss ya bro, and hope things continue to go well with you.

Alex. What’s up brotha!! How has work been going for you lately? I hope that it has been going well, and that it continues to go well. I can’t wait to see you again, and hang out and play the new halo. It will be awesome!! haha. Have a good day bro!

Syd. I hope that school has been going well for you, and that you are still enjoying school. I pray that you do every day. I miss you every day little sis, and can’t wait to see you again. Remember, "so when life gets dark and dreary, don’t forget to pray." Always pray. I have prayed more here than I probably have in my whole life, and it really does help.

This is all I have time for, but have a good day and remember that I always pray for you all. And remember that we are always one day closer to being reunited.

I love you all!!

-Nick

Nick with President and Sister Cordova

Zone Conference - Nick is the top right Elder