December 24, 2012

It is hard for me to believe that Christmas is here, mostly because there is no snow and it is like 30 degrees everyday.

I really don't feel any desire to say anything right now in this e-mail because I can say anything tomorrow that I want to.

I am going to do my call at 8pm at so it should be about 5pm there (you will have to check that). The call will be on computer and I have everything ready - headphones, mic and camera, so be ready at 8pm.

Could you also do me a favor and load $5 onto my Skype account. I lack a little confidence that my companion will be able to access Skype.  If not, it is about a fifth of the price to do it through Skype calling to a landline than through the telephone .

My problem is not remembering to bring my camera, it is always remembering to take the pictures.

I got both of my packages and I actually used the talk that was in there for a talk I gave on Sunday (I had to translate it on the fly, but it worked). Also, I will have to take a picture of it and send it another day, but I got a jersey from one of the Chilean soccer teams and it is pretty cool. The team is Colo Colo.

I'm sorry this letter is so short, but we will talk tomorrow. I will attach a picture of our zone to this e-mail. (I'm working on getting the picture in a format I can post. Shelley)

Love you guys,

Jord

December 17, 2012

We actually moved the date of our baptism to this Friday in the morning because of some stuff that happened with us, not her, she is awesome. 

Our pension is a separate house in Diego de Almagro and there is just us working here. We are indeed doing all of our own cooking and cleaning here. I am not really developing my cooking abilities because there is not much to work with here. I did make a cheese cream sauce for pasta though which was really good and something that was more like what I would have eaten at home. That being said, I have to get more creative because I have been eating pasta everyday since I got here. That is mostly because I am lazy about cooking, I did experiment with roux´s this week.

I tested those shoes and they are fantastic.

The branch here is super super super small - this week we had 13 people in church (I presided and conducted in Sacrament meeting). However, there are 2 or 3 good families to work with.

We are going to have a conference on Thursday of this week and I am almost positive that I will be recieving the parcels that day.

This zone in the mission is really weird because it is made of  4 cities that are:

Chañaral - main city, 4 missionaries

Diego de Almagro - 1 hour away, my sector, 2 missionaries

El Salvador - 2 hours away, 2 missionaries

Tal Tal - 2 hours away, 2 missionaries

The interesting thing is that we get together every week for a solid day and a half and the zone gets really close because of it, so that is really cool. We're the zone farthest apart, but with the tightest relationships. We are also a zone of 10 where most zones are 16 or 18 missionaries.

I'm sorry but I really don't know what else to write. You need to ask more questions because I feel like I am repeating myself.

Love Jord

December 10, 2012

I am going to answer your questions about my sector first. The bus ride was fine. I just slept most of it so I got to catch up on some rest. I am kind of amazing at sleeping on the bus now. As far as the sector goes, this area of Chile is basically the same as the rest of the North because they are little towns that are basically 100% based on the mines. Also, it is not cold at all. The days have hit close to 33 degrees around 1 o´clock. I don't have a mammita here in my sector for laundry or food. The branch here has a regular attendance of 19 or 20 people and I am the second Counsellor. 

That being said, we were able to set a baptismal date with a lady our first week in the sector.

In the situation you mentioned, if the District Leader was teaching the investigator then that is definitely why the zone leaders did the interview. It needs to be someone not in your sector who has that assignment.

I am really short on time so this is going to be short and a little random.

We should have a zone conference here in December, but it might be the week following Christmas instead of before. We don't know yet. 

I love my new shoes. I was testing them out to see if they are waterproof...they are.

This little town that I am in is really, really, really hot and really dusty. It is kind of annoying because everyone sleeps until 11 and then goes in the house from about 2 till 5 - usually eating and sleeping. I miss Antofagasta where people had somewhat normal schedules.

I will not need another international drivers permit. If there is a need to drive here, the office just gets you an international drivers license. You can just keep that sexy picture of me at home.

My companion Elder Velasquez is from Misiones in Argentina. He lives in the Amazon... interesting.

I have a lot of thoughts about what I would like to do after I get home but I will need to tell you in another e-mail. I would like to write you some things so you know generally what I am thinking.

Mom: Involve the lord in your interview preparation, read the scriptures and pray and put your trust that the outcome will be the correct one regardless of what it is.

I feel like I was just reading about you setting up the Christmas tree, but that was Christmas last year. Weird!

Sorry for the short letter, I will try to allow myself more time next Monday.

Love you guys.

Jord

December 3, 2012

Here are a couple things to say right off the bat:

First, my shoes from the Mission Shoe Store arrived last week on Tuesday and I have been wearing them since. I decided to wear the extra insoles right away instead of waiting as they seem better. I am very happy with the shoes so far. Really... only time will tell what happens as I have been happy with my shoes at the begining every time, but they can wear out pretty fast. However, I feel that with a two year warranty, they should last 1 year at least, or they are defective.

Second, I actually did recieve a transfer this time and I will be spending this next stint of my mission in the zone of Cheñaral. It is a zone made up of little tiny towns called peublos. I will be serving in a town called Diego de Almagro. I am a little bit bummed out because I will not be able to spend Christmas, my birthday or New Years here with the Papitos, but I have come to realize at this point that things are what you make them. Also, I am not here in the mission to celebrate, but to work. I have a 16 hour bus ride to get there though. (This transfer takes him almost from the farthest north to the farthest south in the mission.) I will be heading out at 5 in the afternoon today (in about 2 hours) and get there at about 9 tomorrow morning. One interesting thing is that we spent the whole transfer thinking that Elder Hernandez was leaving, but all of Saturday before I recieved the transfers I ´´knew´´ that I was leaving.

My companion is going to be Elder Velasquez from Argentina. I don't know what city he is from, so I will have to let you know next week. I have worked with him a couple days when I was in Alto Hospicio.

I think Christmas will probably be pretty small for me so if your plans are low key we may have a somewhat similar experience. I am just hoping that we will be able to find a place that will work well to do the call on Christmas. I will probably try and do what I did last year again but with a little bit more time to study and put it together a little better. 

I have recieved an e-mail from Garret and it was nice, but I found myself short on time to respond and sent a bit of a lame response.

I am actually finding it really interesting being a district leader. I often felt before like the other elders were competition I had to beat, but that has changed with this assignment. Obviously, there is still a little bit of competition sometimes, (ie.why couldn't I have found that person) but for the most part I have just been really happy when my district members are having success and really worried when they go through tough times. I told that to President Bruce too...He didn't respond :)

The sun glasses are really nice. I am still brushing my teeth better. I actually did break one of my retainers, but I made the decision to stop putting them in my pockets and I think it should help me not break the other one. That being said, I am pretty sure that if I need to I can fix it with super glue. So, I should be fine. Don't worry about it.

Well, here is hoping that I don't get stuck beside some dude who snores on the bus.

Talk to you guys later.

Love

Jord