Time to Move On

11 June 2012

Dear Family,

Nate and his comp, Elder Samame, from Panama

     Hey, yes, I have changes this week.   I will be sent out tomorrow at eight in the morning.   I have been scrambling all day to pack all my stuff and to say goodbye to everyone here in the area.   Some nice things about being señior companion is that I get to decide what appointments to make. I abused that power a little this week.  We aren´t going to visit anyone that I don´t want to visit today.   Still working, but not running around looking for contacts.   I have said goodbye to most of the people I wanted to say goodbye to, but still I need to go by like 5 or 6 people.   It has been a great area to work in.

    As for the shirts, a 17 or 171/2 neck would be fine.   My old shirts fit fine at the neck, but they are a little loose there.   I didn´t realize that until just this instant.   As for other things I need:  BBQ sauce- Sweet Baby Rays if you can find it, but I will take anything. Jalapeños-  any way you can send them... habeñeros, too.   I would like to have a few more quick cook goodies too.   They are really really good. Thanks!!!

     Then, I am looking for a way to send a package home.   I have some spices from here that I would like to send home.   I have a whole bunch of seeds.  I don´t know what they are called, but they are really really hot!.  The seeds are good and stay good for years so I am told.   I have a whole bunch. To plant them,  just put them in fertilized dirt and water daily...oh, and sunlight too.   The plant grows about 2 feet high if there is lots of sunlight.   I would like to plant some after the mission if its okay.

     Tell Matt and Daniel congratulations!  And tell them not to follow my example.  I made an Adventist preacher cry this week for attacking the church.   He found the truth of things hurts a little. He was attacking us and an investigator whom we are teaching.  The poor sister was super confused and felt bad.   We found out she had attended the 7th Day Adventists for a time and was confused about the doctrine of Christ.    We told her to follow her heart and to pray.  We came by one morning and found her Adventist pastor in the house. and he told us basically that we are of the devil... bla bla bla, and that his church is the only true church in the world.   Well, we didn´t want to fight with him in this moment, just simply to talk to the sister about faith and about baptism.   This pastor wouldn´t allow us to talk,  so we showed him several things in his Bible that he had a lot of trouble accepting,  but it was in his own Bible.   At that, he closed his Bible and started to cry.  We invited him to pray about these things and he got mad and left.   It was truthfully a tough lesson.  I felt really bad for him and so did my companion. 

     Well, the church is true. I have seen it really truly in my mission here.   The mission really feels like a battle for souls.   I can literally SEE the battle. and its really not the evangelists versus the catholics or anything like that.  It is truly like every church against ours.   Every church in this world accepts every other church... except ours. I literally heard one guy in the World Missionary Movement say every church is true except ours.   I have heard similar things from members from almost every church here.  It is an interesting point of view I am gaining in the mission. It really gives the perspective of Nephi in respect to the world and the church.

     Well I love you all. I will write more later, but I have to go right now.

I love you, I hope all is well at home. Tell Devin best of luck and that I have all the confidence in the world in him.   Also, tell Matt and Dainiel, to enjoy their missions.   Love it and it will change their lives.

Love, Nate

Pictures of the Zone

4 June 2012

Dear Family...

Well,  I forgot my other sd card so I can´t send home the majority of the photos that I wanted to, but here are a few of my zone that I took today.

Here is a description of what's happening with each picture.

1. We were bored and my comp and I left a message for the Soc soc (Sociedad de Socorro or Relief Society)

2. Elder Kirtland (AP), Me (jefe) and Elder Sainberry (Newbie).

3. Elder Kirtland is/was my ZL for 3 changes and now he is still in the zone technically, but is the AP. Elder Sainsberry is new in the zone, but is from Logan. I am always teasing and making fun of him... but all in good fun :)

4. Elder Velarde is one of my good friends in the Zone and he decided to go "profet" on us and I grabbed a picture...

5. My comp and a bunch of other missionaries after lunch.

6. La Hermanas Blackwell and Lopez, Elder Nicaragua, and Elder Kirtland... again... But E´Nicaragua is going to end his mission here in like a week so this was our last get together with him. He is cool and has been giving me advanced missionary training for the last couple weeks. (advanced training for lack of a better word.)  He has been showing me how to work a bit more effectively with members, in everyday work, and in my lessons.   I have a ton of respect for him and am sad to see him go.

7. How missionaries work in the kitchen... 6 in the kitchen. 2 talking after having eaten, 2 playing with cameras (one is me), 1 eating and 1 sister trying to serve everyone... :)

    








     This week has been an interesting week. I don´t have changes yet. That is next week. I forgot how to count... sorry Mom.   One more week to wait, but the guess is that I am going to El Dorado to look for gold... which I think is a super ironic name for the area because it's the poorest part of the city.

The other guess is that I will be going super far out there,  like out to Cajamarca.   A bunch of the elders out there have changes this next week or I will open a new area between here and there. Those are the three likely options right now.   Our presidente has mentioned that I might be opening a new area which I think would be fun personally.  I just hope its not in one of the cities here because I hate cities.   There are a whole bunch of new areas here in Lambayeque that president said he wants to open.   So we will see.

     As far as interesting things, well we had one investigator who decided that she wanted to join the church so that her daughter could marry a missionary specifically, at the moment,  me or my companion. haha.  We have to go explain to her today our purpose as missionaries,  but it's likely that she will get baptized so at least there is that.   Aside from that, we also have been running from all sides of our zone to all other sides.   Our ZL´s realized this week that I am an electrician or at least know the principles of it, so I have been called to all sides of our zone fixing problems and changing wiring so that everything works. (Haha) I need to take a picture of a few of the wiring jobs that I have seen here (and fixed).   Dad would just shake his head... or cry... one or the other.   Also I have become the new zone tutor for English so I have been trying to teach all the latin missionaries how to speak English.   It's been exciting.    Then, I went to the beach on Tuesday to work out there with Elder Nicaragua.  His companion went to my area to work.   Wednesday, we have another exchange.  It's been kinda weird here this week.  It feels like e have hardly been in our area, but we have a couple of families that could be baptized here soon so we have a lot of hope for this area.   I think I am going to cry when I leave.   I know personally every member of this ward, both active and inactive. I know everyone and all are my friends.  When the members here heard that I probably will be changed this next week (one of the members here works in the office), several members told us that they want to have a Family Night in their house.   As of right now, we have 3 or 4 planned for this week and of course our the Hma. Graciela.   It's tough leaving the area.   It will be interesting to see where I get sent.    Anyway,  I am out of time.

     I love you all and will write again next week with the news about changes, but it will be 2 weeks before I will have the chance to tell ya where I am at.

Love you all!