Tallest elder and shortest elder in their district

The Brazilian people like to take pictures 
with Nathan because of his height.

Elder Jardine with the MTC Mission President and wife

Cool pic Elder Jardine took

Week 4

Well, it is so good to hear from all of you! I am glad to see that everything is going so well.

In general, things are going well here. I wrote a letter with some of my more spiritual moments, so I'll just tell you the general stuff for now. My roommates are Elder Nichols from Alpine, Utah (he went to Lone Peak) and his companion, Elder Johnson, from Star Valley, Wyoming. Then, there is my companion, Elder Crockett, from Mapleton, Utah and they are all great guys. Things here are going smoothly. It doesn't feel like I have been in the MTC for three weeks, but at the same time, it feels like years. The language is tough, but I find myself starting to understand little by little, so it's going well. Things are just by schedule here, so not really much time to do other things, but at least I'm not dying of boredom.

One cool thing that I mentioned in my previously mentioned letter is the fact that we went proselyting last Saturday and we were able to hand out 9 Books of Mormon, get 3 addresses and one promise to call, so that was super cool. Also yesterday, we were able to hear from a General Authority and in one or two weeks, Elder Neil L. Anderson is coming to the MTC so I will be able to meet him.

I hope that mom and Lauren enjoy school and I hope everything else in your guy's life goes as planned. One thing that I have learned here during my time in the MTC is that if you have the Spirit with you, all will go better than it would without it.

Well, that's all for now.

I love you guys and I think about you every day . I pray that the Lord will bless all of you and that everything goes well.

Sincerely,

Elder Jardine

PS-if you want to send me a letter, send it to:

Nathan Jardine

Brazil Campinas Mission

Brazil Missionary Training Center

Box 45, District 31-A

Rua Padre Antônio D'angelo, 121 Casa Verde

Cep 02516-040 São Palp-SP Brazil

Week 3

Well, not much has happened since the last time I emailed you guys. I am glad to see everything is going well. As for me, I am doing fine. The past two weeks have been a blur and things are starting to get better. I am starting to like the full immersion language thing; it encourages me to learn. I am getting along well with my companion, Elder Crockett, and the rest of my district. We are becoming very close as a district. I ran into one of Tommy's friends here, Elder Myre (Tommy is Nathan's cousin).  He recognized me as the tall kid from Tommy's farewell. Speaking of  Tommy, I hope he is doing all right and can get back out there ASAP (Tommy had to come back from his time in the Mexico City MTC for knee surgery). 
Things are starting to pick up here. I have been doing splits with other Brazilian missionaries here at the MTC and it is amazing. My companion and I go with Elder Sylva, who speaks better English than I do Portuguese, but it's all good. I can understand most of what he says. 
Time is tight here, so I haven't been able to send the letter I promised, but I will once I write it and get the supplies to send it. I will also be sending pictures. I will send them once I head out into town after this.
I hope everything continues to go well and if there is anything SIGNIFICANT that happens, I want to read about it in great detail (this was a plea for his siblings to write and tell him all the SIGNIFICANT happenings in their lives...which haven't happened yet...)

I love you all so much and I can feel your support here at the MTC. I am so glad that we are all a part of this gospel and are able to feel the love God has for us. I pray for you every day and I hope that God will touch each of your lives.

Week 2

Well, I have been at the MTC for a week now, and I can safely say that it is the hardest and most rewarding thing I have ever done. Just this week, I was able to take part in 5 blessings, one of which I was the recipient. Life here is very regimented, but there are a few pluses. First, the food is amazing and I have been eating a ton. Second, Sundays are relaxing and I am actually able to take a nap and relax. Third, P-days so far are great. (P-days, which stands for Preparation-days, are scheduled once a week for missionaries to be able to prepare for the upcoming week by doing laundry, grocery shopping, etc.) We start by going to the temple (we went to the Campinas temple today;  I took pictures, but I can't send them to you due to MTC policy and time constraints) and normally, we would have about a hour to go explore the city, but today, I barely have enough time to email you. 

Everyone here is super nice and I am getting along well with my companion and everyone else in my district. The language is difficult, but I am constantly working at it. Things here are amazing. I have felt the Spirit so strongly. I feel like I have been here a year, but I have seen and felt enough of God's hand that it could last me a lifetime. There is a lot of things I want to tell you, but won't be able to due to time constraints, but I will try to send you a letter as soon as I can get my hands on the necessary materials. Life was very difficult to start off, but now things are starting to get better. I think about you guys every day and I miss you a lot. I love you soooo much and I can't wait to read your emails next week ( feel free to send me pictures). Also, another elder told me to tell you to look into mission ties (Brazil). Apparently, you can get some letters sent to me and a few other pluses. I don't know; you will have to look into it. Well, I will write you next week. I love you so so so so so very very very much. I hope things go well for all of you.

Sincerely,

Elder Jardine

Week 1

Well, everything went well as far as flying goes. I got a little lost in the Atlanta airport, but I was eventually able to find my gate with time to spare. While at the gate, I met a bunch of missionaries. The first missionary I met was Elder (Nathan) Hansen from Oklahoma and we were able to talk and go get some dinner. It was awesome. The next missionary we met was Sister Lam from California and she was awesome too. 
From there, the missionaries just came in waves and we were able to meet them all. The red-eye flight was difficult, but I was able to get some sleep and talk with the people next to me (who I am pretty sure were like Courtney Glausi's cousin or something). [Courtney Glausi was a member we knew in Eugene, Oregon.]
I am at the MTC now and I have a companion who is also going to Campinas. He is Elder Crockett and he is cool. We share a room with two other elders, but I can´t remember their names currently, but they are awesome. EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! [Can you tell 1-that Nathan likes the Lego Movie? and 2-that Nathan is super excited to sere a mission. Love the little guy's attitude!] 
My next P-day is next Friday, so I won't be able to contact you till then. Forgive my spelling if there are any mistakes; the computer is set to Portuguese, so every word is marked wrong. Well, that's all I have to report for now. I love you soooo much and I miss you, but this is where I need to be. Please give everyone my love!!

Sincerely,

Elder Jardine

He Made it to Brazil!

Got this letter from Nathan's mission president earlier this week. When I first saw the thumbprint of the picture, I wondered why there was a big white post in the middle of the picture. As I opened it, I realized the big white post...was our little guy. 

Dear Parents,

Sister Grahl and I are very happy to let you know that your missionary has arrived safely at the Brazil Missionary Training Center.  What a great joy and privilege it is to greet each missionary as they begin their missionary experiences with us! We will surely take good care of your missionary.                                                                                                     

The missionaries now have companions and are settled into their rooms.  They are assigned to a district with capable and caring instructors for language and lesson study.  Their branch presidents and wives will meet them this Sunday.  These wonderful couples are richly blessed as they work with, motivate, and interview the missionaries assigned to their branch.

The MTC has a full-time live-in physician to care for their health needs.  He is assisted by his able wife who is a nurse. We are also happy to report that the MTC food is plentiful, healthy and very good.

Your missionary will be able to e-mail home on Preparation Day after a morning at the Temple.  This will be either Wednesday or Friday, depending on individual assignments.

Your missionary is about to make an eternal difference in the lives of many others. President Lorenzo Snow said: “There is no mortal man that is as interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the Gospel as is the Lord who sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord's children".  We love these missionaries as if they were our own.  We will watch over them carefully to ensure they are ready for a wonderful missionary experience after the rewarding time they will have in the MTC.

We thank you for preparing such a wonderful representative of the Lord.

Pres. Paulo R. Grahl and Sister Zuleika M. Grahl

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  

PLEASE DO NOT SEND PACKAGES to the Brazil Missionary Training Center. All packages must be sent directly to the mission where your missionary will be serving, not the MTC. If you have already mailed a package to the Brazil MTC, please understand that the package cannot be forwarded to his or her mission and will be returned to you.

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE SENDING HAND WRITTEN LETTERS. Please write your missionary´s first and last name. Your missionary will provide you with his district and box number. Also, please DO NOT SEND ANYTHING BY FEDEX, DHL, UPS, or other private carriers.  The cost to process this type of correspondence is exorbitant.