1-9-09

Hey Everybody,                                                                

 This week takes the cake for crazy ones.  After P-day on Thursday night at 11 while I’m sleeping, I get a call from Elder Martineau and the first thing he says is, “This is not a joke.” Then he tells me I’m getting sent to Mt. Vernon 1^st Ward with another missionary to replace the ones up there. So as of Friday afternoon, I’m back in Mt. Vernon—same ward, same apartment, 3 weeks later. I’m stoked. I didn’t sleep much Thursday night because I was thinking about all the people I was teaching I’d see again. Elder Merrell and I had gotten a lot going, but it’s awesome being back. I got released as a District Leader and now my new comp, Elder Zirker, is training me as a Zone Leader. It’s fun. It’s just like having a bigger district than before. We do a lot for the zone so we don’t get as much time with our area, but the time we get is effective.

 I’ve seen Brian and Mike and with the 3-week transition, they’ve both lost steam, so I’m gonna see what we can to do getting them progressing.

 Zirker’s the man! I’m learning more than ever with him. And with less time in our area than before, I think we’ll get more accomplished than before. The elders that were here and then left transformed the apartment. It’s spotless and it’s got a bench press and weight set. It’s great. They cut down the 5-foot-tall blackberry bushes in the backyard too so now we can see Big Lake. They had 3 feet of snow so they just cleaned up everything since they were stuck.

 Things are good. Zirker is from Dubuque, Iowa. He’s hilarious and loves tracting. We haven’t had the chance to do any yet, but when we do, we’re gonna tear it up.

 Thanks for the letters. All’s well.

 

Love,

Elder Packer

WA Everett Mission

16124-35^th Ave. SE

PO Box 13390

Mill Creek, WA  98082-1390

 

1-2-09

Dear Family and Friends,                                                                        

 It dawned on me a few days ago that I’ll be a missionary for all of 2009. I thought that was pretty cool. Things are going well in Marysville. We’ve built up some good momentum here and have many people to see now which is nice.

 The snow’s finally gone so we can drive the van around—that’s been huge. When it first started snowing I thought it was awesome. It looked really nice and white outside, but I got over it fast, since we couldn’t drive for about a week. Church was even cancelled for two weeks. So the snow’s gone for now and we’re all doing a pretty good job at making up for lost time.

 We had a zone P-day yesterday with about 20 missionaries. We played the most intense basketball of my life. I had heard the legends of how crazy missionaries got at basketball and yesterday I lived it. You would think there were NBA scouts watching the way it was going. It was a lot of fun. We only had three minor injuries, so it was relatively clean.

 I wish I had some good stories about my investigators, but so far they’ve all been pretty normal. This transfer, so far, has been really good. We’ve had two struggling companionships in the district and they’ve both been able to get things going so that we’re all pulling hard. I like my new leadership calling a lot. I like the whole team mentality of it, the pressure and responsibility are definitely there, but the opportunity definitely outweighs them. It’s fun.

 This is what’s called “money week.” Since somebody has to come to church three times before they can be baptized, this is the last week we can still find, baptize, and confirm in the transfer, and today (Friday) is the most important day of the week since it has the biggest influence of how the Sunday turnout goes. So today’s gonna be a busy one.

Last Sunday we did pretty bad at getting people out to church mainly because of the snow, so this week needs to be a big one. I’m learning a lot this transfer so far. 

Thanks for all of the letters. To answer your question Camille, no Mallory unfortunately isn’t active since her dad isn’t, and things like that make me want to be back in Mt. Vernon to help fix. It’s hard leaving all the people you’ve taught and recent converts for two new missionaries. They are good missionaries though and I trust that President Showalter put them there for a reason.

 Thanks, again, everybody.

 Love, Nate

Hey everybody,                                                                            

 It’s been a crazy week. It started snowing on Saturday and went all day and night. In the morning there was 5 inches and church was cancelled. We weren’t allowed to drive either, and since we live out in the boonies and the only way to get around would be walking along an ice highway, we played it safe at home. It snowed more Sunday, and Tuesday and dumped yesterday and we’ve got about 9 inches and it hasn’t stopped since Tuesday. Wasn’t expecting this.

 That is only the beginning of the craziness. Martineau and I expected to both stay in Mount Vernon for this transfer. So we were waiting for calls on Saturday from our Zone Leaders to let us know. Thursday night, last Thursday, our Zone Leaders call and ask me what I think is gonna happen. It wasn’t Saturday so I didn’t know what he was talking about. It was leadership calls on Thursday, and since both Martineau and I didn’t expect getting a call it was surprising. He said we were both getting a leadership position and we’ll find out the next day at the meeting. We’re shocked and figure we’ll be trainers since we’re relatively new and that’s the lowest notch on the ladder. This is why the week was crazy. Martineau goes Zone Leader and I go District Leader. I haven’t even been senior companion yet. It was awesome. So the way it worked out was Martineau is one of my Zone Leaders and I’m one of his District Leaders. It’s crazy.

 So, I’m in Marysville now. I can finally drive and I’ve got a Dodge Caravan. It’s ballin! I’m in a nice apartment and my comps been out 6 weeks. So this transfer will be fun. I’ve got a lot more responsibility and so far I like it. I’m gonna learn a lot.

 Merry Christmas everybody. Thanks for everything. I’m looking forward to the call.

 Love, Nate

 

 

Nate's phone call before Christmas

Nate just called to schedule the Christmas call. It was great talking to him. He has been transferred to Marysville and he is the new District Leader and senior companion to an elder who has been out 6 weeks. Elder Martineau is the new Zone Leader. He says they have 5 inches of snow and he's loving it.

Picture information

All pictures are from Nate's area. Mt. Baker is visible from town when it's clear. Nate's district was the "Water Ninja's" in November. He says they all have bird names for call signs (from Top Gun). Nate's the Millennial Falcon and Elder Martineau is Capt. Jack Sparrow. The lake picture is "Big Lake" which is near his home. Sunset pictures are the Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains.