Another Letter from Nicaragua

Tell Mom I’m sorry but I’m only going to write one letter to the both of you. I just don’t have time! 45 minutes is not enough time to write to everyone I want.

Ok... now for what is happening here...

Tuesday we did a division and I was with Elder Canizales. He reminds me of Elder Neel. I think he is from Guatemala. Only Spanish. We walked and contacted a bunch of people and he stayed the night.

Wednesday the Pres. called and said we couldn’t leave the house. So we waited and stayed in the house, I read all day, until around 3, when Elder Sauceda returned.

Thursday, I don’t remember.

Friday we walked to another part of our area called Cuidadela. Its far. But, on the way, Elder Sauceda and I kept being chased by a drunk guy. It was a little scary, cause it was in the middle of nowhere, but really funny. He caught up with us and started asking us questions about the church and trying to bible bash with us. There are a lot of drunk guys here.

Saturday I had my first baptism. I have pictures but I forgot my chord to plug into the computer so I will try to send a picture next week, hopefully. He is a little kid named Oscar. It was fun. Afterwards our district invited all the neighbor kids to a soccer game and Elder Sauceda asked who wants to be baptized! We got thirty references for families. Loco.

This week we have ten baptisms lined up. I hope they work out. The Spanish is coming along I guess. I understand what each conversation is about and where its going, but when someone asks me a question I am lost. I understand the topic and sort of what they are asking but its hard. And I can’t speak worth monkey. Hopefully soon. I keep trying and praying.

Yep. I would have to say the thing I miss most of all is a working warm shower. Nolan and Nick used to complain about our bathroom... HAHAHAHA! They would freak if they saw ours. I don’t think its ever been washed, and I wouldn’t even try. I might turn into a mutant if I did.

Oh yeah! The night Canizales was here, there was a HUGE scorpion above my bed! It was like the size of my hand! I got a picture. Canizales killed it with his shoe. Freaky.

Today the Pres. cancelled P-Day. We are only allowed to email and write. Its crazy. Its cause he has a goal to get a thousand baptisms this month. I think that’s a huge problem with this mission. Everyone is worried about baptisms and not focusing on what happens after. As soon as I can communicate, I’m going to work on that. I want to make sure the members are truly committed. I don’t want baptisms if they don’t count for anything. And that’s a big thing here. Yeesh. Especially with Sauceda. He is a baptism freak. He really doesn’t care about the inactive members. I really want to speak Spanish...

Cambios, changes, are halfway through January. I only get a few more weeks with Sauceda. Sad huh! He thinks I’m going to be transferred to the office or become an AP before the end of his mission. Ha. Yikes. I don’t want to drive. Its nuts here.

Anywho, I’m gonna go. Much love and be good!

Elder Johnson

PS- I think I said that the little kid is my friend was Jorge or something in my last letter. Just to make sure, his name is Jose Luis. And his family feeds me too much. Yikes...

Elder Johnson

Nicaragua, Managua Mission

How to Send Mail to Elder Johnson

The easiest way is to send a letter to him via POUCH MAIL. There are some rules to follow. All letters must be written on a single page (front and back is fine). You cannont include anything in the envelope other than the letter (no photos, money, etc.). Photos can be printed on the page with the letter, but that's the only way to send them through this service. To send a letter by POUCH MAIL, send your letter to the following address:

Elder Nathanial Johnson
Nicaragua Managua Mission
PO Box 30150
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0150

To send letters (photos, packages, etc.) straight to the mission home, use this address:

Elder Nathanial Johnson
Nicaragua Managua Mission
De la Retonda del Periodista
150 vrs. al Sur Ofiplaza Suite 725
Managua, C. A.
NICARAGUA

However you do it, please send lots of letters! You know how much missionaries love letters...

First Letter from Nicaragua

Subject: Re: Letter from HOME
From: "Nathanial Johnson"
To: bertjohnson@cox.net
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 21:32:07 +0000

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!

I don’t even know where to stinking start. Lets start with this.... it has been an insanely tiring, exciting, freaky, weird, confusing, and out of the ordinary week.

We left the MTC Wednesday, waking up at 2 am, and flew from Utah to Chicago. The Utah flight was delayed and then the flight from Chicago to Miami was delayed. We missed our flight to Nicaragua by literally like 2 minutes. It stunk.

So we called the MTC and they called the Miami mission president and we stayed there for the night, which was pretty kewl. We ended up leaving the next morning at 7, got on the plane around 11ish and flew to Nicaragua. Walking onto that plane was the weirdest thing in my life! I sat next to some crazy Nicaraguan girl that spent most of her life in Miami and kept telling me how I was going to get robbed and stuff. Yeah. But she did give me gum! Hehe!

Anyways, we got off the plane and went through a billion checkouts and junk and then we met the President and the office elders and ate lunch with them at some fancy Italian restaurant. Normal so far. Mostly.

Nicaragua is going through a lot of political stuff right now. Along with that there are a lot of people who are missing arms and legs and stuff and are poor because of the civil war they had twentyish years ago. Its pretty sad.

The office elders dropped off the other three elders in my group onto buses to travel to their assigned areas, after we had interviews with the Pres. Then I went with the office elders to eat dinner at some lady’s house, which was snazzi. We ate, can you guess... rice and beans. And chicken. Yeah. Woot!

Then they drove me to my house... actually its more like a room... and I met Elder Sauceda, from Honduras. He is super kewl. He only speaks Spanish so I have to listen really hard to understand. Yeah.

Our house is about the size of Nevins room. There is no running water. We have a small fridge that barely works. I have to take a shower by dumping cold water on my head with a bucket. Eeeek! And......... there are chickens in the backyard. AH!

Its been fun though! I’m having a blast. At times I miss the normality of AZ, compared to here anyway, but its snazzi.

Friday I woke up early with Elder Sauceda and we went to teach some lady who was to be baptized the next day. We had a whole lesson, I only taught a little bit, but it turns out her baptism fell through. She couldn’t be baptized because she had a lot of kids and wasn’t married, or something like that. Its nearly impossible to understand what is going on when you don’t speak Spanish. AH!

However... on the bright side, I have some friends! Later on in the night on Friday we visited, I think his name is Hermano Meneses... or Barrio Mitch?... I dunno. Anyways, he is really poor and lives in a house made of stone, without a roof... but he has three little kids who are my new best friends. The oldest is ten. I think her name is Jennifer. The second is seven, named Gloria. And the son is named Juan. He is super kewl. They are probably the only people I understand, other than Elder Sauceda. They help me learn Spanish and I help them learn English. Oh yeah! I’m helping teach English lessons in the church! Its super fun.

The area I am in is called Tipitapa. Its the most dangerous and poorest area in Nicaragua. This week they have been having a celebrating about the virgin Mary, which is really annoying to the members... and me. There are fireworks going off like every two seconds. Firecrackers, fireworks, gunshots... ack! And lots of drunk people. I’ve talked to three so far, who think they know English. Its ridiculous.

So I am only one of two Elders in Tipitapa that are from the US. Everyone else is Latino.

As for the food, its ok. Elder Sauceda was surprised. He said I am learning quick and speak better Spanish and understand better than his other companions. Even though I really have barely any idea what is going on most of the time. Its really hard when someone asks me questions. Oh yeah! The food.... um, they have weird bananas here. Its not like ours. They taste nasty, the texture is really gross, but its pretty good when its cooked. They dry it too. Ew. Lots of rice and beans. Chicken. Elder Sauceda said they also have iguana and horse and cat and stuff, but I haven’t eaten that yet. I hope not to....

I haven’t done any service projects yet. People are really busy with their Mary Holiday, I think it is called Policimo. I dunno.

I barely catch the names of anything around here. The kids here are either really nice or really annoying. Most of them are nice. But the mean ones call you names. I don’t remember how to say it, whatever.

The office elders said that I looked like a mooso, which is Spanish is flirt. Ha! I laughed. Ya gotta be careful around here though. The girls love white people. Everyone on the street looks at me as I walk by... yeesh! Its nuts. The men are either really nice or really mean too. Its kinda how the whole country is. Really poor or really rich. Really nice or really mean. No middle ground.

Elder Sauceda was telling me about his last companion he was training, Elder Dahl. He said he was really racist and used to call him offensive names. That ticked me off when I heard it, fo sho. He said Elder Dahl used to complain a lot and run off without him and flirt with the girls and even cut himself. The president sent him home after three weeks. Elder Sauceda said he was really glad to find out I was normal. Ha! Ha! Normal. That’s funny. At least more normal than Dahl. Dummy.

But seriously, its kewl here. Super different. Big culture shock. The Spanish will come, I hope. The members keep saying it will. Man, they feed me a lot. I am never hungry. I’ve eaten it all though and don’t have a problem with it, except the bananas. I haven’t gotten sick yet either, like all the other gringos. Hoo ha! They drink a lot of Fanta.

I hate chickens, but they are everywhere here. Oh yeah! Yesterday we saw two drunk guys fighting. This place is nuts.

I’m really want to talk to the people and help Sauceda with his teaching, but I cant speak! I can barely understand! Its such a stinking barricade! Its definitely what I need most, the gift of tongues. Its impossible to get around without it.

Monday is P-Day and I get 45 mins to email. The money is weird. Its called chordos. 100 dollars is 1870 chordos, I think. Its confusing.

There are a lot of people here, and a lot more kids than in the US. The houses are small and aren’t really houses at all. Seriously. Its sad. No air conditioning anywhere but here in the email station, which is amazing right now. The heat aint so bad. Its like AZ, just less sun... surprisingly. Its a little humid, but it will get worse around march and way bad in August. Super!

Oh yeah, I lead music on Sundays too. No piano, just a cd player. And no one can sing. No one. Serious. Its crazy. I think someday I may come back and teach English and choir. Wow.

Well, yeah. Pray for me. I need it. This place is nuts, but I am glad to be here. I couldn’t imagine leaving, not with people like little Juan and his family left in the dust without the gospel. Its humbling.

Well, adios. Wish me luck and health and Spanish and stuff.

With love!
Elder Johnson

PS- you will get a kick out of this dad. There is this guy named Enye. He is missing two front teeth. But Elder Sauceda calls him Sindi, like Cindy... because sin dientes. Sin-di. hehehe!

Letter received on October 17th...

This letter was sent to Nick, but we thought we'd post it because of the great advice for missionaries entering the MTC:

Nick,

Brotha! How are ya punk? K so (cheese), I've been thinking all week long about different ways my brothers could prepare for their misisons. And since you are first, I have addressed this to you. These are some things to do before and when you leave and will help at least during your time at the MTC.

#1. Pack duck tape...Bro. Filichia is a genius for giving it to me. If you don't use it, someone will. Half my roll is gone. Haven't used the bungees yet.

#2. Bring many changes of P-day / gym clothes. At least 6! Trust me, you don't want to use the same gym clothes twice in a row, and you don't want to wear your gym clothes for P-day - YUCK!

#3. Learn the language first. 2 years of spanish helped me. I understand almost everything and its easy to learn. Ya, you don't know what language you will be speaking. Take a guess and learn it. If it's not the right language, you will be tri-lingual.

#4. Don't drink the chocolate milk and don't eat the seafood salad in the cafeteria. Trust me, just stay away...

#5. Bring 8 alarm clocks. It's just fun to wake up to 8 different sounding alarms at the same time.

#6. Bring a warm blanket. These ones suck!

#7. Get used to cold showers. Enough said.

#8. Know how to beat-box. Everyone loves it and it puts on a good show before bed.

#9. Work on your BUM muscles. Blunt, I know, but when you are sitting and studying 12 hours a day...OUCH!

#10. Bring lot so pictures of family and friends. Makes me smile.

#11. Forget fear. When you need to do something, have faith to just jump in and do it. Be the leader.

#12. KNOW Preach My Gospel! It will help. I dind't know it and I wish I did. The same goes along for the scripture references in it.

#13. Know how to write in your journal. Yeah, its boring, but ya want it.

#14. Learn how to get along with everyone. Should be easy for you.

#15. Have people use http://www.dearelder.com/. I like letters everyday. (big smiley face)

#16. Bring a cup.

#17. Pack some air deoderizer. Febreeze, AXE, anything that can get the smell of a roomates' stinky feet out of the air. If only I had one for Elder Barnes...

#18. Know your friends addresses before you leave.

#19. Don't ever forget your lunch card. You use it for everything.

And finally...

#20. Don't PANIC. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Thank You!) Overloaded with information is normal. Just take a deep breath, count to 3, and imagine a bottle of cream soda...

I will probably have more effective ones before the 2 years are up. Be buff, keep the green, and (in the famous words of Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley) "Don't be stupid!"

Drink a cream soda for me.

Much love a stuff,

Elder Johnson

PS - The church is true!

Write ELDER JOHNSON in the MTC!!!

Elder Johnson has requested that you send letters (for free!) through http://www.dearelder.com/. His MTC address is:

Elder Nathanial Bert Johnson
MTC Mailbox #216
NIC-MAN 1205
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793

His projected departure date for Nicaragua is December 5th.

You'll also be able to send POUCH mail to him through dearelder.com. He is requesting many letters! He has one companion that gets about three a day. Nate would like to get 3 or 4 a week!

New Missionary!

Elder Nathanial Bert Johnson was called to the Nicaragua Mangua Mission to begin service on October 3rd. He entered the MTC on that day along with his good friend Elder Greg Malone (called to serve in the Richmond Virginia Mission).

Elder Johnson's First Letter in the MTC!

Oi Moms and Pops!

Day One...CAKE! Remember how everyone kept asking if I was nervous and I said no? I wasn't lying. This is just an extended version of Nauvoo. I wish I could remember everything that happened, but they crammed so much info down my throat...I already forgot my first name! So I will do my best.

After you left me I went into a room where they gave me some stuff and took my picture. Then they sent me to get flu shots, where I was placed in the wrong room/like three times! When I finally got it, and a sucker, I went to the bookstore where I got MORE stuff and searched the world for my room. I found it and met my companion, Elder Bean, from New Jersey. He's pretty kewl and quiet (underlined because that defines him). I'm in a room of four, all going to Nicaragua.

Let's see...we had an hour to unpack, which took fifteen minutes, then we explored. We went to some mission orientation (in which I fell asleep on and off briefly) and then dinner! Dinner was YUM. I saw Elder Bostwick...WOW! He is so animated, excited, happy, and spiritual. I never saw him without a smile or not speaking Spanish! Totally missed him last month.

Then we had a couple of hour Branch - Zone orientation meeting, a tour, and came home to our room. I started my journal and this letter but we were attacked (welcomed) by all the ancient (1-8 week residents) missionaries. And now this...

I sleep at 10:30pm and wake up at 6:00am. You probably (mom and dad) are giggling at every sentence - I'm glad I could give you some cheer! Sleep well, I'm alive, and this letter isn't that exciting so you don't have to share it with the ward or elders quorum or anyone outside our family. (Our family includes Thomas, Chandler, Marcus, Aaron, Reshea, etc...)

Goodnight & I Love you,

Elder Johnson