Week 86

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 86 (1/25/16)

Well there's a lot to write about in such a little amount of time!

So I finally got a camera again, so we're going to have some pretty cool pictures in these emails again.

My Christmas package finally arrived! But it looks like I only got half of everything and I hope that the rest is going to be coming soon.

I was super happy opening this package and thinking about everyone in my family. The green/blue tie is amazing and I loved the pin and keychain a lot! Thank you all so much and Merry late Christmas! haha

I also got a few more letters to add to the collection. I love reading these!

So I also had said that Elder Smith, mijito, had come up to the same zone with me one transfer later, and it is really interesting to stay close by one of my past companions.

Also, to try out the new camera, I was able to take some cool pictures of the area.

Also, in our area, there are a whole bunch of mosquitos so one night sleeping with the window open because of the heat, this happened:

Thank goodness my parents sent me with anti-itch cream and bug repellant, so this is never going to happen again.

Well in all of the pictures, I wasn't able to get one with my companion and I, but we did have a surprise visit by President Marler and Hermana Marler so they got a picture of us in our district meeting:

Elder Chacon is the one directly above me on the left with the blue tie.
Also Hermana Marler went specifically in the district meeting class that I taught and really helped all of our district with our lesson.

Well sorry for being a little short of words today, but I guess the pictures make up for it in part. haha
One other announcement is that President and Hermana Marler are finishing up their 3rd year in the mission which means it's almost time for a President change! The new President will be President William Marble and Sister Sandy Marble:

They will be serving starting the 1st of July, so I will already be home by then. They are from Woodland, California and are really looking forward to their missionary service.

Well that's all the time I have, until next week!

Elder Terry

Week 85

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 85 (1/18/16)

Well that was a very interesting week here in San Pedro starting off this new transfer.

So my new companion is Elder Chacón and he is from Chile, Peru's biggest rival. He is from the southern part of Chile in a town called Valdivia where it's pretty cold. He is 18 years old, a convert of 3 years, and he has about 8 months in the mission. He has only been in one area so far which was in Trujillo in a part called Porvenir which is the super dangerous part of Trujillo. He mentioned that everything is so nice and calm here in San Pedro compared to Trujillo. Next week I will attach a photo, because I was finally able to buy a new camara today.

It was kind of a difficult week after only being here 6 weeks and now having to direct the area, but we have found some new people to teach and we helped some others go to church for the first time in a while, which I guess was a successful week.

Another weird thing about the transfers was that more than half of the missionaries in the zone changed to different areas, including one of the zone leaders and the two other district leaders. And the weirdest part was that my hijo, Elder Smith, came up to the zone too, so I get to see him more than once a week.

Well, that's about it until the next week! (here is a picture that Sister Marler took of me last week)

Elder Terry

Week 84

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 84 (1/11/16)

Not that I'm thinking of being home, but it looks like now in week 84 I only have 20 weeks left of the mission! Boy that has gone by fast!

Well this was a nice week. On Tuesday we had a multi-zone with just our zone, because we are kind of separated from the other areas, where President and Sister Marler came up with the assistants to give us a training. They talked about preaching repentance and what repentance means, and they focused on starting of this new year on the right foot.

We also had our zone training that we have every month on Thursday where we learn from our local zone leaders and our sister training leaders about the vision that President has for us for this month. So as you can tell we learned a lot!

Well another transfer has gone by, and it looks like there are more changes! My companion, Elder Alles, is heading over to Chocope, my first area! Coming here to be my companion is Elder Chacón. I don't really know him yet, but I'm really looking forward to this next transfer.

Well sorry that my time is a little short, but I wish you all a good week!

Elder Terry

Week 83 (New Year)

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 83 (1/4/16)

Happy New Year!!!

Well this has been a pretty amazing first week here in the mission. Again, I am still without a camara for pictures, but I planning on buying one today, so until next week for the pictures.

These past few weeks have been a little more difficult for proselyting, because of the fiestas and drinking, but we have definitely seen many miracles this week, especially with a few new families that we have found and how many of them were able to go to church this week. Our sacrament meeting turned out really well and the Spirit was strong with all of the testimonies that were given at church.

Also recently, there has been a new focus from our mission president for all of the wards and branches in our mission. He has put a focus on helping establish our wards in stead of just helping them grow. We do this by strengthening the members that we have by helping them go to the temple, magnify their callings, etc. We've realized that the Lord isn't going to give us as many as his choice sons and daughters until we have a ward or branch where they can stay strongly. Here in the San Pedro de Lloc Branch is exactly what we need. We have about 450 baptized members in the directory, but only with a church attendence of about 80. So this is one of the big focuses that we have here as missionaries now, not just baptizing, but strengthening and establishing the branch.

Well as a new year begins, goals are set and plans are made to become a better missionary, and a better person. One of the big goals that I placed is to write in my journal every day for the rest of the mission, something that I've been slacking off on a little bit.

Well I am looking forward to another great week in the mission, and I hope you all start of your 2016 well.

Elder Terry

Week 82

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 82 (12/28/15)

Merry Christmas to all!

Well this was an amazing week especially to be here in the mission. Although it is always hard to be away from home for the Christmas season, these feelings were filled with all of the love that we received here in the mission.

I would also like to apologize for the lack of pictures due to my camara getting misplaced, but I will try to make up for it with some nice descriptions! haha

Well to start off the Christmas season, we set up our Christmas tree (the same one as last year passed by my companion) to lighten our room with the Christmas Spirit. On Christmas Eve, we were invitied to a huge Christmas dinner put on by the zone leaders for our zone of missionaries. We started the night watching Polar Express (with permission from the mission office) and were then treated to an amazing dinner, which consisted of a lot of turkey, french fries, and salad, accompanied with soda and an amazing peruvian fruit smoothie. After we were all full, we did a little Secret Santa gift exchange and had a lot of fun.

We then started Christmas day traveling down to Trujillo to have a devotional and a talent show with our President and the office. There we heard from Presidente and Hermana Marler and afterward had a talent show put on by the missionaries in all of the mission. Our zone did an act with a cake eating competition while all of us sang Christmas songs to root them on. After this activity, we head back to our areas to go talk with our friends and family. I got to see all of my family and a few of my friends who I have not seen in many months. It was amazing and it made me feel like Christmas back at home.

Here is a video of part of the Skype call where my parents had me speak Spanish.

Well that's all to report for this week, and may you all have a happy New Year 2016!

Elder Terry

Week 81

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 81 (12/21/15)

Well this was an amazing week here in the Peru Trujillo North Mission.

This week we had our huge annual Christmas Program in the Town Square in Trujillo so we had to do a lot of preparation and we had a pretty crazy schedule too.

So the program was for two nights, on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th, which I was able to participate in both days because the special numbers were played both nights.

So on Friday, we traveled down at around 11a and practiced until the show at 7p. It ended around 10p and we weren't able to go to bed until about 1a. It was super fun because we also had a temple session the next day at 7:30a so we had to get up at 6a to make it on time. Then afterward, we had more practice and the next show at 7p. After the show, we bused back to our area and made it back at about 12:30a. So let's just say Sunday was really difficult. haha.

So for the program, I was able to participate in many numbers. I played the piano for most of the choir numbers, and also played piano for a duet of Silent Night/Still Still Still with Hermana Pineda and Hermana Smith. I was also part of 2 small a capella group's that sang pentatonix's Mary Did You Know and Carol of the Bells:

But the coolest number that I was able to do was a tenor sax/piano duet on O Tannenbaum from Charlie Brown. It turned out awesome and the crowd and missionaries loved it.

I would have a lot more and some cooler pictures, but I lost my camara in the crazyness and am still searching for it, so there might not be many pictures in the coming weeks.

To see read and see more pictures about the concert, click on our mission blog here.

Well I'm really looking forward to this Christmas, and especially the Skype call home that I get to talk "face to face" with my friends and family. I wish all of you a happy holiday season and especially this time to remember Jesus' birth and everything that we have because he was born.

MERRY CHRISTMAS :)
from Elder Jordan Terry

Week 80

LETTER FROM JORDAN - WEEK 80 (12/14/15)

Well there goes another amazing week in the mission, and maybe one of the most memorable weeks I have ever had!

Ok so I found out a little while ago that my first converts, Brenda and Necker, had planned on getting sealed on December 12! Just over a year ago, on November 12, 2014, Elder Cuevas and I helped both of them get married and on November 14, Hermana Brenda was baptized and we helped Necker become active again. Of course doing all of that was all with the temple in mind, but I didn't imagine that the time would come so fast!

But with this news, there came some bad news. I really wanted to go, but there was a really important practice for the Missionary Christmas Program that we have for this week, so Hermana Marler told me that I wasn't going to be able to go to their sealing. It was also sad because that same day we planned to go down with our branch and our convert to go do temple baptisms for the first time.

We don't know why, but all of the sudden this Christmas practice was cancelled, and we were able to travel down with our branch to go see the temple sealing and to help our convert Victor do a baptism for his dad. It was probably the happiest day of my whole life, and I think the happiest day in their lives too!
The Cipirán Family:

 The Cipirán Chávez Family:

 The new sealed family (Necker, Brenda, and Camila):

 Victor Guanilo, who even with knee problems did baptisms in the temple:

 Also here is my companion, Elder Alles:

He is from Argentina and he only has 5 months in the mission. It is still his first area here in San Pedro and he is super cool. He is 20 years old, and a convert of only 2 years. It is super awesome to have a convert testimony so he can really relate to all of the people here.

Well that's all I have time here for this week, and until the next!

Elder Terry