Hey Mom, Dad, those people born younger than me that I call siblings, dog, and all other fellow Americans,
Hello from North Hollywood! Yes, I am finally in the California San Fernando Mission. After three weeks in the MTC, I am in the campo misional. Exciting stuff. So I'll start with the last couple of days that I spent in the MTC.
Friday(19th) was an all day "in-field orientation." We basically learned how to be successful in the field. Not gonna lie, it didn't help very much. But we did watch a cheesy play, where an over-eager greenie went into the field, and every time he talked some cheesy music came on in the background. But otherwise not much else happened.
Saturday I came down with a pretty good case of allergies. I think I went through an entire box of Kleenex. And so I took some Benadryl and was really tired in the warm classrooms. But I did get to see Kelly and her future fiance (is it official yet? If not, Kelly, don't get mad at me). I also saw Adelaide, a girl I worked with at the JKB. Crazy stuff.
Sunday was a jam-packed day. We had our last temple walk, so we took pictures and did all that stuff. We also had priesthood, and Bro. Jenkins (a member of the branch presidency) was our teacher. He has a very interesting teaching style. He asks very vague questions and is looking for a very specific answer, so it sometimes is a little frustrating. More funny than anything. We also had a departure devotional for all those that we going to leave in the next week. The mission presidency of the MTC spoke, so that was pretty cool. Our regular fireside was by Bro. Stephen Evans about obedience and the Holy Ghost. We instantly liked him when he invited all the elders to take off their suit coats. It was a very funny, very inspiring, and very spiritual at the same time. He told us a story of some missionaries that decided it would be a good idea to build bombs on P-day and set them off at 10:30 at night. The sheriff that lived up the street wasn't too happy to be woken up. So he questioned them in their apartment. And as you know missionaries have maps... With pins... Of where investigators live. Needless to say, the mission president wasn't too happy when he had to bail them out of jail.
Monday we taught Casey one final time and I have to say that was by far the best lesson that we have ever given. It was excellent. Spirit was great. And she committed to getting baptized. So that was good.
Tuesday, there were only 3 of us left in our district. The rest of them went to their respective missions. Actually, those that had calls to Mexico City had to go to Boise because of visas. So it was me, my companion, and Elder Uribe. But we did more service, more janitorial service. And we had a devotional by Elder Zivic of the seventy. It was a powerful talk about repentance, obedience, baptism, just kinda about everything. But one story I remember was of a mission president in Spain who had a zone leader named Elder Bateman, but he liked to call himself Elder Batman. Transfer time came around. Well, the mission president received inspiration to give him Elder Robins as a companion. Elder Batman and Elder Robins.... Get it? Get it? Do you get it? Huh? Haha
Well that's all I have time for right now. Talk to you later.
Just kidding. Flight to Burbank was good. Got a Book of Mormon placed. Well, not me. I just happened to have one and I lent it to a missionary who was able to place it, I had an emergency exit row seat.
Pres. and Sis. Martin are amazing. I absolutely love them. Pres. Martin is always so happy, so jovial, so lively, but he can be serious when speaking about spiritual topics. He is awesome. And Sis. Martin is the cutest old lady. The perfect grandmother-ly figure. You don't want to do anything bad because then you have to tell her and she'd be so disappointed. And she always is making sure we are taken care of. I don't think she could ever get mad at anyone.
Well, we had a long orientation the day after we got there. Rules, rules, stuff we need to do, stuff we shouldn't do.
My area is the North Hollywood 5th ward. Pretty sweet stuff.
Oh, my companion, my "father" (since I was born into the mission under his watch). It's Elder Hawke. He is awesome. We have a lot in common. Same humor, same sarcasm, same style of teaching. It's really awesome. About the only thing that's different is the height. He's about a foot shorter than me. Just like everyone else around here. He gave me a posterity tie, which is the tie his father gave him and his father gave his father and his father gave his father. I think it's like 5 or 6 generations that tie has been in the mission family.
Our area reminds me so much of the Lower Valley in El Paso. The scenery is exactly the same, mountains in the background, dry, and hot. Sweetest people in the world though. I absolutely love them. Our ward loves the missionaries. Our meal schedules are always full, and sometimes we're overbooked on the meals. Since it's offensive to them to cancel dinner appointments, we have two dinners. And it's offensive not to eat all that's on your plate, so I eat all that's on my plate. And half the time, the hermanas we eat with can't, so I have to eat their food too. So don't worry mom, I'm being well fed.
Our district is really awesome. We have my companionship, the hermanas (Hnas. Waite, Busch, and Marquez) and the zone leaders (Elders Torres and Vazquez). We generally all eat together everyday, so we spend a lot of time with each other.
Hermana Waite reminds me so much of mom, which is kinda ironic because she's my "mom" (since she's the oldest sister in the district when I was born). She gets slap-happy when she's tired, she says "oh- my gosh" exactly like mom, and makes the same facial expressions whenever we're mean to her. So, mom, all is well.
The ward is good. It's recently had a lot of success. And guess what. I'm the organist. Shocker. They haven't had an organist in years. Half the time they don't have a pianist, unless a missionary that knows how to play the piano comes along. But we're teaching piano classes, so hopefully one day.
Investigators are good. I'm just trying to get to know the people that we're teaching. This week we're concentrating on new investigators.
Please send letters to the mission address. I don't think I should give out my regular address over e-mail, but if any of you decide to send me a letter, I can get you my new apartment address (my apartment is pretty decent, by the way).
I'll send my memory card for the pictures about once a month. So I just need to buy a new memory card from Staples today.
Wellllll, I think that's it.
Love to all. Send letters :)
Elder Nathan Gruenewald
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