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.