El Mono

Hi Everyone,
Well, I am over a month behind with this post. I apologize but time got away from me. Time is flying for Jordan too. He can't believe he has less than a year to go! Jordan is doing well and as of this writing is still in Resistencia. The weather is heating up as it will soon be summer. Winter wasn't too bad. Jordan said there were times that it was chilly and he was glad he listen to me and packed an all-weather coat w/lining. ( Mom's do know best!)
As promised here is the picture of the monkey that Jordan made friends with. As you can see there is a chain leash attached. It is someone's pet. Maybe Jordan needs to rethink his major from Music to Animal Science. Just a thought.

A recent experience that Jordan had was one of the missionaries in his Zone was playing soccer on their day off. He injured his back and he had to be moved into Jordan's apartment. Jordan then had to communicate with the doctor, who was in Buenos Aires, which was OK as the doctor spoke English. But then he had to translate what the doctor said back into Spanish so that he could tell the Mission President, who doesn't speak English. Jordan said that he ended up spelling a lot of the medications and procedures because those technical terms were not part of his vocabulary. Everything worked out OK and the missionary was sent home so that he could get the proper medical care.
In his emails to us Jordan has expressed how much he has grown as a person through the experiences he's had on his mission and how he has grown to love the people he has met. As his brother (who served in Ecuador) expressed,"Studying a semester abroad doesn't even come close to what one experiences on a mission."

HUMP DAY! or HAPPY ONE-YEAR MARK!!

It was a year ago today that Jordan entered the Mission Training Center in Provo, Utah. To those who know the lingo of missionaries, this day is known as "Hump Day". Time is flying by and before you know it Jordan will be back at home. One year to go!
In our last email from Jordan he indicated that he made friends with another exotic creature. This time a monkey! And yes we have pictures. At present we are unable to download them so I will post them next week.
Jordan is doing well and busy with his responsibilities as Zone Leader. He did say that he was able to play basketball on a real court on his last preparation day. That made his day!!
Stay tuned for new photos in the coming week.

Writing Jordan

I received a note regarding sending letters to Jordan. If you don't want to use the address posted above his name (snail mail) you can go to the website----dearelder.com---Just follow the instructions. His mission is Argentina Resistencia. This website lets you send a letter for free and Jordan gets it in a timely manner.

This and That

Just some other tidbits that Jordan shared with us. It is currently Winter in Argentina. He said that the days are pretty nice but the mornings and evenings are a bit cold (in the thirties). Now being from upstate New York you would think he would be use to the cold, but as his sister learned, being in a warm climate for a long time can "thin the blood" and so you get cold a bit quicker.

He can get pretty much any kind of fruit. He hasn't seen a banana tree yet, but hopes to in his travels. And speaking of food--Jordan was ill, first time since he left, a couple of weeks ago. Seems he ate some bad Empanadas and was sick for 3 days, 1 day spent in bed. Bad case of food poisoning. Quote, "I ate them...they were good...they almost killed me!"

Another story, "At a lunch appointment one day there was a discussion about the tooth fairy and sharing stories about when we were kids. In Argentina instead of a tooth fairy they have a Raton de dientes (tooth rat). It is a Mickey Mouse type rat not a sewer rat haha."

He is now serving as Zone leader. Which means he is over two districts. (He was previously a District Leader). Each district has a District Leader with Elders under each of them. So Jordan has more responsibility, does more traveling and has the job of making sure all is well. His new companion is Elder Castro from Argentina and he is serving on the other side of Resistencia.

World Cup

As you all know, Argentina is a very big soccer country. The picture at the right is a professional soccer arena. On his day off Jordan was able to play soccer here. Jordan is pictured here with his companion Elder Campos (right) and another missionary standing in the arena field. Jordan wrote this about what he observed in his area during the World Cup, "Here is another story about the World Cup (el mundial). When Argentina plays in the World Cup it basically turns into a national holiday. If you go to school you watch it there. And if you choose to stay home and watch it with your family...you do not need a note from home saying what you are doing..nope, most teachers just say if you don't come tomorrow I won't mark you absent. And very few people work. The buses still run but that is about it." Jordan also said that when Argentina scored or won there was much shouting in the streets.

Things You Shouldn't Tell Your Mother

We received this little gem of a story a few weeks ago. "I don't know if I told you when I was electrocuted. But anyway a few weeks ago I fixed our shower which is heated by electricity. Don't worry I didn't get electrocuted in the shower, but I was looking at where the wires had separated that I had fixed earlier. I was like, 'No wonder it broke last time there is a lot of power that goes through this' I was touching both of the wires. As you know you are fine with electricity until you touch the ground, but lucky for me all the wires here are just open haha. Then right when I was saying 'No wonder this happened' I touched the ground too...and it was the strongest shock I think I ever had!! It knocked me down. Luckily it was strong enough that I lost control and gravity pulled me away from the wires haha. My companion saw the whole thing."

Man's Best Friend

In the last batch of pictures we received from Jordan we find him once again making friends with the local animal population. Here he is with two dogs in front of a fabric store. This is what he had to say about the dogs he meets: "I make friends with lots of dogs, there are many to befriend. But you have to be careful because lots are diseased and stuff. I make friends with the well kept ones. There are lots of puppies because very few dogs are fixed."

DOING WELL

Jordan is doing well and enjoying his mission. He has been made senior companion and District Leader. This means that he is training someone who is relatively new in the mission and is also responsible for other missionaries in a small geographical location. He has a new companion, Elder Blacker from Idaho.
Jordan asked me to let you all know that if you have any questions about Argentina, such as the language, customs, food etc. you can ask them via the blog, through the comment section. I, his mom, will send Jordan the questions and he will answer them. I will then post them on this Blog.
Hope you enjoy the new pictures.

Cookin' On The Grill

What would Jordan do without a grill to cook on? Here he is on his day off or as it is called Pday (Preparation Day), which are on Mondays. He is cooking hamburgers with some other missionaries looking on. When asked if there is a difference in the taste of beef, Jordan answered, "No, but the way the Argentines put a hamburger together is different from Americans." He goes on to say that in America we put lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon. In Argentina they put cheese, ham and a fried egg! To quote Jordan, "THEY ARE MAD GOOD!!".

BEING OF SERVICE

Jordan has had many opportunities to help others. Here is a picture of him helping a family lay the foundation for an addition to their home.

In a previous post I mentioned a Toucan. Well, here he, she or it is! Do you believe someone has this bird as a pet? Wonder what they eat?

SLIDE SHOW AND UPDATES

15 February 2010

FINALLY we have the slide show up. If you scroll down and look at the left hand side you will find it. There are pictures of the dark cloud, the great flood and Jordan's apartment from Goya. ENJOY!
Jordan is still serving in Resistencia and says that he is sweating bullets in the summer weather. He has reached a milestone with the Spanish language. One of the other missionaries wanted to talk to Jordan in English and Jordan kept mixing in Spanish words.
On his birthday, Jan.20th, Jordan and the other missionaries played basketball. There wasn't a net so he and another Elder made one out of rags. It sounded like they had a good time.
I asked Jordan about doing laundry and he said that they have members of the church do it. It gives the members some income. When Jordan's brother served in Ecuador he paid about $0.50 a load.
We are awaiting more pictures and will post them as soon as they get here.

NEW ADDRESS

ATTENTION-Jordan has a new mailing address. I have replaced the old one with the new. Please take note.

I know we promised more pictures. We do have them but due to our lack of computer skills we are having a hard time bringing them in as a slide show. We will try again this weekend.
As for an update. Jordan is doing very well. Busy working with the people in Resistencia. He continues to meet the exotic animal life in Argentina. His latest was a Toucan.