July 13, 2013

July 13, 2013

Hey fam!

Thanks for sending the pictures from California :D Looked like a good vacation. You'll have to tell me more about it IN THREE WEEKS.

I'm currently eating a bowl of Captin' Crunch cereal for the first time in my entire mission. I think that because Saltillo is the biggest city people hit when they come from Texas to Mexico, they have more American stuff. Not sure, though, but I'm not complaining. 

As for the new President, he's from Pachuca and does not speak English. He's a native Spanish Speaker. He spends a lot more time at the office and we ate with him at his house yesterday with his family, so that was fun. They do things a lot differently than the Swapp's. It's not better or worse, just super different and I think it's just because of the culture. But they're doing well with the adjustment and everything.

I have no pictures to send this week. Let me tell you why. Yesterday we came into the office and President and his wife were here talking about the plans for the day and I look for the camera that I had bought the day before for the mission. I left it charging so that we could use it that day, but it wasn't there. I assumed President had taken it and then he gave me something to scan and email to a temple president somewhere. So I sit down at my desk (which I'm sharing with Elder McCoy now becuase he'll be replacing me and all that) and some of my stuff were in weird places and I thought to myself "Okay McCoy, nice. Just leaving crap everywhere." And there's a screwdriver on my desk (we have no tools in the whole office) and that was weird to me, but I didn't think much of it and went back to sending the email. Then Elder Mikkelsen comes to my desk and asks me where one of the computer monitors was. I look on the other desk where it should be and it's not. And there were paper clips all over the ground. And the drawers were broken open. SO WE WERE TOTALLY ROBBED. They had broken in one of the windows and stole a TV, a computer monitor, and the camera that I had just bought for the mission, AND MY CAMERA. So now I have no camera or pictures to send. 

But I'm glad it was just my camera. I guess it could have been worse. 

So that's my story. I keep all of the important stuff for the office in the safe, so nothing that really mattered was robbed. Oh, they stole the spare change on my desk, too. But there were about 40 donuts on the counter that we took to a Zone Conference yesterday, and they didn't take any and Elder McCoy was like "Dude, I totally would have taken some donuts, too."

Anyway, so that was the most eventful part of my week. I've been working on a lot of the same stuff as last week (Healthcare, credit cards, training McCoy, buying stuff, etc.).

Hey, you got my flight information, right? I WILL BE THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO GO HOME FROM THE SALTILLO AIRPORT IN THE HISTORY OF FOREVER. 

I think that's all I have. 

We celebrated Elder Mikkelsen's birthday yesterday. I printed out a paper that said "IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY." And taped it to a box of Cinnabon Cereal that I found at the store (which is crazy that they sell it here, by the way) and we bought him a cake. It was good. 

Well, that's it. 

Thanks for being the bomb :D

Talk to you guys later and SEE YOU SOON.

Much love,

Jordan

July 6, 2013

July 6, 2013

Hey fam,

How's California? I got that video of Reese, which was totally the bomb, by the way. 

                                               The new President and his family.

Things with me are going well. Remember when I sent that email like a month ago that I'd never been so busy in my whole life as I was then? Well, I think I'm more busy now. It's been good, though. Basically my weeks has consisted of planning tons of stuff, buying all the stuff we need for the office (hopefully I won't be condemed for how much money I've spent), getting all the food ready for a Leadserhsip Conference we had, working out President and his family's health care, setting up their credit cards, trianing the new financial secretary, today I start training my remplacement (which is Elder McCoy, the Elder I trained :D ), translating for the new President, doing all my normal stuff like references and materials, and thing like that. I take less breaks these days when I work because of how much there is to do but it's good, though. It keeps me occupied and hopefully it's stuff that will help this mission work smoothly in the end. Plus I'll have Elder McCoy's help, so that will be good.

                                                        One of my many receipts.

I do miss the Swapp's, though. I called them both several times this week for help with stuff that I had no idea how to do.

Basically I'm pretty sure that's all that's new with me.

Send me pictures from Cali!

Heart you,

Jordan

June 28, 2013

June 28, 2013

Things here are going pretty well. If I thought I was busy in Monterrey, I'm like 10 times more busy here. So...I don't have any pictures. At all. But this week I'll take some. President Rodriguez will be getting here tomorrow and we've just been trying to get everything ready for that. Basically my week has consisted of having to work with difficult people to get all of the things we need for the office here so that it can actually work like an office dealing with wiring problems here in the building, office max. It will all work out!

Elder Mikkelsen (My comp from the MTC who's here in the offices, too) and I got the Swapps a little keychain with a picture of the office missionaries on it and just wrote them a little card. It was sad knowing that we won't really be a part of their mission anymore, but then again, I won't be a part of anyone's mission, so you know. It made me laugh though because President Swapp says "We are hanging out after the mission" and Sister Swapp says "Can we adopt you?" (I'm totally a grown person and not adoptable). 

So basically it's been a good experience and I've learned some good stuff here. Right now I'm running the Financial Secretary's job and my job here and trying to get it all set up and I don't think I've ever worked this diligently in anything. Totally weird. 

The security cameras and vandalism...well, it's Mexico. I guess it's for vandalism but also for just general security. At our old offices we had a guard and he watched cameras all over the grounds, too but here we don't have that, so we have our own just for the front gate. Nothing super dangerous has really ever happened in my time in the offices. One time in Monterrey a drunk guy jumped the fence and cut his hands up by doing it and tried to get into the office to get money, but he really wasn't dangerous. 

Saltillo is a lot cooler temperature wise. We're in the richer part of the city so there's like everything we need right by the office (basically the opposite of the offices in Monterrey) but in Monterrey we lived right next to the office. We literally hoped the fence to our backyard there and that was nice because we could work late when we needed to and just come and go but here we're about 15 minutes walking from the office. Not as nice, but we live in a gated street and it's a really nice house (the best one I've ever lived in) so I'm not complaining. 

I think that's really all that I have to write. 

Thanks for everything. I'm glad I'm here and have the time I have left. 

Heart you,

Jordan

June 22, 2013

June 22, 2013

Ello!

This is my last P-day in Monterrey! Sorry for not writing yesterday. We went up to Saltillo to see the offices they just built, the new president's house, and our new house. It looks like it'll all work out. I'll see about attaching some photos as well. We also had our last dinner with President and Sister Swapp list night for four of us who are leaving soon and since Elder Mikkelsen and I won't finish with them here in the city. It was fun and good food and nice to be able to do that before we all leave. 

                                                                 The new offices

                                  Elder Mikkelsen and I on the security camera at the new offices

                                             Pictures for the last newsletter we sent out

Last Dinner

This week basically I made the rest of those books for all the missionaries, I updated all of the housing files and other files that I'll be taking with me to Saltillo. I got a bunch of GPS coordinates of all the church buildings and other information and will be loading that into President Swapp's and President Rodriguez's GPS's. Sorted and passed 1,000,000 references. Someone called Elder Avery yesterday from his ward totally worried and freaking out saying "Where's Elder Wheeler?? Is he okay? Tell him to be careful because they're kidnapping all of the Chinese people in Monterrey!"

I obviously was not kidnapped and am not Chinese anyway. 

On Tuesday we'll move out to Saltillo and set up the offices and everything. 

I'm out of things to say.

Thanks for everything.

Much love,

Jordan

New Mission!

June 16, 2013

June 16, 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First of all, I wish to thank you for your continued love and support for your missionary.  Second, I wish to inform you of the division of the Mexico Monterrey West Mission. Because of the advancement in missionary work, the Mexico Saltillo Mission has been created. Your missionary has been a marvelous example and has demonstrated the qualities of a representative of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The decision as to which mission each missionary will serve has been difficult due to the love I feel for each one.  However, through much prayer and meditation, I wish to inform you that your missionary will be serving in the newly created Mexico Saltillo Mission as of July 1, 2013.  President Luis Fernando Rodriguez will preside over this mission. 

I have included below the address to the Mission Offices in Saltillo so that you may be able to send any letter or package to your missionary.

MEXICO SALTILLO MISSION
CALLE TREBOL #271
ESQUINA CON TRIGO, COL. LAS PRADERAS,
SALTILLO, COAHUILA, MEX 25295

Thank you again for your devotion and may the Lord bless you as your missionary serves in this marvelous work.

                                                                                              

Sincerely,

  President Edward M. Swapp

 México Monterrey West Mission                                                                  

                                                              

June 14, 2013

June 14, 2013

Heyo!

You know, for all the times UD has gone to Canada, I've never been. I guess he's not like going up there on vacation or something like that. One day I will visit Canada just because.

Sounds like things are going well at home, then. You'll have to tell me about how Austen's camp out goes, too. Taylor was telling me a little about what they were going to do. 

Everything with me is cool. This is probably my last here in Monterrey and then I'll head up to Saltillo. My replacement for the Monterrey Mission is totally hilarious and already knows how to do just about everything so he'll be a good help for the Swapp's. The spiders...well, yeah. They're totally disgusting and gross and not things that I every want to find again. As for investigators, well, right now with all the work we have here, I haven't left to go to an area. Like at all. I actually don't have one assigned to me with so many people here in the offices. We're 11 because of everyone's replacements for the two missions and all that. So, no news there. Just that  it's been super busy and there's a lot to do. 

I've been working on some books that Sister Swapp wants for all the missionaries so I designed the cover and the back cover and, well ,the whole thing, actually. Elder Avery helped me with the layout. I'll send you some pictures in another email. Basically my life this last week has been dedicated to this and updating house information for every area in the mission. SUPER FUN.

Front Cover

Inside

Back Cover

I think I'll miss being here a little. The Swapp's are great and it's been a good experience being able to work with them so closely and do good things for the mission. It'll be a big change in Saltillo because it's so much smaller of a city, we'll be 4 in the office, and the President and his wife will be new and they're Hispanic, and other things. But I think it'll be an experience as well. 

I couldn't ever have hoped to have a cooler or a better family than the one I have. For reals.

I'm pretty sure things may have turned out totally jacked up with our family and everything, but it definitely ended up in the best way. I'm totally grateful to have you as my mother pretty much. Tell UD Happy Father's day! 

MY FAMILY IS THE BEST.

Thanks for everything.

Live up the Summer vacations.

<3

Jordan