January 10th, 2011

¡Hola! ¿Como estan?
Thanks for your e-mails this week.  I always love getting them.  Things are good here.  I went on divisions this week for 2 days to Santiago with Elder Richardson.  I’ll attach a photo of him.  Santiago is really cool and pretty but in the middle of nowhere.  There are ruins there but they’re cleaning them up right now so we can’t go until the end of February.  I talk more about what we did in the tape.   Not a lot of our investigators are progressing so that’s frustrating but hopfully we can get a few here this week.  This Wednesday are changes.  We didn´t get a change so Elder Galán is going to finish his mission here and Dad, we do have Elder Christofferson and others coming next week to the mission.  It should be really cool.  It is just getting hotter and hotter here and hasn´t rained for a while.  I wish it would because then it´s not so hot.  Dad, that is our house on the Google map you sent.  Ours is the little one in the middle and I’ll have to see if those ruins are over there next time were in that area.

For your questions Mom...
Mom, in regards to your speaking assignment in church – Sorry, I’m not going to write a talk for you.  That one is all you.  But here are some things that have happended.  President Veirs really stresses the baptisms of families and how important it is to bring families into the church.  It is so true.  This gospel blesses families so much and families are one of the most important things in the gospel.  Hermano Fabrigas, one of our investigators that we baptized on Christmas, has had the missionaries come for 18 years but really never had a desire to be baptized.  But his family went to the temple in December and during this time he felt like that is something that he needs to do; go to the temple with his family.  He just got the priesthood and is going to be a great and faithful member of the church.  He´ll be able to go to the temple with his family in December.  Also, another cool story is the one with Hermana Reyna.  I talked a lot about her on the tapes but that’s another family and they barely have anything but they are really humble.  You´ll have to dig through my recordings to get some more about her.  Have fun writing a talk mom.  Ii know you love to do things like this just like me.
I haven´t received the 2nd package yet but no one has gotten mail in a while.  I’ll either get it tomorrow or in one week.

For p-day today we went golfing.  One of the members is the grounds keeper so he let us go for free.  The course is closed on Mondays so it was only us.  We only did 3 holes.  It was super hot.
 
Well, I hope all is good.
I love you all!!!

 Elder Richardson- He got hit in the head with an axe while doing a service project- cutting down trees... 

Santiago

 Santiago

 Club House

 Golfing

Iguana

Happy New Year

Hola como estan,

I hope all is good and that everyone had a great New Years.  News Years is crazy here and I don’t like it one bit - all they do is light fireworks, and they have some pretty intense fireworks down here.  I dont know what they’re called but they are so loud and anoying. This week nothing too much happened.  We didn´t have a baptism but we will one this Saturday for Hermana Mariana.  I think I talked about her before.  She´s the one that has a son on a mission.  We might baptize her son too.   He is handicapped.  He understands everything but can´t really talk.  Mariana can understand him but I for sure can´t.  He can’t walk and has limited use in one arm/hand but he is awesome and a really happy kid.

Mom, here´s all your answers to your questions:

How did the baptisms go? The baptisms were good- Hermano Fabrigus is really good, he´ll be an awesome priesthood holder in the church
Do you tract going door to door or what?  We don´t really tract door to door - mostly in the street and most people are outside.  It´s funny, all of the houses are fenced here so to have them answer you yell buenes
How many lesson do you give each day?  like 6 or 7, we could teach more but Elder Galan really likes to talk.
How is the food? The food is alright.  I’m still getting used to it
Have you gotten sick from the food or water?  I haven´t gotten sick yet
How is your cough and did you ever take the z-pack?  No it´s almost gone so I haven’t yet
Can you buy just about everything you want there for food?  Yes - not in our city but in Lima, the beef jerky was good though and you can’t get it here.
Are their food stores like ours or is the city too small to have big stores?  In Pineda they’re just Pulparias.  They’re tiny.  You don’t walk in them  - it´s just a little store front.
How often are the tranfers and do you think you will stay in Pineda and with Elder Galan?  Um. I don’t know.  Transfers are in a week and a half, so we´ll find out then.  I’ll stay for sure but Elder Galan might go.
Do you ever do service projects?  We haven´t yet.  I wish we did.  I did some service when I went on divisions but for some reason Elder Galan doesn´t like to.
I need to know what your dress shoe size is because it is different then a 12 or 13.  Just in case I need to send more.
 
Thanks for everything,
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Feliz Navidad

Hello Everyone,

How is everything going? - I hope all of you had a good Christmas.  It was really good to talk to you all but really weird at the same time.  Christmas is really different here and I really don’t like it mostly because there was no snow.  It was so weird having Christmas without snow but it sounds like you guys didn´t have too much snow either.  This week was pretty good; we had 3 baptisms but only 2 got confirmed.  One of them ended up having to work.  That´s a big problem down here.   Everyone that works has work on Sunday so they can never come to church.  We only had 2 investigators come to church this week, and it frustrating because they can´t be baptised unless they come to church at least two times first.  I talk more about the baptism on my recording.  I also had to give a talk on Sunday that I didn´t find out about until Saturday at like 8:30 pm at night.  But it was alright.  It was only like 5 minutes about decisions we have to make every day, like reading the scriptures and praying.   It finally rained and it´s raining a little bit right now.  So my bed in our house is too small for me so I got a hammock and put that up so I think I might start sleeping in it.  It´s not the bed that’s small, it´s the mattress.  Today Elder Galan and I went to San Pedro Sula and I talked with President Veirs.  He is awesome.

OK - now I’m going to answer your emails and questions.  Elder Galan didn´t get a package for Christmas but he loves the car thing that you sent, Mom.  That´s all he does when we’re in our house, and he did get to talk with his family for Christmas.  The packages were good.  All the chocolate stuff was melted but it still tastes good.  There aren´t any fast food places in Pineda and I haven´t seen one in La Lima either.  In Pineda, all we have are pulperias.  
Thanks for all that all you do for me.  You’re the best.
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!!
 

Hola

Anna, Elder Kapple, Blanca

Elder Galan, Anna, Rayna, Enrique, Blanca, Elder Kapple

Hola everybody. How are you all?  Things are good here.  It has been super hot and hasn’t rained for a while.  I kind of wish it would rain because it makes it a lot cooler.  We had 4 baptisms yesterday in the morning before church.  I give more details in the recordings.  This week was crazy. We had a multi-zone meeting in San Pedro Tuesday, then because Elder Galan is district leader we he had to go do interviews Friday in Santiago which is in the middle of nowhere.  But it´s a really cool city.  Then we had all the interviews for our baptisms so we did a lot but at the same time it feels like we did nothing.  I am able to Skype but I have no idea how but I would really like to.  The problem is Elder Galán  won’t want to and in order to Skype we have to come to La Lima but I’ll let you know.  We might just talk from the phone from our house.  Our number is 26083476 but I guess you have to look up a dialing code.  Just look that up on line; for example, for me to call you I have to dial 0018013948469.  Just look up what the dialing code is and the area code for Honduras is 504 I think.  Hopefully that all made sense but that is just what another Elder told me.
Mom, for all your questions --  my health is good,  I have that stupid cough but I’ll get over it.
The exchange rate is like 18 Lempira for 1 US dollar.  People here do have lights and christmas trees.  It´s weird though because there is no snow.
I don’t know if I can print and what hard copies would you send? the ones I send or the ones you send?
Spanish is still hard and frustrating.  I just have to give it some time.
Well, I hope all is good back it Ogden.  I miss you all and I love you all!!!!

pictures

Nathan's Mission President, President Veir's and his wife keep a blog and update it with pictures. Pictures of Nathan's arrival in Honduras were recently posted on their blog. I have posted the same pictures here, or you can check out their blog at veirsblog.blogspot.com 

week 2 & more baptisms

Hello everbody!
How is it going? Things are good here and we had a baptism on Saturday.  Her name is Rhut.  I think she’s about 16.   I had to give the talk at the baptism and it was scary because it´s hard to do that in Spanish.  I think I talk about it more in my recordings attached to the e-mail.   It has been pretty hot this week.  Well, at least for me it has.  Everyone that lives here is freezing and I’m dying of heat.  It didn´t rain too much this week so it hasn’t been as muddy.  It makes it a lot easier.  Dad, I couldn’t see our house on your Google Earth picture but that is our area.  We also have the area across the bridge.  That river that the bridge goes over is gross.  There is so much garbage down there and it is really low during this time of year I guess.  I don’t know about the Mayan ruins that Dad saw on Google Earth that are nearby.  I couldn’t see them on the picture and I haven’t heard about them.  I’ll have to ask.  That must have been really cool to see the Ogden High auditorium being renovated.  That’s awesome Lenna got to sleep over.  Does she still give my picture loves?  I’m able to receive pictures from you guys on my email.  I think Kayli asked that.  That is awesome you got to go to the Duke game and your pictures were awesome, especially your one from Halloween.  That’s really cool about Dean and Rachael.  So for your questions...:  I did give Fernando a ring and his brother (he was baptised the week before I got here).  The boots are keeping my feet dry but it is impossible to keep my boots and shoes clean. I haven’t used my debit card yet.  We get 3,400 Lempira’s a month.  It´s like $180 dollars.  I think the ratio is 18.9 to 1.  I’ll probably have to pull some money out at the end of this week.  So, more about my companion, Elder Galän.  He just turned 23 and is from Ecuador.  He has an older brother on a mission and a younger one at home.  I think his dad might have died but I can’t remember if he said that.  He knows his scriptures so well.  It´s crazy.  Erika, I do feel safe.  I haven’t seen a Honduran that is half my size yet so that probably helps a little.  Elder Galan said at night the place by the river is dangerous so we’re not supposed to go there.  But yes,  it´s fine.  The people are super nice.  We have a multi-zone activity tomorrow in San Pedro for Christmas.  We’re doing a skit about the Grinch.  We have another baptism date for this coming Sunday.  Her name is Blanca.  She is around 60 I think.  I talk about her on the tape.
OK,  I think I have dearelder.com figured out.  Lizzy said you have to have them in by Sunday night and they mail them on Monday or Tuesday.  We get mail on Tuesdays when we have zone meeting so I’m guessing if you turn it in Sunday, it will get to me by the next Tuesday - so like a week.  But that’s just a guess.
Well, I hope all is good back in good old Utah.  Thanks for everything.  You’re all awesome.
I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

First Baptism

Nathan already has had his first baptism. He baptized 10 year old Fernando.

Elder Kapple and Fernando