May 10, 2013

May 10, 2013

Hello!

Congratulations Savy about getting on Cheer! That's totally awesome! You'll totally have to tell me about how you like it. Happy Birthday Reese! You're the bomb!!! I totally miss you. Also, Happy Birthday Uncle Ben and Aunt Martha.

So everything with me is going well. This week has been extremely busy and honestly I had like the most stressful day of my entire mission this week just because of the workload and how many favors people were asking me. But it turned of fine. I'm alive. It's a lot of work opening a new mission. I also had some problems with the Zone Leaders this week just being completely disrespectful, but I worked it out with them. So as for tons of spiritual experiences to tell you guys or stuff like that, they've been few this week. But I'm sure I'm learning things that will help me in the long run. I don't think I've ever slept so little and been so busy before in my entire life.

Oh, and as for talking on Sunday...Well, we talked with a family and they said we could come to Skype from their house on Sunday. Hopefully there won't be any issues because we didn't work out all the details, so we're in that, but it would be most likely that I'd call between 1:30pm to 3pm. Somewhere around there. If I find out anything else, I'll let you know, but we'll plan on that for now, if that's cool.

Thanks for everything. I'm sure we'll talk more on Sunday. 

Love you all,

Jord

May 3, 2013

May 3, 2013

Hey!

I thought I'd share an experience with you that I had. Not like super crazy or anything, but just something that seemed interesting to me.

So this last week we ate at a member's house whose husband just passed away about two months ago. She told us the story about how other events in her life had lead her up to that point to be able to make it through such a hard trial. She is the only active member out of her immediate family, including her four children who are all married now but one. Just in talking with her anyone could see how much faith she had and how strong she was. I was literally impressed. She talked about how her husband wasn't a member but there was one thing that helped her accept God's will and not her own in that time of her life and it was the fact that she knew, I don't know how, but she was so sure that her husband had to leave this life to be able to progress. He wouldn't go to church with her or participate in the church at all, but her last words to him were peices of advice to look of and accept the Gospel when he heard it on the other side. She knew that somehow with such a hard experience, that it had a why behind it and that God see's things better than she could. 

While I listened to her experience I tried to put myself in her place. How hard would that be for me if someone I cared about so much just wasn't with me anymore? I mean, it's happened, but this was her husband. So I thought of you guys and how hard it would be to not have you here anymore. That'd be SO sucky. Then I tried to see how she came to the conclusion that it was for the better and that it has helped her and him. Even though I've been doing this thing for over 20 months straight and talking with people every single day, I'm always learning new stuff. Maybe I don't always share it all with you guys by emails and stuff like that, but I've had experiences I'll never forget here and if anyone has benifitted at all from my being here, it's been me. The viewpoint of this sister is something I'm going to try and remember when hard times come upon us, since we all know those don't really ever end here in this life, and hopefully it's something we can all think about when life just looks like crap.

Also, this week we had changes and it was completely crazy. I feel completely sleep deprived and exahusted, but good about all we've done. This next change we'll be recieving 25 new missionaries and this month we'll be training the new missionaries for the new offices and getting all of that set up. We'll have to take a trip up there as well to help them open them and get everything settled. It should be good. 

Elder Avery and I when we bought Subway for all the new missionaires.

Also, in my area they put sister missionaries as well as us, so we are now 4 missionaries.  They have a new leadership position that has been created worldwide for sister missionaries, so they now work in our ward with us. And my companion changed, so that's good. My new companion is Elder Rodriguez who got here to the offices at the same time as me. He has like 5 months in the mission and he was Elder Avery's companion. We just switched because I'd been with my old companion for two changes already.  Elder Rodriguez is super cool and totally hilariuos. He speaks perfect English and is from Tiajuana, Baja California. He's just turned 19 last week.

But I think that's all I've got this week. Things are going really good with me. Tell me more stuff that's going on with all of you. Oh yeah, and my comp from the MTC is the new assistant, Elder Mikkelsen. 

The first one is my trainer, Elder Vidal (who just finished his mission last change), me, Elder McCoy (Who I trained), and the Elder who Elder McCoy is now training.

We're four of us from our district here in this mission from the MTC and three of us are here in the offices. It's kind of funny but it makes it more fun. 

Thanks for everything.

Heart you :D

Jordan

 My New Comp.

April 26, 2013

April 26, 2013

Hey Fam!

How's everything going? Sounds like Ryan's homecoming was good.

Everything with me this weeks was really good. The baptismal interviews went well and they all seemed really happy and really sure about their decisions. It's kind of cool to see how the Lord works with all of those people in their lives, no matter how much crappy stuff has happened to them or whatever, they all have found what they know is true because God confirmed it to them. It's just cool to see that He really cares about all of them just as much as He cares about me.

The hospital is just like being in the States. It's because it's run by an American guy who used to be in my ward but he moved to open more hopistals in other parts of Central America. It's basically like being in hotel, honestly. The nicest hospital I've ever been in. I went there with Elder Cinseros when he broke his collar bone last year, too.

And anything that has to do with the mattresses is in our house. That's where all the new and leaving missionaries stay the night, when there's any type of leader's conference, etc. Basically we always have just extra people staying there. 

Life is good with me. We have changes this next week so we've been super busy. But then again, we're always super busy. They're going to put sister missionaries in my area so we'll be two sets of missionaries in my ward, so that will be exciting, too. It's happening a lot more because of the increased number of missionaries and due to the fact that our mission is splitting in two months. 

But other than that, everything is great. Elder Peterson (one of the Elder's from my district in the MTC) is one of the assistants and the other is going to be my companion form the MTC, Elder Mikkelsen. So it'll be cool being here in the office all together. 

Thanks for everything you all do for me. I'm really excited to see you all soon on Mother's day. That's coming up.  I'll give you more deets later. But the jist is I miss you all a lot and I'm just doing my best to make the mission a better place before I leave. 

Thanks for everything. 

Love you tons.

Jordan

April 19, 2013

April 19, 2013

Hola.

Hey, how was San Diego? Good to hear that everyone's doing well! And the spider bite is like basically gone now. But it was totally weird. It beats the experience with the centipede from last year. 

Everything with me is going well. This week I passed a lot of references to areas. Some seem like they could progress and I hope so. It's nice knowing that what you do makes a difference somewhere. We've also been taking care of an Elder who had surgery. We took turns staying with him in the hospital and taking care of him here. So that's been an experience, too. 

It also looks like today and tomorrow I will have to do 5 baptisimal interviews. That'll keep me busy. We're just getting everything ready again for all the new missionaries. It looks like we should be receving 33, more or less, so there's a lot to do. 

I attached some pictures of what Elder Avery and I did this morning at 6:30. 

I'm also really grateful that everything worked out the way it did. Even if it wasn't always easy for any of us and even if I wasn't the best teenager, I'm really glad you guys are the bomb. It would be totally lame to have a not fun family. Also, all your support, letters, packages, and financial help has really helped me a lot. Don't think I could be here without your help. You have to tell Granny thank you a million times over for me. I feel like the future will be a lot better because of my time here and I've been really happy for the time I've had to help other people. I'm usually not down for getting to know new people and putting myself in situations like that or live with a lot of change, but it's been good for me. I'm very happy. 

You'll have to let me know how Ryan's homecoming is and tell him that I say hi and he should write me sometime! 

I feel like this month passed by ridiculously fast for me. 

Thanks for everything.

Love you tons,

Jordan

April 12, 2013

April 15, 2013

Heyyyyyyy!!!!!!

How's it going, family? Hope everything is great. Things with me are going very well. Super busy but really great. General Conference was good. I got to see a bunch of people from the Colinas Ward, because my church building is the Stake Center so they all came and it was really great to see them. It gave me a taste of what August will be like. It was cool, though, because I also got to see a few people that we baptized or helped baptize. It was just a good experience being able to see them at their first General Conference all excited and happy. I got some good stuff out of the conference. I started making questions and looking for answers in the talks and stuff and it helps me to pay more attention and really listen to everything they say, and I always find answers to all of my questions. So it was a good experience for me. 

This week I've gotten a lot of stuff together for Zone Conferences, sent stuff with President to the conferences (like all the materials that missionaires ever need, including cards and packages, too), I ordered some cell phones and new SIM cards for all the new areas we're going to be opening soon as well as all the furniture for their houses. I'm going to order office supplies tomorrow...I feel like this is big list of uninteresting things, but I do like doing all of it. I like the change and all that.

This week a spider bit me on my forehead and everyone feels the need to talk about it and all of a sudden become doctors and tell me exactly what it is and what I should put on it. Obviously I took none of their advice and it's healing just fine. 

Also, we live with the assistants and two other secretaries, so one night Elder Avery and I took a mattress (we have tons of mattresses because all of the new missionaries and leaving missionaries, or anytime missionaires gather in Monterrey and have to stay overnight, they ALL sleep at our house. So there's like 30 mattresses there) and we wedged it directly in front of their door while they were sleeping. It was ridiculously packed in there. Then we did the same thing with 10 more and completely closed them off. In the morning they could not get out at all. They'd run and hit the mattresses but because of how tightly packed in they were, they almost didn't even budge. It was completely sound proof and they called me so I tried to convince them that they were still dreaming. Didn't work. But it was soo funny. They finally had to just pull them into their room, but were under the impression that it was only one or two mattresses. Basically it took them about a half hour to get out and I attatched a picture.

Basically, you just have to find things to enjoy when you're so busy all the time.

I think that's about it for new stuff this week. A very large number of my investigators from Sanbinas are apparently progressing really well and two have been baptized and confirmed, so that's good to know that what I did there had some effect on people's lives and that I may have had a good impact. It's not always the easiest thing not seeing fruits for all of your labors. That's pretty much the story of the second half of my mission, but that's how life is. We're not going to see the whole picture, but that doesn't matter. What matters is what we dedicate ourselves to doing here and now, and if that is what the Lord would have us do. We just need to look for opportunites to be intstruments in His hands. I hope that is what I have been able to be in my time here and hope that will be true forever.

Thanks for everything you do for me, fam. Love you guys tons and miss you tons, too!

Talk to you real soon,

Jordan

 The hammocks

Me being Mexican with Elde Rodriguez

April 5, 2013

April 5, 2013

Hey family,

Thanks so much for helping me out with all my college stuff. Basically that's my entire future in your hands, so it means a lot. That's cool that Tim is helping you. You'll have to tell him thanks for me and hello! And as for me sleeping in the hammock, that would be a large part of the reason, for bugs and other things. I definitely am not look for an experience like the centipede one again. Never again.

I am actually looking forward to playing Just Dance again with all of you. I'll always remember when UD, Ty, and all of them were dancing together. So funny. Hopefully you have that video somewhere because that is totally priceless. 

I'm also looking forward to conference. We actually just have one investigator right now. His name is Ari. We got him to come to church with us two weeks ago and he totally shows up in a suit and tie. He's 19 and I think he's progressing well. He's praying, he's reading the scriptures, and he's learning a lot more about what God wants for him and what he needs to do to be able to be happy forever. He likes to be really sure about things before he makes decisions, so he says he's still not ready to be baptized, but he says that this week he's preparing questions to look for answers in General Conference when the prophet and apostles speak. I know he'll get answers because I do the same thing every time and it seriously is the coolest. That'd be something really good for you to do too, Austen. I never wrote down personal questions and then looked for answers in what the profet and apostles said until the MTC, and I've gotten answers every time. I should have started way earlier! You too, Savy! Just if you feel like it would totally seduce you.

This week in the offices (and the weeks go by super fast for me here, by the way) we did some shopping with Sister Swapp for new houses we're opening, for all the missionaries because these next three weeks there are zone conferences so I've been getting all of the supplies ready and sending them off with the Swapp's from toilet brushes to Finding Faith in Christ DVD's, pamphlets, blankets, fans, dishes, literally anything they need. I feel like I'm in the warehouse with Mark again, but just with church stuff instead of java. Every week I go to this place and pay electricity bills for all the missionaires and we helped the senior missionaries that used to be here in the offices with us pack all their stuff up and load it into their truck. They left on Wednesday. We rearranged the furniture in the office. I called a whole bunch of areas to try and figure out where we can put two sets of missionaries where there are only one right now, made a list, and gave it to the assistants and to President so they can see where they will be sending the tons of new missionaries we'll be getting. I also set up all the stuff for conferences and just basically whatever job is not really assigned to anyone becomes my job. We made emergency maps on how to get to the offices from all the missionaries houses if they need to be called here in an emergency. I was actually telling Sister Swapp that President has his assistants and Elder Avery (the financial secretary) and I are totally her assistants because we just go with her and do stuff for her all the time. It really is cool and I like it because I feel like the things I'm doing matter. Like, if we didn't do our jobs, none of the missionaries would have light in their houses or they'd have no materials to share with the people and stuff like that. It's satisfying. So I'm happy. It's tiring sometimes because we usually are here working pretty late (usually until about 11pm durning the week and on Sundays, that can go until about 3 or 4am) but I really do like it all in all.

I'm happy to be here and just trying to help whoever I can. I'm glad that I have such good support from you guys at home and from my friends. Even though there are like three that write me (which was inevitable) it's totally cool. I'm pretty sure I couldn't be much happier. Sister Swapp sent me an email this week that meant a lot to me, too. It just said ¨I am glad you like it here because I have never been happier with the elders in the office than I have been in the last few week.  I appreciate all you do and the smile only adds to the happiness.¨

Thanks for everything. 

Much love,

Jordan

March 30, 2013

March 30, 2013

Hello,

Sorry I didn't write yesterday. Basically we take our P-day on whatever day of the week that we don't have stuff to do, so yesterday we had a Zone Leader Conference here and we had to talk about stuff there and serve the food, clean up, give all the zone leaders the stuff they wanted (cards for their zones, etc.), go to Costco with Sister Swapp to buy stuff for new houses we're opening up, translate for her in the Conference, etc. So yeah, we were busy. But today is our P-day.

My Area!

I saw the picture you sent me of Ry-guy. How crazy! I guess pretty soon that will be Taylor, too. And then me! Also weird that Alex got his mission call, just because I feel like he's younger, but that is cool about going to Peru. He'll do good.

Sounds like things are going good at home, too. That's good to hear. Everything is great with me. It's kind of crazy in the offices because we are getting a lot of new missionaries and have to open lots of areas and even split areas in half and put four missionaries in areas where there are only two right now. It's cool, but it gives me a lot things to do. I find the best deals on all the furniture, I order them online or I go and buy them, I find out what all the houses and missionaries will need for their houses (old and new), and I have to help the Zone Leaders figure out what kind of houses they need to look for for the new areas. There's basically not like a list of all the stuff I do, it's just what the President and Sister Swapp need. So it's cool. And then, as if I wasn't busy enough, this week they decided to make me a district leader in my district. So now I'll be doing that as well. There are 5 areas in my district, three of which are training new missionaires. Two of them have just white washed their areas, I'm opening mine back up, and there's a companionship of Sisters that just opened their area back up, too. And the zone leaders. So it should be an experience. Honestly, I don't know where I'm going to find the time to do all that I have to do here in the office, help the other areas out and do baptismal interviews, and work in my area, but I'm not too worried about it. I'm sure that if I just do my best, it will all work out.

 Me talking on the phone with missionaries in my district in the offices

Sister Swapp and I doing an example and me translating

So that's been me this week. Yesterday on my way to costco with Sister Swapp and Elder Avery (the financial secretary) we totally got stopped in the road by a huge line of people who were reinacting the crucifiction of Jesus in the street, since it's ''Semana Santa.'' We literally were there for like a full 15 minutes. It was completely ridiculous. They were like pretending to whip a guy dresses as Jesus carrying a cross. Not cool.

 Serving breakfast :D

M bed (hammock :D I literally sleep in it every night.)

I'm glad I'm here for now. I feel like I'm doing some good things and that some people may be benefiting from the little things that I do for them. I sure hope so. Hopefully you got in touch with Sister Cottrell, and if not, either way, the packages come straight to me here. Oh, and I got the Valentine's Day package! A zone leader from my last zone brought it to me at the conference. All of that stuff is totally ridiculous and hilarious. I put the wallflower in the office and it always smells good, now. Yesterday I was like ''Hey president, does it smell like a carribien escape in here?'' since that's what the sent is called. The Justin Bieber card rocks. I always open it and start dancing. I want to find out how to remove the little tab that turns the song on and connet it to like one of president's desk drawers or something. Probably won't in the end, but just a funny idea. The soap on a rope...So funny. Thanks for sending the package. MY FAMILY IS THE BEST.

Hope you're all doing well. I always remember all of you in my prayers. Thanks for everything.

Much love,

Elder Wheeler