Email March 29, 2010

Well hello family,

I am doing super well here in Cucuta. hot as a mug, but i actually love it. OK well this week was a little hectic for me. I told dad this week quickly, but last Monday night after email, I participated in an exorcism, and you may laugh but it wasn't any kind of joke. I went saying well this cant be a big deal and what not, and boy, was I wrong. There was a demon in that girl, it was JACKED UP. I don't really know how to explain it but she said some crazy crazy things. so that was my fun experience there. so after wagstaff got mugged, we decided we had a pretty strange week, butler chimed in with interviewing a deaf girl for baptism. He is a funny kid. listo, and not much else went on, we worked our butts off, and well are going to be dropping all our investigators. so i am a little frustrated about that but what can i do? ok and well mom asked me how i am so i am doing good, Cucuta is a great place, but we have a little part of our area that i hate going. It is the poorest of poor. they have dirt floors, and no running water, and the people just are struggling through life. and the problem is my comp. wants to be there cause the people do listen to us, but they never progress. were here to try and help everyone, and I agree, but I just cant do it. my heart just breaks for the people there, and my comp thinks we need to baptize everyone, and I certainly do not think that. for me it is better for somebody to not be baptized, then to be baptize and not change. cause in my opinion they are worse off drinking or beating their kids when they have made covenants with our HF, then if they never did make those covenants. So I have my internal struggle. but I have just decided to go with the flow and where my companion takes me I will teach and testify. So I am good. Happy and just livin it up here. today we had a good day. we went and bought hammocks. I will attach a picture. So we have them hung up out on the patio. I love you all, and you don't know how much the letters, and support and love mean. I can't even express my thanks
with lots of love
elder nathan naegle

I dont want to be naughty but the one with me on the toliet shows my bathroom doesnt have a door, and the bar of my bed blocks everything. haha and that is my model dirt bike i bought along with the virgin mary, she proctects it. haha. the pink hammock is mine. 35 mil pesos, or in other words 17 bucks!!! cool no?

Email March 22, 2010

Ok well, as I wrote last time from Bucaramunga which is heaven on earth, clean, beautiful and just a great place, wagstaff is on vacation. I had a wild week. So we took a long bus ride from there to Bogota, it was FREEZING in the bus, but I watched Avatar. It is super good I liked it a ton. And yeah, got to Bogota and ate breakfast at mcdonalds and then just chilled until lunch and pres. took us to a good place called saras, it is the mexican place by the office. And then I went with wagstaff to buy some scripture covers, cause his got stolen, he dropped 90 bucks on those, they are white leather, I was not willing to do that. Then well we went to the office for our things and then to the temple to sleep. We had a good time and ended up watching Napolean Dynamite with president and having pizza. 

 Then the next morning we did a session, which was good. Only slept once. Then we had meetings all day about helping the mission move forward and what not. and well i must say it is pretty sweet to have the best missionaries in the mission together cause well they all just have the spirit, and it was probably the best meeting I have been in since I got to Colombia. So I enjoyed it super a lot. Then well it was time to part and I stayed with the secretaries again cause I flew out the next morning with my comp. and that was just fun. He isn't a very good flyer, but well I have lots more practice then he does. 

We got back here and I cleaned the house and then laid down for like 2 minutes and zonked until lunch. Then we went and hit it hard talking to people and doing all we could to get our area going again. Then that night the assistants showed up cause we had zone conference friday morning which was also super good. I got to meet everybody in my zone and what not. Then we worked our butts off friday afternoon. We were jam packed with appointments, and well you want more detail, I don't have it cause I couldn't tell ya who we talked to. Cause i don't remember their names yet. Saturday we had a baptism that we had left, a little girl named Jenny i think??????, and she was just so happy. I am in a super super poor area. And it is funny to me how some péople think that TV is more important then having running water but well what can you do? so I will not try and save all colombia mom, just do lots of service to help the people. 

As for bad feelings haven't had any yet and I feel super safe here. so I shouldn't have any problems. And as for the heat, I am getting used to it, but when I sit down for more then 30 minutes I start to fall asleep and it is worse after lunch. The people walk around half naked all the time. They have lots of problems with missionaries and that here. but well it is part of the hot weather experience I guess. and yeah not a whole lot more, we played soccer this morning on a dirt field which well sucked but the missionaries had a good time and we also did a BBQ I guess I would call it but it is different here. there isn't no sauce here. And well they kinda just trashed my house so I got to clean up a little this afternoon, but I did it with a smile and yeah. I should have more details about who we are teaching nest week, but until then. I love you all and am happy I am here. The gospel is true and was restored. thanks for all the love and support.

love Nathan 

Email March 15, 2010

Hello Family
Elders Torres and Rosenbaum got there fine and we ran around with our heads cut off with everybody that was getting transferred. And I had my last suppers with the Family Tafur, and Family Lopez and well it was just awesome.. Then BAPTISMS went AWESOME, it was the most spiritual baptism I have had, I loved it. Marta started crying and was just so so happy and Joanna also. Martas daughter Suli wants me to baptize her now, she was crying after the baptism cause the spirit was so strong and she was sad i didn't get to do it with her. I think she will get baptized in the coming weeks. I hope so she is just so awesome. Then after I went and slept with the secretaries, cause they had to take me to the airport the following morning, cause the assistants wanted me in Cucuta the fastest possible, so i got to fly, which was super nice. I thought I landed in Africa. It is such a hot strange place. But i love it. I get looks like I am the elephant walking in the street, and i gave a talk in church Sunday and the whole ward is in disbelief. But they are great. We also had 2 baptisms on Saturday in Cucuta. My ward is called Montilones, and we have had 20 baptisms this year and 2 ready to go in the next 2 weeks. My companion is elder Jaramillo, he is a stud from Ecuador and yeah not much else really. I am super tired cause I got basically attacked by the members there. They didn't talk to my companion. haha, and it is so so so so so so so so so so hot, toquer in summer with 100 % humidity but i LOVE IT. Also, the mission is so so screwed up on money but we needed a new fan, so I bought one and am just waiting till i get reimbursed for it. So mom, I am not just spending money, except I bought my comp new shoes cause well he broke them today. 45 bucks. But he is so happy so what can I do. Then this morning I came to Bucaramunga to go back to Bogota for leaders Conf. wed. So I am kickin it with Elder Wagstaff right now writing our families. and that is about it i will try and send some pictures but it is being a little slow. so we will see.

I love you all so very much thanks for all the love and support
love your son nathan!

Email March 9, 2010

Well as you can see I didn't get time to write you a letter yesterday with my comp running around visiting people, we left his family and well, went and gave erika a blessing cause she has a problem with her Vaso, don't know what the translation is, it helps with the red and white blood cells. So I decided that was more important than your letter. but yes i am doing good, this morning was a little hectic with transfers, but well they always are. And i get to stay here till Friday to baptize. So that should go well i hope. And what else. I am going to Cucuta.(18 hour bus ride from Bogota on the Venezuelan border first gringo that is there in like 17 years I heard. so should be a good time. I will be the zone leader with 13 latin missionaries and no other gringos. I hear they eat lots of weird things, like a blood soup. so I guess i just get to deal with it. and my companion finally goes home. Sunday he had his final interview with president. and yeah that is pretty much it. I don't really have much news. I am doing really well and I am super excited to go my new area. should have some good progess there. and yeah. thanks for all the love and support. that is sad about chuck. he is such a good kid, but the mission really can wear a person out, in every aspect and well some just cant do it. As long as he did his best it shouldn't matter. and lets see. for this week i will be in a trio with the new zone leaders here, elder torres, my trainer, and Elder Rosenbalm. who is coming from Sogomoso. So I hope it goes well this week, Elder Butler is headed to Bucaramunga to be a zone leader too. there will be 6 of the 9 zones, people from my group as zone leaders. and 3 from wagstaffs. So we should have a good time. Well I will write ya better this week because I should have new things to write about. like warm weather, new comp. and other such things. and probably more plans with wagstaff. And yeah love you mom and thanks for all your help and support and love and everything else you do for me. love you
love your son nathan

Email March 1, 2010

Hey well I don't have much to report today, except you told me not to get my hopes up about getting transfered, well we had interviews this past thursday and well I was told I have my transfer for there.(Cucuta) So well I know I am going there unless president changes his mind which is possible. and yeah. What else is new. We should have some baptisms on the 12, and transfers are on the 9, but well I guess it pays being with the assistant on friday. I was with elder Guerra, who is the assistant right now. He trained Wagstaff and so well i get lots of news and he likes me, at least i think so....and I was given the word that I could stay here and show the 2 new elders the area for that week. And baptize on friday and then I would ride the 18 hour bus ride to cucuta and get there in the morning. So hopefully it all goes to plan. I am super excited about it all. I have heard great things about Cucuta. and yeah. I am in high spirits and happy. That kinda stinks about dad having to be gone for a month, but you know what, in a year from now he wont have to go alone. And I also did some thinking about school....and I am not going back so I will not be coming home early, I want to do to many things, and school doesn't allow it. And another thing i dont have any $ to go back to school. So well school will just have to wait. so yeah. I am doing really well. anyways. Today in bogota there was a stop on trasport. so I couldn't play soccer with williams and pelero i was a little sad cause well pelero goes home next week so we are planning to get together next week for at least lunch cause I need to see the kid before he goes to spain. His parents are there working. What else. Not a whole not. my letters kinda suck, but well I do do the same thing everyday. just the people change. and yeah... in dans letter he sends the names of the people he is teaching so they can pray for them, I wont send them all, but I will send the most important ones ok. They are Marta, Joanna, Suli. They should be getting baptized on the 12th. ok well i love you all and thanks for the support. love you love nate.

i love you mom, i am so grateful that i was sent to you. must have done something smart in the pre earth life. haha love you mom

ps tell the ward and friends and family hello