March 15, 2010

Hope you guys like the pics. sorry about last week and the pics not working. i had virus or something in my memory card and it didnt work to good but i fixed it. so the first pic from today.. its of me and our brand new house.. its in the top 5 of all the houses in porvenir.. it has a wrap around deck and me and my old comp elder bourbouze were the first ones to live in it. super cuica casa enserio. oh and im rocking this sick chaleco that a friend bought for me and sent from punta arenas.. i dont know if you guys can see me or not in the pic though.. if you guys want one of these jackets let me know. their legit and only about 20 bones! the second pic is from the other day me and my comp went to these hills thats are on the other side of porvenir and had our studies and made some personal and companionship goals. it was pretty cool experience but well we were walking down the hill and i dont know how but this dang piece of crap stuck its splinters right into my leg.. ha my comp thought that it was something from the sea that was suckin my blood. ha crazy kid. oh and it was really windy that morning that we left. and when its windy here my hair goes strait up cause its so dang thin man! so yeah we have appointment to cut our hair after we email today.
so there are transfers this next monday and i dont know if im leaving but i doubt it.. i think me and my comp will have one more transfer together here in porvenir.. were teaching good lessons and good people. we found this family of 4 thats golden.. the dad is named alfredo haha it reminded me of a long time ago when me and my cuz brooklyne were making a video in their house across from sonic.. and i was some detective guy or something and my name was alfredo james! ha i was like 12 years old.. its crazy how long ago that was! but yeah alfredo and his family are awesome.. ive already decided im gonna spend my 20th birthday with them and buy them dinner.. alfredos dad has been sharing with us too.. man this guy is ready to baptize.. hes reads the book of mormon every night and is in first nephi 18 right now. his dad owned a blueberry company in santiago like 15 years ago.. really smart guy. only like 58 years old. alfredo and his dad were at church yesterday. so the work with them is lookin pretty good. i love my mish. its so cool to see the people change their lives because of the impression of the holy ghost. me and my comp dont have very much knowledge but we do our best to teach with the spirit. and in my mission thats exactly where ive seen the most miracles. i love you guys.

March 8, 2010

Last part of Jordan's email...
(talking to Chris M)

The last thing i want to say is that you have more support than you can imagine.. the mission is hard. its really hard. how many 19 year olds in the world are willing to leave all they have behind to completely dedicate their lives for 2 years to the lord? its not meant to be easy and its not gonna be.. i learned it the hard way chris.. i always thought that it would be easy to serve a mission and i always had the desire. well awhile back i wanted to go home and nobody knew it but me.. for a moment i felt like i had lost all the desire to serve. How easy it would have been to just go home in that moment if i truly wanted to? i fell to my knees and asked our father to help me.. almost immediately i felt someone hug me and it felt the same as the hug i gave you in the hallway of the church the day we said goodbye..you know what it was that kept me going? it was the SUPPORT that i had. i bare witness to you that nothing else kept me going except that support.. it wasnt the support i had from my family and it wasnt the support i had from my friends either.. it was the support our savior gave me in that moment. he literally lifted me up when i thought i was done and he filled me with his love. I promise that YOU will represent him and he will never ever abandon you. you are his forever and i know with all my heart that he supports you my dear friend. HE has put all his trust into you to serve the people in california.Dont forget how much he loves you. All you have to do is reach out with all your might and hold His hand that is always extended towards us.. once you have it, dont you ever let go. this is the support you have and this is all the support you need. i testify its true. i love you as i love my own brother. You have no idea the affect you have had on other people and how your choices continue to change people daily. my heart is full and you have all the support you need to save souls. Those people knew you and soon you will be able to feel that you once knew them too :) its a promise.. Elder Nikolaus

February 2010

January 4, 2010

Haha i cant believe im halfway across the World.. ha its nuts for real.. so i wanted to tell you all that im not in por venir yet.. we cant go because the house that were going to live in doesnt have a roof yet haha but they are building the roof right now and we will be moving there in about a month.. but yeah im in punta arenas chile… wow this place is crazy.. i love it though.. there is so much wind its ridiculous. Me and my new comp run every morning and i feel like im running track back in show low all over again because of the dang wind.. not to mention it gets pretty cold.. to be honest though i thought it would be a lot colder here.
So my new companion is elder bourbouze and he is from santiago chile.. i was scared to death im not gonna lie. Because everyone told me he was gay.. hes not gay but im not gonna lie because he looks exactly like he is.. haha he talks just like he is too… but the thing is that i know hes not gay so its all good… hes way cool. And funny.. doesnt know a single Word of english and helps me out a lot when i dont say the right words.. i feel like ive learned a ton in just the last 5 days.. but yeah dont worry about the whole gay companion thing because you cant judge a book by its cover ya know…
So like i said were in punta arenas in a sector called espana.. were sharing the sector with 2 other missionaries too.. so we all live in the same house.. and its kinda hard but theres room… its me and my comp… then a elder named razon who is training a new missionary from arizona named elder lebaron… they are both way cool so we all get along good.. elder lebaron is from mesa and he knew exactly who i was it was kinda creepy… when we first met he looked at my nametag and was like ¨nikolaus¨ and then he was like your ¨jordan nikolaus¨ haha i was like yeah how the heck do you know me? He asked me if i was a defensive back in football and then he was like i just know people man.. haha he went to highland highschool and started at middle linebacker.. hes way cool and hilarious cause he doesnt know any spanish at all… he weighs like 250… big boy.. but yeah thats who im living with now and im doing good fa sho.. Oh and its kinda hard from going from teaching 25 lessons with 7 investigators in one week to coming to a sector where i can only teach 3 and i dont have any invesitgators ha but trust me im going to find the people that are ready…
well i better send this letter off to you guys.. were going to go to the mall.. this is the part of the misión where i slowly stop to write so much and just work… i know im watched over.. i know exactly why im here.. my testimony grows and grows and grows… but like i said i dont need to share with you my testimony every week because you guys should know by now all the things i could possibly say.. its hard here in punta arenas.. big city.. people dont like to talk to us… we stand out like big jon in the stands on a Friday night… but Hes with us… in every single step i take.. He is by my side.. He is whispering in my ear where to go. I know it without doubt… i love all you guys so much. Elder Nikolaus

Elder Nik and Elder Castro's baptism December '09

Funny stories from last weeks letter...
"like 3 weeks ago me and my comp were waiting for a bus in lanco to go back to our house in los lagos… anyways were all just chillen in the middle of a bus stop and out of nowhere we hear this loud buzzzz and were like what the heck is that… finally a guy on a motorized wheelchair comes flying down the road going like 60! In a flippen wheelchair! Haha i literally hit the ground laughing so hard i wish i had gotten it on camera! My companion was waving him down to try and get a picture but he couldn't hear us cause he had a big Helmet and music.. ha oh and the other day my companion starts talking to me and all of a sudden he gets all mad and asks me a question… i died at this.. cause hes kinda lazy and talks about home a lot and wants to know about his future wife.. so he was like “how come all women expect a White picket fence, a man with a lot of Money and good looks, a big house, and not to mention a man that has a six pack??” i was just like “its because all women are golddiggers man and they just want money” he looks at me and says, “its like they expect a man like moses!!!” i laughed so hard. I hope you are all doing good.. i love you all.. "
Elder Nikolaus

November 30, 2009

Whats crackalackin so this is a pick of my friends javier and nancy. they are moving to chiloe soon but they are investigators of the chuch. way cool people for real. i have to write this really fast cause were going to go bowling in valdivia and we have to catch a bus in like an hour. i love to go bowling like most of you already know.> so i have 5 months in my misión. Pretty dang nuts.. my misión is almost ¼ over. I get to talk to you guys in less than a month on christmas. So i only live like 2 hours from the beach and i decided that im gonna go hit that place up for navidad. The weather better be nice though. This last week it was pretty dang nice here in los lagos. This place is pretty dang sweet man. In 2 weeks me and my comp elder castro and some guys in the church here are gonna go hike up to the top of this mountain in los lagos.. Theres some towers at the top just like on porter mountain back in show low, so im gonna climb up one. The last time i climbed that one in show low i was with styles and curtis i think haha and the wind was blowing like crazy and curtis and styles were just flying up that dang thing to touch the Light at the very top. I was scared to death but they just kept on chuggin along. Freakin locos.. Ha shoot man good times with my boys back home. Now im almost 20 years old and close to 200 pounds! I doubt i can get half way up the thing without basically passing out haha. > So my comp is from Bolivia. And yes he also knows english. I dont think i have laughed so hard as i have with this kid. Ha he was so skinny before his misión and now he says he has gained like 25 pounds. His cheeks look like a chipmunk man its awesome.. i call him Pocahontas cause he looks like an indian ha i love this kid. Hes hilarious. Its so funny to hear him speak english and say the word ¨freak¨.. He only has 3 months left in his misión so hes kinda lazy so i have to push him a lot. We taught a lot of lessons with investigators this last week so im happy with him. We actually taught more lessons then i did with elder poujol. Oh and we have another baptism next Saturday. Thats gonna be another cool experience fa sho.. but yeah my comp is funny and a good guy so dont worry about me. I can get along with almost anybody if they work.
So i heard about the cougs just not being able to keep in the game. Thats a tough loss man but they must be looking pretty good for next year. I was thinking about how they were gonna do a lot this week. So i didnt get your email this week mom. Its all good though cause i finally got one from big jon! Thanks dad its only been like 3 weeks since ive heard from you punk. But i really laughed during your email.
So i will end this nice letter for all you all soon.. i missed having thanksgiving with you all..me and my comp were gonna buy a chicken and have our own thanksgiving but decided to just eat 2 empanadas each and call it a night. Did you guys have a sweet turkey bowl or what?? Whats the weather like there? Snow yet? I havent seen snow yet but i see a lot rain. It gets pretty cold but i have a lot of nice things to keep me warm. the christmas season just isnt the same here. Because its hot here during christmas time. Im gonna put some christmas songs on my ipod to listen too.. mom send old comp elder poujol a cool tie if you havent already?please For real. He did everything for me.. > Mom and dad i love you guys so much you have no idea. Im so blessed because of you guys. And because of the man that you have raised me to be. I cant wait to be able to talk to you on the phone. Continue to grow to love each other. Because your gonna be with each other for eternity. I know its real and that marriage between a man and a woman can last forever. Im so happy to have you both as my parents.
Well in the end i hope you guys know i think a lot and pray for you all. Im starting to get a little homesick but you guys probably already forgot about me anyways ha and its just the same without me there. I said i was a little homesick only because its gonna be my first christmas without my family. Theres nothing like the christmas season and time of year. I hope i can find a family to teach and share with during this time as we celebrate the true meaning of christmas and the birth of our savior. I know that there is only one true church in the whole World and that im a part of it. It amazes me everytime i think about it. Because there are millions of churches around the World. I dont think the members of our church always recognize how blessed we are to know the things that we know. There is a huge difference between feeling/thinking and actually knowing.. I know without doubt that Joseph smith saw God and Jesús Christ almost 200 years ago. I know the only reason i have been so happy and blessed my entire life is because im a member of this church. I cant explain how happy i am when i hear the people here in chile say that they ¨believe¨ the words that im saying are true. And then i see the smiles on their faces as they come to ¨know¨ that it really is true. i wish you could all see how happy they are.. I hope you can all feel the truthfulness of my words as you read them. I love you all..
Elder Nikolaus

October 25, 2009

Hey so this week was a good one.. spanish is slowly coming along it seems that when i am in the lessons with people is when i can speak the best. Yesterday was pretty cool.. we taught a lesson to this guy named hector.. his whole family are members and he is basically a member too cause he goes to church and prays like a member and knows a lot about the church... i just started talking to him and said amigo i dont know what your doubt is because you know everything about our church but i think its about joseph smith. I went off about joseph smith for like 3 minutes just testifying all of my thoughts and feelings about joseph smith.. my spanish was perfect in those 3 minutes of testifying.. we got out of the lesson and all my companion says is wow man you were really powerful in that lesson.. all i did was testify about what i know to be true and that i know its hard to believe that a 14 year old boy saw God and our savior Jesus christ 200 years ago but also that i know he did with all my heart... and that there is no way i would come halfway across the world and leave my friends and family and school to preach things that i wasnt completely sure about.. without a doubt in my mind i testified to him that God the father and our savior Jesus Christ appeared to him in that sacred grove of trees and through this man God restored the exact same church the Jesus christ established.. Good memory... Days go by fast man its ridiculous.. chelsea and ann thanks for your letters i really enjoyed them.. chels dont think that i dont like your letters. Im so proud of you for the woman you are... Ann im glad you guys had fun at disneyland and that ryon couldnt speak very confident at this point either in his mission.. it gives me a light of hope haha.. i havent got a letter from dad for like 2 weeks i dont know whats going on with that but im sure hes busy making the money to keep the food on the table.. i cant believe all these people are gettin hitched its funny man. Before i know it im gonna get a letter from cj in the mail with his wife.. freak man and then chelsea too.. gosh dang me and jena are gonna be the only ones that get to hang out together as singles when i get back to the fam.. whats the world coming to back in the states? I hope all my friends and family are doing alright.. i wouldnt be here without the help of numerous people.. theres so many people that have been such good examples to me my whole life and i wanna give a shout out to them.. seriously i love your guys letters that you send to me and ive truly been blessed to know all of you personally.. its because of you all that im here in chile and thanks for all the support.. I know i cant write back to each and everyone one of you every single week but trust me i want to more than anything.. i truly have been blessed in my life.. As im living with the people here in chile i think about how all of us in the united states truly are blessed.. There are people here that eat the same thing every single day and barely have enough money to buy more.. They dont have enough money to shower and many people where the exact same clothes for weeks at a time.. their houses are full of flies and spiders.. their faces are dirty but guess what? theres something special about them.. they consider themselves blessed.. they consider just to be alive a great blessing... i live to see the smiles on their faces.. nothing makes me more happy than to see those smiles..WE truly are blessed to live in the United states. I love you all.. never forget it.. Elder Nikolaus