2010 Sept 29 Guatemala!

Hola! I don't know how to do the enter tab on this keyboard since I am in Guatemala. Also, I have less time to write an email this week than I will normally. Just so you know. It looks like my P days are going to be on Wednesdays. I am doing good though. I got to Guatemala and I was so so excited! I don't think that I have been more excited about anything ever since I have been on my mission. So that is really great. The spanish is going kind of well. The latinos came in today and mi companion and I sat with them and I didn't realize how not good I was at Spanish until I tried to talk to them and I was having a lot of trouble. But its all good. Also, When I got here, I got a new companion. His name is Elder Steele from Utah, I think. But I don't really remember. It is really hot here. We had gym this morning at 630 and I don't think that I have ever sweated so much in my life. But its all good because, lucky for me, I like sweating. And the MTC is good but its a lot smaller. I have to go sorry but I love you all! Have a great week!

Love Elder Froelich.

PS don't change anything because I want to see how my english has gotten bad over the time that I am in Guatemala.

2010 Sep 24

2010 Sep 24PM

Hola mi Familia!

This week at the MTC has been so great! It doesn't even feel like a week to me! It feels like I was just emailing you guys just yesterday but it was really just a week ago. The days are going by sooo quickly now. Before I know it, I'll be on a plane from Guatemala heading home!

We have a devotional every Tuesday and I haven't gotten a chance to hear any of the 12 apostles or anything and since I'm leaving on Tuesday morning, it doesn't look like I am going to be able to see any, at least in the Provo MTC, anyway. But there is always the Guatemala MTC and my mission and I've already shaken their hands 3 different times so it's not that bad, I suppose. Also, Spanish is destroying my English spelling and usually I catch it but I'm bound to miss something eventually. So just so you know when the time comes.... :)

Speaking of Spanish, it is coming really well. I only had half a year in high school but Spanish is coming really easily to me. Now we know how to speak in past, present, and future tense, and yesterday, we learning how to use gerunds, so I can basically say anything that I want to say even though I'm pretty sure that I'm saying a lot of the things incorrectly. I'm okay with making mistakes though. I heard someone say that after you make, I think 50,000 mistakes that your Spanish will be perfect. So, I'm getting them out of the way as early as I can. :) Right now, I can bear my testimony and pray and carry on casual conversations about just about anything that I want. I am being so blessed right now with Spanish and I'm really grateful for that.

Ahh, 5 more minutes!

But the fact that I'm leaving in basically 3 days is bitter sweet. I feel like I've been so blessed with an amazing district (basically my class) and I like my teachers a lot and the Provo MTC gets to have devotionals like twice a week... anyway, it's a really good place. But I'm sure that this is how everywhere that I go will be if I do it right anyway. Anyway, I'm excited to leave on Wednesday.

And thanks everyone for sending me letters! It was way better than last week!

Also, I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints is Jesus Christ's church restored on the Earth again and I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that he loves me.

Love,

Elder Froelich

2010 Sep 17

Hola mi familia!

First things first, I guess: My MTC Box number is 288 and my mission code is GUA-QUE 1109, 2005 N 900 E Provo, UT 84604-1793 and my departure date is 9-28. That's all the info you will need for dearelder.com as well (WINK WINK blog readers...)

My Preparation days are going to be on Fridays from now until I leave for the Guatemala MTC so that means that that is the only day that I will be able to write letters and send emails and everything. I don't know what the deal will be once I get to Guatemala but I will let you know as soon as I know.

Speaking of Guatemala, I just got my travel plans yesterday! I'm going to be leaving the MTC at around 5AM on the 28th and my flight leaves from the Salt Lake International Airport at 8:25PM. They're going to fly me to the... I think it's an airport in Austin (all I know is that it's not Houston), we have a 2.5 hour layover there and before we fly to Guatemala city and arrive there at around 7PM. That means that we will have lots of time to go contacting in the airport and see a little bit what's it's like to be a missionary in the United States. I know that the gospel is true and that it will bless the lives of those who embrace it so why not share it every chance I get, you know? So that is really exciting. I'm so excited to go to Guatemala! I really love everything about the MTC in Provo and I am going to miss it a lot but I know that it will prepare me to serve the people in Guatemala better and help me to learn Spanish faster so I'm all good with it.

This last week has been really great. It all kind of dragged on until Sunday hit and then all of the days started to pass by a lot more quickly which is what everyone said when I got here. So that's good. The days are going by a lot faster. This week we've been doing a lot more with Preach my Gospel. The hard thing about it is that as a companionship, we need to be united in our message even though we have different firm ideas about how everything should be done. So that's really the hardest thing about it. But Hermano Koons and Hermana Bailey have both said that everything goes a lot better if you pray for your companion and just listen to the things that your investigators are saying instead of just trying to thing about what to say next. That way the spirit will be able to work for the both of you and the lesson will go by a lot better. And on Sunday, my district watched the Joseph Smith movie. I love the MTC so much because you can feel the spirit a lot more easily. They really focus on ways that you can hep to have the spirit with you. So with that in mind, I watched the Joseph Smith movie and I felt the Spirit soo strong. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't cry at all. I've come to accept the fact that I don't feel the spirit by crying like everyone else. I just feel a really really strong happiness and assurance that I know that what is being taught/said is true.

Today I went to the temple with my zone and that was really good. I didn't really have any big realizations or anything but it was really good. I liked it. And I'm starting to get a tan--one mini sunburn at a time. I'm not even completely white anymore lately. Also, while I was studying on some random table at the MTC a companionship came up to me and shared with my a scripture that I really liked. I think that it was Alma 37:34. It talks about how if you are constantly doing good works then even if you do get exhausted, you will find rest to your souls. I liked that a lot because my ongoing goal for my mission was to just work really hard every day sot hat I could be rally exhausted by the end of it so that I could go to bed knowing that I did the best work that I could have done for that day and this scripture kind of reinforced that philosophy by saying that if you work as hard as you can doing good works, at the end of the day, you will be satisfied with how you did.

That's really cool about Sarah and her Violin! She is already a really good violinist for her age and by the time I get back she'll be as good as I was after I did viola for 10 years! And it's good to hear that Janeen and Sarah are doing good in school. School is seriously the most important thing ever for people at their age. It will determine their future so make sure that they know that they need to work hard.

Also, tell Jason and Ryan to write to me. So I won't comment on their stuff. And make sure that they get this so that they know. And Janeen and Sarah, too, for that matter.

Okay, well, I bye!

MTC to Guat date

Just a note! Nathan is due to leave Provo for Guatemala on Sept 28 so if you plan to send a letter to the MTC make sure it gets there by the 27th!

Nathan's first letter from MTC 2010 Sept 11

Hello All!
Here is Nathan's PO box while in the Provo MTC:

Elder Nathan T Froelich
MTC Mailbox # 288
GUA-QUE 1109
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793

Now here is the latest:

Hola Familia!! First, of all, I only have 30 minutes to email you guys so this is probably going to be pretty short.

I got to Utah safely. I almost decided to talk to a guy on the plan that I was sitting next to and I really wanted to but I was really tired from waking up at 4:30am so I decided not to. He seemed really cool though and I could have planted a seed so I am regretting that. Good lesson to learn though.

When I got to the airport, I met up with 5 other missionaries going to the MTC and we all rode together to Provo. I got to the MTC about 2 hours early and mostly just chilled in a room with my teacher and an Elder who also got there early named Elder Alston from Virginia.

This week so far has been so great. It seems like all of the days are lasting way longer than they normally would but I love it. Everyone who I've ever talked to has said that it starts to go by faster after your first Sunday here. So I'm kind of looking forward to that. I love the schedule here too. With all of the stuff that I have to do here, I am always tired by 10:30 and I wake up a little before 6:30 anyway so it works out really well. The spirit is so strong here though. Constantly studying the gospel and praying for the spirit to be with us helps a lot.

My companion's name is Elder Pigott and he's from right here in Provo. He knows a lot of the people here in the MTC because he went to high school with a lot of them. We are really different people and we don't always agree on how things should be done because I guess that we just have different styles so it just takes a little more effort to come to decisions. He's a good Elder though and he definitely has a testimony so that's good.

My district is also really great. There are 11 of us and we sit with each other at all of the meals and go to gym together so there are always enough people to have teams. I almost have "My Purpose" for missionaries memorized in Spanish too! I even had one elder who was in my BYU ward in the fall named Elder Mace so that's really cool as well. The Elders in my district are going to Vin De Mar, Chile, North Managua Nicaragua (or something like that), and it's just Elder Pigott and I who are going to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.

The Spanish is going pretty well too. I think that it helps that I took a little bit in high school. Today, one of the teachers said something like "move the tables into the other room" and I understand basically everything that he said and I at least got the gist of it. I've had a little bit of a head cold ever since I've been here so I'm not allowed to shake hands with anyone and I take a lot of pills to control everything but it looks like I am on the getting better side of things today. I've only had to blow my nose like 3 times!

I'm leaving for Guatemala on September 28 so in just two and a half weeks! So that will be great. And it looks like I am going to get my second hepatitis A shot in two Thursdays. Elder Pigott said that his hurt a lot going in so I guess that we will see how that goes. I'll keep you updated on exactly how much it hurts so that you guys can have the heads up if you guys ever need one.

And it looks like I have less than 3 three minutes left and I've still got to do my laundry but I'm doing great! No need to worry about me.

I love you guys!

Elder Froelich

P.S. Write me letters!

So far so good!

Hello everyone! There has been no word yet from the Missionary Training Center from Nathan. I will share with you when he does. Since I am very new at this blog thing, please be patient with me. (I have no idea what I am doing!) More later!

I'm going on a mission!

In approximately an hour, I'll be set apart to be an official missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints . I'll be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. I'll being bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ the people of Guatemala and helping to bring the happiness that I know the gospel has brought to my life to them. And I can't wait!

To send me letters for free, go to:

http://www.dearelder.com/index/inc_name/mission_selection

and pick wherever I am from the drop-down menu. I'll be glad to hear from you!