Email Dec. 26, 2011*

We had a wonderful video chat with Preston on Christmas Eve. He looks and sounds great. He expressed his appreciation to all that wrote him. Thanks for your kindness and generosity.

Hello Mother,

Well I will start this week's email. I haven't gotten yours yet, but hopefully sometime today I will be able to get back on and write. Just a quick tid bit for the family... I will be writing at 10 every week I think.

So anyway. This week was pretty good. Monday night our zone leader pulled fake changes on me and Elder Richins. He told us that I was going to Reducto 2. One of those areas that people don't want to go to haha. We didn't find out they were fake until Tuesday morning at district meeting. It was pretty funny, but I am not a big fan of jokes like that. Tuesday I said my goodbyes. It was sad, but I was happy too. I was happy to see the changes people had made while I was there. I said goodbye to Catelina, the woman I have been teaching who got baptized yesterday on Christmas! Pretty awesome. I got permission to call Elder Richins in Trinidad and talk to her for a minute. I am super happy for her. She is super happy.

I am sad to say goodbye to Trinidad, but happy to be here in La Paloma. My new companion is Elder Gardner from Taylorsville. It is very different. Not nearly as many members out here, but it is quite a bit nicer. Well, not my house... Haha unless you like rats... My house is huge. I attached a picture of it. The first picture is of Catelina, on the left, and her cousin Julio and his wife Rocio on the right. They are Elder Shirk's converts. I was super sad to say goodbye to them. The second picture is of Hermano Borjas. He just went through the temple a week and a half ago. I am so happy for him. He is the funniest guy. I got some really good video of him.

Well here I am now in La Paloma. My Christmas was pretty good. I had to give a talk. I don't think my comp has ever had to give a talk in the mission... Haha but I gladly volunteered to give it. Christmas in the mission is a lot different, but I can't complain too much. Thank you so much for the Jesus the Christ! It is amazing. I must admit, I opened it a few days early. When Elder Richins and I found out I was getting changed he convinced me to open it so he could see it. He was convinced it was a book of pictures. Haha but thank you so much. It is great.

Funny story of the week. Out here in La Paloma most of the people are better off the most of the people I talked to in Trinidad. So naturally they drink cleaner water. It was pretty hot one day. I asked this guy for water. He gave us water that my comp thought was questionable and I thought was cleaner than 75% of the water I drank in Trinidad... Short story even shorter. I drank, he didn't... Hahahahaha do I have the runs? Well I am in Paraguay, you can answer that question for yourself... hahaha. The answer is always, by the way.

Well one thing I know is that the Church is still true out here in La Paloma. True everywhere we go. I love being a missionary, even when it sucks. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I am grateful for this time of year and the time we get to celebrate his birth. Thank you for everyone at home and for your support. I loved opening the letters each day! I love you all.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Dec 19, 2011

Hello Mom,

Well transfers are this week. I will find out tonight if I am going or staying or what not. Richins and I have a feeling that I will be leaving good ol Trinidad. Unfortunate because it is right before Christmas.... And I have an appointment to kill a pig on the 23rd.... Hahaha but we still dont know, so I will find out tonight. I will explain about the pig later on. As far as calling goes, I will probably call on Saturday during the siesta. Around 1 or 2 my time. I think I am 4 hours ahead. If I am still in Trinidad, I have it lined up with my boy Arnaldo, where we do our internet, to come open up his place for me. So I am not too worried about it.

It sounds like everything is going great at home. Tell everyone thanks for the letters! They are so great to read every single day. All of the individual packages inside were left alone, but I think they are just trying to mess with me at the Paraguayan post office. I got a letter from Jackee today, and they had opened that too. They put a big stamp on it and wrap it back up in a plastic bag. Hahaha it is pretty funny. I dont think it happens to letters usually, but apparently it does to me.

Alright. So I will start my letter with a miracle. Well it felt like a miracle to me. On Tuesday morning, I woke up and said a prayer and told my Heavenly Father that we had 3 weeks to find a house and that we really needed his help. That day at our lunch appointment I felt prompted to ask Ignacio if he knew where we could find a place to rent, a kid preparing to go on a mission (we were helping him with his papers, it is pretty cool). He told us about a few places that we hadnt looked and he came out and looked with us. They were all full, but he told me to go ask at a despensa further down the street. So Richins and I went down and asked and they pointed us to the sister of a lady who is renting houses. Within a half hour we had a lady (who speaks english, lived in Chicago for 10 years) give us a call about an available apartment. We went and looked at it later that night and decided to take it. We will be moving in a week from today. That may not seem like a big deal, but here in Trinidad it is really hard to find apartments. I wasnt sure how we were going to do it, but the Lord answered my prayer.

Ok. Now for some funny. Thursday we were visiting some less active ladies. They raise pigs for a living. We got them really laughing, Richins and I are pretty good at it, and they invited us down on Christmas for a pig. They got talking more about it and they told us they are going to kill it on the 23rd. These are the kinds of things Richins and I live for. I jumped all over it. I put a huge smile on my face and said I want to kill the pig! Let me kill it! I started making the stabbing motions with my arm. I dont think I have ever seen an old lady laugh so hard in my entire life. Then Richins piped in and asked, ¨dont pigs scream like crazy when you kill them?¨ Then he said he couldnt handle that so he would have to hide under the lady´s bed while I killed the pig. Oh man did that lady laugh.... Hahahaha it was so funny. I was laughing so hard tears were coming to my eyes. So anyway... Now I am going to kill a pig on the 23rd if I am still in Trinidad... Probably not, but maybe. Those old ladies sure think I am.

Other funny story of the week. Friday we sat down with a drunk guy with a second cause he invited us in. He was wearing green cord shorts. Not sure if that is how you spell cords. Anyway. Ofcourse being the person I am... I had to say, I like your shorts. Without skipping a beat, he said, REALLY? Here let me give them to you. He then immediately went into his house and changed his shorts and put the green shorts in a bag to give to me. It was hilarious. I would have felt too bad taking a pair of shorts from a drunk guy... So I didnt take them from him. But Richins and I got a good chuckle out of it.

Now for some more serious. Sorry for my childish behavior.... So not sure if I told you about Catelina, but she is our solid investigator right now. She is so awesome. She is the cousin of Shirk´s converts. She was having trouble recognizing her answer to the Book of Mormon, but on Saturday she told us that she knows it is true. It was such an awesome experience. She is going to be baptized this week, and her cousin Julio is going to baptize her. I am so happy for her. She has her fair share of problems. Her boyfriend is in prison right now, waiting his sentence. Let us just say that his crime involves the commandment, Thou shalt not kill. So he will be in prison for 25 years likely. But there is a bright side, she is accepting the gospel and living the law of chastity. The Lord is preparing people everywhere and it is so much easier to find them when recent converts are trying to find investigators for us. Catelina is already trying to share the gospel with her family. It is really awesome.

So anyway. This is a good season. I really appreciate Christmas now. Being in Paraguay on a mission will do that to a young man. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I am so grateful for his sacrifice for me. I am glad I get to celebrate his birth during this month. I hope everyone at home has a great Christmas. Thank you again for the package and letters. Sorry I dont have the time to write everyone back, but know that I really appreciate it.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Dec. 12, 2011

Alright Mom,

This has got to be rushed. I will explain why I am short on time. But first.... I got my package!!!! Last Friday we went in for a little Christmas activity at the office. It had been opened by Paraguay just like my last one... I never got my Migraine meds, so I dont know if you forgot to put them in or if they got stolen. But the package was great! The letters are great! I love opening them every day. Also, there was another 100 dollars in there. Dont know who it is from. Also on Friday. Hermana Madariaga stopped me to tell me.... That the owner of our house is not going to renew our contract... So we have 3 weeks to find a new house. There are absolutely no apartments in Trinidad. The only one we have found is way too expensive. So I am not sure what we are going to do. We have to be out by January.

Ok. So about today..... We had to go sign in at immigrations... We waited for 5 hours, doing nothing. Finally the missionaries got to start signing, and it takes less than 2 minutes to do so. But as for me..... The lawyer for the mission came up to me and told me that they were having some problems with me.... So remember my FBI Clearance? Yeah so the date they sent it is 20 days too early.... If I would have gotten here 20 days earlier or the date was 20 days later I would be fine... Which means they wont be able to renew my visa the last 6 months of my mission. Well that is what I understood anyway. Legal terms in Spanish are way over my head... So she asked me if I can get another FBI Clearance. I told her I needed finger prints for that, but I would ask you to look into it. I told her it is unlikely that I can do it, but that I had absolutely no idea. So if you could look into it for me Mom, that would be great. But please dont stress over it. She said if we cant get it figured out, she would find a way to make it work. Im sure if you pay enough money to the right person here they will not care one bit... Hahahahaha

But in happier news, I saw KOs old comp at the migrations office! Small world!!!! I was hoping that I might see KO because the office elder that was in Bennys MTC group told me that the other mission was taking some missionaries there today. Shoot. But it is all good.

Ok. Sorry I dont have much time for anything else. I still need to go buy groceries for the week. Oh, by the way. President Madariaga´s email today said that we can call/skype on Saturday or Monday. Transfers are next week, so I wont know what day next monday.... Because I could be transfered.... So I am not sure how it will work. But I will figure something out next week.

Yesterday I had to play the piano for the primary program. Pretty cool. Especially because our branch president forgot that it was the primary program so I didnt have to give the talk he assigned me to... Hahaha probably next week or something.

This week was pretty good. I have realized that the mission is stressful at times. But the beauty of the mission is that I dont have to be stressed about it. I just go out and work hard and let the Lord take care of the rest. Am I worried about finding a new apartment? At times. But then I remember the Lord will take care of us. Am I worried that I wont be able to stay in Paraguay for the last 6 months of my mission? Not at all... It is hotter than heck here..... Hahahahaha just kidding I love it here. But I know that whatever happens is because the Lord needs it to. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Dec. 5, 2011

Hello Mom,

Well sounds like a crazy storm hit Bountiful?? As for the weather in Paraguay, well God answered my prayers and it cooled down for a few days this week. It was so nice. I cant fully describe how good it feels to sleep without sweating the whole night. Well as far as my week goes...

It was a pretty good week. Elder Richins and I went out and worked hard, and we did our best to get the branch involved and get some members to leave with us. The work is so much better when you have a solid member in the lesson. It went pretty well for us. We had some good lessons, I only had to eat liver this week, and that sums up to be a pretty good week. I must admit though, I am not a big fan of liver. But you eat what you are given and do your best to smile while you are doing it.

So Wednesday we did an exchange and I was with Elder Barker in my area. We were able to get Javier (one of the counselors in the branch presidency) to come leave with us. He came and visited a inactive guy we have been visiting. Hermano Lopez. He went through the temple, had a son go on a mission, but his family has just fallen away because he has some problems with the branch. So anyway. We shared a scripture with him, and then Javier hit him with a powerful invitation back to church. Lots of it was in Guaraní, but it was awesome. When we were leaving, those 2 hugged and there were some tears in Hermano Lopez´s eyes. My smile couldnt have been bigger this Sunday when Hermano Lopez and his wife walked through the gate into the church. Later that night we went to visit a cousin of Elder Shirks converts. One of his converts, Rocio is her name, came with us to make the visit. The cousin wanted to know what the church was about, so I let Rocio explain. She explained the Book of Mormon in pretty good detail, a lot more than I would have, but it was awesome. When she was done I bore my testimony and invited Catelina to be baptized and she accepted without hesitation. It was really awesome. I have a big testimony of having members coming to make visits with us. Hopefully we can reactivate some of the 1300 members here so that the missionaries will have more people to make visits with in the future.

Friday I felt prompted to contact a house with a lady outside cooking or something. Lately I have just been asking everyone if they know any members so we can find all the less actives, and they usually point out a few houses. So I did that, she pointed out a few houses and then I asked if we could share with her. As we started sharing I felt the influence of the Spirit so strong. It guided the entire lesson. It was the most smooth lesson I think I have ever had. It was awesome. At the end she had the usual Paraguayo doubt of already being baptized. I felt prompted to handle it in a different way than we usually do, and she accepted a baptismal invitation. It was a really good experience for me.

Saturday we ran into Hermano Borjas on the street. I wish you could meet this man, cause he is flat out hilarious. He is a pretty old guy and he will never stop talking so you have to be careful or he will take all of your time. But anyway, we have been bugging him a little bit about going through the temple. So when we ran into him he was carrying a bag from the distribution center. He had a huge smile on his face when he saw us. He asked me, in broken english I might add (I really love this guy he is hilarious) ¨Do you know what this is?¨ I told him, temple clothes! He said yes, it is temple clothes. It was awesome. It was one of the happier moments of my entire life. I am not even very close to him, but it made me so happy to see someone so happy about going to the temple. I am so happy for him.

Well this week was a pretty good one for me. I hope it was good for you too Mother, family, and friends. I realized my love for sharing my testimony of Joseph Smith. My heart burned so strong every time I did so this week. I love being a missionary. I am far from perfect. I have lots to work on. But that is the beauty of this life. Thanks for the love and support. Especially you Mom. I love you so much. You are the best mom in the world.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email November 28, 2011

Hello Mom,

I wasn´t able to get my package today because we did the first zone activity in a long time. I am not sure if it is here yet, but I will call the office elders this week. We are starting to play basketball with them in the mornings because they are so close. We played soccer today... Lets just say I don´t know why anyone would want to play soccer in this Paraguay heat and I got pretty burned, but it was fun.

So it sounds like you had a good week. Sounds like Thanksgiving was a good time. I had a good meal here. Those potatoes you sent me and a grilled tuna sandwich. It was good, but not nearly as good as a Thanksgiving in Bear Lake I am afraid. But I need to be here in Paraguay. Also got my hair cut on Monday from Elder Shirks convert. That is there house in that picture. That haircut costs me less than 2 bucks. Not bad.

Alright. So Wednesday we played some B ball with the office elders in the morning. As it turns out, the secretary was in Bennys MTC group. He has been waiting to meet me so he could say hi for old Billy. Wednesday night we were at the Pintos, and they were talking about their huge guinea pigs and how good they taste... So.... I might be in store for some guinea pig soon. But yeah. I am used to eating weird stuff. I ate chicken feet last night. About made my comp puke. I didn´t think it was too bad. Wasn´t good by any means, but wasn´t terrible.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. Elder Richins and I played some paper football to celebrate. I also had a pretty cool experience contacting. I felt prompted to contact a really nice house, so we did. We didnt get in the house, but we had a cool contact with the lady taking care of the house who also lives in our area. Then right after we ran into a guy outside his house next door without even clapping and we had a really cool lesson. He said he couldnt come to church cause he was going to be drunk.... Hahhaha but we can work with that. He promised next week.

Friday... Well lets just say the heat has arrived... We had a lesson with a lady who has a Book of Mormon from 1999 and she reads in it all the time to get strength. It was really cool. I am really hoping she will progress.

Saturday we had the baptism of Lilian. She is awesome. Her dad reminds me of a professional athlete but I cant think of who it is. You will have to help me out if you can. I also had to baptize an 8 year old, so that is him in the other picture.

Well Mother, family, and friends. I just want you to know that the church is true. Even when it is so hot you want to die. Quick side note. I heard that all the missionaries in the south mission have air conditioning. Run that by KO. If it is true... Well dont tell me. My fan will have to do... Haha I love being a missionary. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and through him the true church was restored. I know President Monson is a true prophet. Most importantly, I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I love him so much.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email November 21, 2011

Hello Mother,

So I wouldnt be too worried about the package. I am pretty sure it will be here this week. I will go pick it up next P-Day or something. I am sure it just didnt get sorted by the time the office elders picked up the mail is all.

That is really exciting for Jessica! Tell her congrats for me. Sounds like a good way to put lots of stress on Scott and Mary... Haha but that is really awesome, I am really excited for her. Tell Menlove congrats as well!! That is awesome! I was hoping he would come to Paraguay actually... But Africa is pretty cool too. Uruguay for Dane Hansen huh? Awesome. Wish I could say he is right next door... But Paraguay is on its own planet... I cant quite describe this place. Just go buy some Mandioca (I think it is called yuca root in the states) and start to eat a ton of it and maybe your mind will start to change like the Paraguayan mind.

Anyway.. I am sad to hear that the old Mazda is gone. I see a ton of Mazda trucks down here, so it always makes me think of that truck. But I also see a ton of Nissan Pathfinders too, more than any other car I think. Except they are diesel down here. So it is all good.

Well a little bit about my week. Not much happened. Elder Richins and I have been contacting like crazy... So that means some funny contacts... One guy, really grumpy I might add, started yelling at me asking if I personally knew Joseph Smith. I calmly replied, no sir, but I have never seen Jesus Christ either, I simply have faith. That shut him up pretty good! hahaha.

We had a really fun family home evening with the Pintos Family this week. That is what the pictures are from. They absolutely loved it. It was a riot. I have really come to love that family.

We also had zone conferences this week. One thing I think every single time I am around President Madariaga is that he will be a General Authority one day. He is so inspired, he has changed this mission a lot from what I can gather, and he is very smart too. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, English, and some Guarani as well. I left the zone conference really wanting to be a better missionary and Elder Richins and I are striving to make our companionship better too.

This week we had an awesome lesson about the Restoration with a lady named Anna. She made it clear that she is very catholic, but she listened as we taught and the Spirit was so strong as when we shared our testimonies of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I feel like she is one of my first real investigators. And by that I mean that I am teaching someone that wants to know, and is doing what she needs to find out. Paraguayans are so tranquilo sometimes it drives me crazy!! Hahaha but I am getting used to it. I am really praying that she will progress.

Yesterday was a classic. That means that Olimpia and Cerro were playing. That means... No one wanted to let us in... Haha it was a tough day. But the Church is true regardless. I am having a blast with Richins, and we are working hard. Tell Menlove to get to know Preach My Gospel like the back of his hand, every page. Elder Holland says that Preach My Gospel was written to convert the missionary first, so he could then help the investigator. I love the work.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email November 14, 2011

Dear Family

I am enjoying myself here in Paraguay. I just got back from all you can eat Pizza Hut. They stopped bringing me and this other kid pizza after my 19 pieces... Am I in another country? Sometimes it doesnt feel like it. But it does when you have all you can eat mondongo....

Tuesday we were with the Pintos family saying goodbye with Shirk. Damian is the kid we baptized and we reactivated his family. They are really awesome. So anyway, we went and they told us that they had made food. They brought out milonesa. Not sure how to spell it. Usually it is made with crappy meat or chicken. It is pretty good. But once again, I got to eat mondongo(animal stomach). They brought out a ton of it. It was Elder Richins first time eating Mondongo, mine and Shirks second. Let us just say that Elder Shirk and Elder Richins bugged out after only a few pieces.... Haha old Naegle hung in there until the Mondongo was finished. I ate so much stinking mondongo. I am getting pretty good at it though, so I think I will probably have to eat it at least a few more times in my mission.

Wednesday was my last day with Elder Shirk. I am glad he was my trainer. A great missionary. Thursday morning we dropped him off at the office. Thursday night we had the baptism of Sebastian. He is a good kid, and we have been working on reactivating his family. Trinidad has a huge problem with inactive members.... So sometimes I feel more like a hometeacher than a missionary because when we go out and do contacts we are almost as likely to clap a member house as a non-member house.

But Thursday we had a cool experience contacting. Elder Richins clapped a house, and turned and asked me which excuse we were going to get. No one is home, I am leaving, or my favorite, ¨otro día¨ . Haha without a pause I replied back to him. I have faith. We are getting into this house and teaching an awesome lesson. The girl came out and told us to come in without us saying anything. We went in and talked to her grandma. The grandma is pretty catholic, but is very willing to listen to us. It was a really cool lesson.

Sunday it rained... Paraguayans are afraid of rain. I dont understand. So not very many people were in church. Sebastian didnt come to get confirmed.... That was a little frustrating, but he will be there next week. But because Elder Shirk left, I am the only one that can play the piano. It was a bit rough, but I managed to play in sacrament mtg. With a little practice I will be able to do it every week I think. Sunday night we were walking across this little field thing, and because of the rain you couldnt walk without stepping on a frog. It was crazy. After kicking a few frogs.. My redneck comp decided it would be funny to kick one at me... He got a lot more mud than frog... Hahaha so I will be wearing some muddy pants this week. But the good news is that he did hit me with the frog.

So now that I have everyone thinking I am a terrible missionary because I kick frogs when there are so many I cant walk without stepping on one... Let me tell you that I know this is the work of the Lord. This is His Church. I am so glad to be his missionary. I love the Gospel. I love you so much family and friends, especially you Mom! I hope everything is great at home.

Love, Elder Naegle

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Email November 7, 2011

Hello Mother,

So I got a new comp on Saturday! We are in a trio right now until Elder Shirk leaves on Thursday. Elder Shirk already had his day with President Madariaga since he is gone until wednesday night, so he should be with us until Thursday morning. My comp is Elder Richins. He is from Hennifer, UT. Big kid. Real tall. I like him a lot, he is a nice guy and really out going. He is just hitting his year mark this change. He is the guy in the middle, Elder Shirk on the right.

Alright. So first off. I forgot to mention I got dearelders last week. Read a comment from Elder Billy Belnap saying he still hates cold showers.... Hahahahaha got a good kick out of that. I take 2 cold showers a day. It has cooled down a tiny bit here in Paraguay, so I havent been dying... But it is still pretty hot. I love showering and thinking of Bear Lake and water skiing. It is one of my favorite parts of the day. We also took a trip out to Itaugua last Monday for Elder Shirk, man was it awesome. I loved being out away from Asuncion. I hope I can go out there sometime in my mission.

Tuesday we had President Madariaga in our district meeting. I had to do a practice with him and his daughter, who recently returned from her mission, but was still a missionary. Anyway, it was pretty intimidating because he was a tough investigator, but I was able to share my testimony and help overcome his doubts. He is a brilliant man and I feel like we could really learn a lot from him, but this mission has been so disobedient in the past he is trying to get everyone to a high level of obedience, so I feel like that is all he ever talks about... Haha but it is good. I need it.

Funny things of the week. I am getting pretty good at kicking frogs... Haha they come out like crazy when it rains. I usually dont kick them, but Elder Richins is kind of a redneck and well things happen... Hahaha. Elder Shirk and I also got invited to be in a gang of 30 this week. The guy says to us, ¨we kill, we rob, we could really use your help¨. Oh it was great. We turned him down, so he just asked us for money instead.

Cool news for the week. I saw Elder Treviño at changes. He has been way out in the country. Like 6 hours away or so. He is looking great. He has dropped like 25 to 30 pounds, I am so happy for him. He gave me a big old hug. I miss that kid.

So yesterday I had to teach the Gospel Principles class in church. The teacher has gotten really sick, or so she says. She is crazy. But anyway. I taught about the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a cool experience, but it was even cooler when I bore my testimony of the power of the Holy Ghost with an experience in my mind that happened this week. So the guy Daniel, who is inactive, we are teaching his 2 kids, anyway we were teaching them the Word of Wisdom. We knew going in that Daniel had a problem with smoking. As I said last week, he is pretty intimidating and I didnt know how he would take it. But the Spirit was there, and he accepted everything very well and committed to try to stop smoking at the end of the lesson. He has tried lots of things to quit, even the cooking up the cigarettes and drinking it and it didnt work, so it will be tough, but I know he can do it.

I love the Gospel. I love being a missionary here in Paraguay. It really sucks sometimes, and someone who hasnt done it couldnt understand, but it truly is an awesome experience. Have a great week.

Love, Elder Naegle

Elder Naegle, Elder Richins, and Elder Shirk

Email October 31, 2011

Hello Mom,

Happy Halloween! Well we just got back from the office for Elder Shirk´s last interview. Pretty crazy. I should be getting a new comp this week and we will be in a trio for the week until Elder Shirk leaves. Pretty weird. Sorry I do not have much time today. We have to go out to Itaugua to get some stuff that Elder Shirk ordered a while back. So we are in a hurry.

Sounds like things are going really well at home. I miss some good homemade peach ice cream... But I will survive. You should go to the Tuesday early morning temple session Mom. It is a great session. I miss it a lot.

Well this week was a good one. It started really slow like most of my weeks have been here in Trinidad. But it started to pick up Thursday. Thursday we did an exchange. I was with Elder Clyde from Moab. We stayed in my area. He is going home this change. He is really funny and I had a good time with him. But anyway. We had been working with the branch to do a talent show for the branch night. So I was just hoping it wouldnt be a flop. It turned out really well. We were able to have 4 investigators there. The place was really full and a group of dancers came because some of the girls in the branch are a part of the group. It was really fun.

So I have been praying that Lord would trust me with some investigators. And this week I started to see my prayers answered. We had a cool experience with this guy named Daniel. We walk pass his house all the time, we have never contacted there. But early this week he called out to us. So we came over. I was kinda nervous. He is kinda intimidating, I dont really know how to describe him. But anyway, it turns out he is a member. So we set up a return appt and when we went back he wasnt there. So we went to our next appt and then we had to walk by his house to get to the appt after that. He was sitting outside, but we had somewhere to be so we just waved and kept walking. Then I see him at the talent show on thursday night. I go up and talk to him and he starts dropping me the cane for ignoring him... Hahaha I wasnt quite sure what to do, but I said sorry for the misunderstanding and told him we would come by the next day. He has 2 kids that are old enough to get baptized and they accepted the invitation. But anyway, when we were trying to get to know him, we asked him why he called out to us. And he just said he didnt know. But as we were leaving our 4th visit with him he stops us and says, I can answer that. I know why I called you guys over. I was looking for more peace. And I am finding it. It was a good experience for me. The Lord is answering my prayers as well as the people around me.

Life in Paraguay is good. We are so blessed to have the Gospel. I am glad that I am a missionary and I get to share it with others. Hope everything is going well at home. Enjoy your Halloween!

Love, Elder Naegle

This picture shows that his package arrived safely!! Happy Halloween!!

Email October 24, 2011

Hello Mom,

Well the good news of the day is that I got my package, I came straight here to email, so I haven´t had a chance to open it yet... But I am super happy. That is cool that you ran into Josh Moore. And changes are happening a week early because President Madariaga is going to Argentina for a training or something. So I will be in a trio while Shirk waits to leave. So I have 2 more weeks with him. And I am sending a letter with him is all. The other Trinidad elders are trying to send him with a bunch of crap, and I dont want to burden him with it. I will just send his address and Nate can go pick it up or Shirk can mail it when he gets home. Or you can go meet him if you want. Either way. Just let me know next week. Sorry I dont send more pictures. It is a rule that we can only ever have our cameras with us on P-Day, and so that limits what I can take pictures of.

But anyway. News for the week. Tuesday we had an awesome lesson with an old lady named Leyanora and her granddaughter. The Spirit was so strong as we shared the message of the Restoration. Then her drunk son showed up.... Se fue el Espíritu. But it was a good lesson.

Thursday we did a division with Trinidad B. So I was with Elder Barker. It was nice to be the senior comp for once. Not much happened while we were on the division. But we finished at the church with 4 baptisms for them. After the baptism we were singing Teach me to walk in the light. Or at least I think that is what it is called in English? I cant remember. Anyway, the Spirit was burning in my chest so strong. It was a great experience for me.

Friday we found a family that was baptized in 92 and active up until 5 years ago, so we are trying to reactivate them. They almost went through the temple, but her husband didnt pass the temple recommend interview. They broke up 15 days later... And they had relationships with other people. But they got back together. So we will work with them a little bit in the next few weeks. It is really hard in this area, because you could visit only inactive members, and all of your time would be taken up. But we try to mix in a good balance.

Sunday we only had one investigator in church. But it made me so so happy. He is the son of a inactive member. He is 9 years old and he loves soccer. He has big soccer tournaments every sunday because that is when they dont have school. But this week we asked him what was most important to him, and he said baptism. So what do you need to do? Go to church. And he did. It was really awesome. His mom was trying to get him to go to his tournament, so he is really solid. In Paraguay we say guapo.

So anyway. Sorry that this letter is pretty boring. But know that I am sweating a lot and working hard here in Trinidad in Asuncion in Paraguay. It is really hot and it is tough at times, but I wouldnt trade it for anything because this is where I am supposed to be. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know that he atoned for my sins. I know that this is His true Church on the earth today and that Joseph Smith restored it. I know these things because I know the Book of Mormon is true. I love being a missionary and sharing these things that I know with others.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email October 17, 2011

Hello Mom,

Well the food in my stomach this week is sitting a little bit better as I am writing. Lets just say that it is nice when your zone leaders are in the area with TGI Fridays in it.... Haha so I am feeling super good right now. And I got your letter on tuesday when I was in the office, but havent gotten the package yet, hoping to get it this week. Got some dearelders too. Those come really quick. Well sounds like things are going really well up north.

Alright. So this week was different. We had interviews on tuesday. My interview was pretty cool. President Madariaga is all about obedience, so it feels like the interview is an obedience check more than anything. But I asked him how I could find more love for the people. He told me to remember that before this life, these people made the same decision as me. They are literally my brothers and sisters. Here in Paraguay, they are blessed far less than I am. Both spiritually and temporally. But as I try to help them become as blessed as me spiritually, their temporal conditions will improve as well. It was a really cool moment of the interview.

Thursday we went to the Dr for Shirks ingrown toenails. I hope I can avoid from ever having to do it. But it was pretty fun. I am pretty sure we were in the south mission, but not very far. Pretty sure that doctor does toenails for the south mission as well, and I read in one of KOs emails that his comp had to have it done... Too bad it couldn´t have been on the same day... but that was probably a month ago or something. mail is a little slow here.

Friday we got to go to the temple. Thursday was our original day, but because of the doctor we got moved back. The temple was awesome. I loved it. There were a ton of the newest elders in the session, and they all got headsets to go through in english, not sure why, but whatever. It was really cool in spanish. I am always surprised at how much spanish I am learning every day. It was a really cool experience for me. Plus we were there a little early, so they had us help in the baptistry. The pictures are at the temple. What a beautiful temple. but I still love my Bountiful temple at 6 in the morning on Tuesday. Doesn´t get better than that.

Yesterday I had a pretty cool experience with a less active girl named Sulma. She is really cool, but her and her sister just wont go to church for whatever reason. They come sometimes, but not very often. So anyway. Shirk was asking the usual kinds of questions that we ask, like how long has it been since you havent read in your scriptures? Since you went to church? And well I was listening, but I felt prompted to ask a question. So I asked her what the most important thing in her life was. She said her family. I started to share my testimony to her that I know that my family is an eternal family, and that her family can be too. And that is why we were there asking those questions. Not to make her feel verguenza, or shame, but to help her have an eternal family. Her attitude changed a little bit. And when we told her that we were helping the church start thursday night activities again she got way excited. It was a really cool experience for me. I love sharing my testimony with people.

The Church is true. Jesus is the Christ.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email October 10, 2011

Hello Mother!

Well I am glad that you had a good time in New York. Sounds like it was a good time. I am glad you made it home safe. Everything else sounds like it is going really well. Tell Angie congratulations for me. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend. I am planning on having a baptism that day.. Haha but seriously we really are. That is round about the last time Elder Shirk can have any baptisms cause he leaves on the 10th and so we are working hard.

Alright. Before I begin about the week... I must explain... I just had a lunch appointment with a convert in the other Trinidad area. We ate mondongo.... It is the stomach liner I believe... It isn´t that bad, but one of my pieces was black and smelled... well it smelled like poo. About half way through it my face broke and I had a moment of weakness. O fcourse the sister saw me in that moment. She says something like, you don´t like it?? I said yes, I like it, it is delicious. But these two pieces are different, what kind is this? She says they are the exact same.... Clearly they were not the exact same. One was white. The other was black and smelled. Hahahaha I have some terrible luck. None of the other missionaries got a piece like I did. So forgive me because I am feeling a bit sick right now.

I got some dearelders monday. Loved them. Maybe you could include Mikey T? I would like to hear how he is doing. So this week we decided to take care of business like Eric Belnap always says. We have basically no investigators right now... So we went out and worked hard and found some. We found Mari. At first it was a shady situation, her mom comes out. Gives us the usual Paraguayan excuse of I am catholic. Then she sees that we are two tall Americans and says to us, there are 3 girls inside. Come in, come in. Hahaha I thought, oh great... At first, Mari wasnt that interested. But she accepted a return appointment and when we came back she had read the whole lesson 1 pamphlet we had left with her. Which is a big deal here in Paraguay. She was really interested. We invited her to be baptized again, she was hesitant and wanted to know what she had to do. So we went over all of the baptismal interview questions with her. It was a really cool experience. Unfortunately she took off for the weekend so she didn't come to church, but I am hoping this week she will be home.

Funny story for the week. Well the first part isnt funny. So don´t laugh until the second part. Friday. We were talking to Irma. She is the less active who is married to Amado. Her life is absolutely miserable. Her kids dont listen to her at all. She cant leave the house or her husband will sell her stuff to buy his booze. She broke down in tears and told us that she doesn't want live in this world anymore. What do I share with someone like this? I have shared scriptures about the atonement with her, and how the Savior knows exactly what she is going through. But she has lost all hope. It is so so sad. So anyway. As we were talking to her. An extremely drunk man. And I mean extremely drunk, comes staggering by. He walks into the yard, and starts getting into my face. He could barely stand, barely talk. But he was acting like he was going to hit me. I had no idea what to do. He kept grinding his teeth and it sounded like firecrackers in his mouth. I kept telling him, bueno, hermano, we are going to pray. How about we say a prayer for you? Haha but he just wanted to hit me or something. Irma and her kids were just sitting there laughing at me. Finally Irma got up and took him out of the yard. It was pretty funny. But that woke up the drunk Amado. He comes out super mad. Hahaha then he sees us and gets all lovey and starts hugging my comp and I. It was crazy. I hate alcohol more than ever. It is so cheap here and Paraguay is drinking it like there is no tomorrow.

Sunday we didnt have any investigators in church, but Damians whole family came. It was so cool. His Dad isn't a member, but both his mom and dad need a divorce and they have no money so they cant afford one, let alone 2. Anyway, they used to come to church, but someone told them that since they werent living the law of chastity they couldn´t come to church anymore. So it was so awesome to see both of them in church. It made me feel the real joy of missionary work. I love it. It is awesome. This is the work of the Lord.

Love, Elder Naegle

P.s. This is a bridge in between the two areas. It is pretty crazy going across. You feel like you are going to fall and catch a disease in the infested waters.....

Email Oct. 4, 2011

Hello Mom!

How are you doing in New York? Sounds like a pretty crazy time out there. You know how you said it rains hard in New York? Well... Saturday rained pretty hard here.... Our chapel is the stake center, sort of, and well there were 2 members there for the first session of conference. 2... and a bunch of missionaries. We watched that session in Spanish because our branch president wouldn't come unlock a door for us so we could get a tv out. But we were finally able to get it figured out for the second session. It was so much better in English. I was actually able to get something out of it instead of trying my hardest just to understand. Anyway. Conference was excellent wasn't it?? I loved it. So many prayers of mine were answered. I have never fully appreciated General Conference until now. It was just an awesome experience for me.

That is pretty crazy you were on the same flight as the group that came to the mission. 29 of them. 2 latins I think. There is a new elder here in Trinidad B. Elder Barker. Good kid. half mexican so his Spanish is already far better than mine haha. I was looking forward to being a little bit ahead of someone, but it is all good. I am not quite sure how the mission handled 29 missionaries coming in, but they figured it out somehow.

So this last Tuesday was Elder Shirk's birthday. We had lots of cake. He bought a couple of cakes and he finally got his package which had a cake and brownies in it too. It was a good week for me. His package had been here for a while but our zone leaders don't care about bringing us our stuff ever.... So I never see any mail unless we go to the office. We are trying to get it figured out. We might go into the office today. Our zone is weird because our district has 4 elders and the zone leaders, and the office elders are in the zone. Anyway. Hoping I have some mail waiting for me.

Funny story of the week. We were walking to go see this 2 kids that want to get baptized the other day when I see these 3 chicks pushing this guy out of their house. When he gets to the street he slips and falls down. He gets up pretty mad. Right as we are walking by, he swings at one of the girls. She dodges most of the punch, almost running into me. Then she goes after him. Punching the heck out of him. She gets him to the ground and keeps going. We just kept walking, even though I really really really wanted to watch. Anyway the kids weren't home so as we were walking back there were a ton of people all outside and we could here them saying that she had knocked him out. Don't mess with Paraguayan chicks!

As far as the work goes, it was a really slow week for us. Everything fell through. But I have faith in Christofher. Christofher was a reference from President Madariaga that wants to learn English. We have been helping him learn with an English Book of Mormon and the missionary english packet. He is pretty interested in the Church so I am hoping he will begin to really progress this week.

Anyway. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ. President Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet of God. The Book of Mormon is true. Life is beautiful.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Sept 26, 2011

Just a side note from me. I traveled with 26 elders and 1 sister going to Preston's mission from SL to NY yesterday. I had so much fun meeting them and I just wanted to sneak with them to Paraguay!!

Hello Mother,

Well sounds as if everything is going well in Bountiful! There was lots in your letter so I probably won't reply to it all but it all sounds good. Have fun in New York! That sounds like it will be a good time taking care of those kids. I am sure it will be a blast. Good work on all the peaches. Make sure to save some of them for me... I miss peaches. I bought some peach jam this last week to put on toast. It was good, but not nearly as good as our home grown peaches and your jam. Good luck to Niglet with golf. That is awesome. He is the man. I am glad you got my letter. Seems like it went pretty fast. It feels like a century ago that I sent it, but it was only a bit ago. Kinda weird what time does on the mission.

Anyway. So Damian got baptized! It was pretty cool. Shirk did the baptism for Damian. Also his cousin Lucas who is 8 years old needed to be baptized. So they told us that he had been interviewed by the branch president and he wanted me to baptize him. So when we got there we asked president if Lucas was ready.. Turns out he hadn't been interviewed yet.. President asks him, is your mom here? No. Your grandma is here right? Yeah. Ok good enough. Haha so he interviews him and I was able to baptize him.

We also had another lesson with Graciela on Friday. She is the one who speaks Portuguese. It was really cool, but I kept thinking to myself, man this would be so much easier if I spoke her language.... Get B or Joe down here!! B can take a break from dental school for a bit! hahaha calm down Erica it would only be for a couple of weeks. Get Joe down here too, not sure if he is in school or working or what, but I need a Brazilian ASAP. Haha.

So this week was really tough on my stomach. Paraguay finally got to me. I had a bad bad stomach ache all week. And our lunch appt. on Saturday put the icing on the cake... She is always a curveball. I always expect dead flies in my food stuff.. But on Saturday she comes out with just a plate of meat. Saying "I hope you like it" haha I thought oh man. As I start cutting it, I was just wondering what is this texture? this is weird. This smells way too much like the cow factory we walk past every day.... I realized it was liver. It was disgusting. I hated every single bite. Even the cat and the stupid chicken wouldn't eat it. Hahaha oh man I love Paraguay.

Life is good here. This is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love being a missionary.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Sept. 19, 2011

Hello Mom,

Well sounds like a pretty good week at home. It was a pretty slow week in Trinidad. Everything fell through it seemed like so it made for a long week, but it was good. As far as the package goes, maybe airborne, I could use more echinachea, and some equate face wash. I am not out of those yet, but I am just trying to plan ahead a little bit. That face wash has been great, and it lasts a long time. So one thing should do. Each week I will probably add a few more things to the list for the next package, but don´t feel like you have to send it right away. Just when you were planning to send it. The time is going to change down here pretty soon, not sure when, but the time will also change back home, meaning there will be a 4 hour difference. You might want to email me Sunday nights just to make sure I get them.

So for this week. Monday we had a lesson with Graciela. It was our first lesson with her. She is a neighbor to David, so we had his señora place a Book of Mormon in Portugese with her. Yep. She speaks the tongue of the Brazil and also Guarani. I speak neither of those.... Haha but she can speak a little bit of Spanish and she understood most of what we would say. So we spoke in Spanish, she responded what she could in Spanish and the rest in Portuguese. It was tight. She is investigating 2 other churches right now, but she likes us the most because we gave her a book in Portuguese. Tithing money at work! Haha it is cool. She is tough to find at home though, so it is hard.

Wednesday we did a division with the other Trinidad elders. I had to go over to their house. It is gross. I was with Elder Muedas. He is from Peru. I made the most of the opportunity to really practice my Spanish. This is a story that no mother wants to hear... But I am going to share it because I think it is funny haha. So while I was sleeping over at their place, their neighbors call at like 2 in the morning. The neighbors are members. I guess there was a guy outside with a gun trying to get in. He just waited out there for like 2 hours. They called the cops, but the cops in Paraguay don´t care about anything, so they told them they weren´t going to come. Muedas woke me up and told me, but of course it was early, so I wasn´t about to try to understand any Spanish hahaha so I just said ok and went back to sleep. It is wonderful to be in a place where I don´t understand much hahaha.

Other than that not much happened this week. Saturday it rained. Got to use my rain gear. Booo yeah!!! Didn´t get wet at all. My boots are the bomb. My coat and pants are the bomb. Well worth the money.

Damian was in Church yesterday. Which means I will have my first baptism this week! Pretty excited. He is 9 years old, hopefully this will reactivate his family. I am pretty pumped about it. I will send photos next week.

I am living it up down here. Life is good. The Church is true.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Sept. 12, 2011 *

Hey Mom!

Sounds like everything is going well back in the states. It was weird thinking about college football the other day. People down here know one sport and two teams. Olympia and Cerro. I am Olympia I decided. They have cooler jerseys so that is why. Haven´t gotten one yet though, too busy buying my machete a few weeks ago. But I explained that in my letter I sent on Wednesday. Which reminds me. Got some dearelders on wednesday. Had to go to the office to pick up some BOMs. The zone leaders never bring the carpeta, which has the mail in it, so if I get mail it will probably sit in the office until I go get it.... But yeah.

Ok so this week. Monday was great. We had an awesome lesson with David. He told us that when he fell asleep last week in church (remember that?) he was having a dream and that he saw God and that he now knows that the Book of Mormon is true and that this is the true Church. So basically I was trying to wake up one of my investigators while he was getting an answer to his prayers!!!! Hahahaha actually that isnt that funny... But it is hilarious at the same time. wow paraguay has really messed me up. Tuesday I had my first opportunity to give a blessing in Spanish. Cool experience. Then I had a couple of more opportunities later in the week so that was good.

Wednesday this American couple pulls up next to us on our way back from the office, the lady says, you two on missions? Yep. Great! And they drove away. Well it was just a weird experience. They must work at the embassy or something?? I have no idea. I was just hoping for a ride.

Thursday we did a division with the zone leaders. Elders Patty and Clyde. Not a joke. Those are really their names. I think I am the only Elder that thinks it is funny though... Anyway. I was with Patty in my area. Patty goes home in 2 weeks. He speaks Spanish really well and Guarani pretty well too. He is just a really good missionary, so I was able to learn a few things from him. Always good to get a different perspective on ways to go about things.

Saturday we taught Amado again. I taught him the first time with Patty. I have met him before. His family are all members. Not active. Baptized a few years ago. Amado is a drunk. He wants to quit, when I taught him with Patty he was shaking so so bad cause he hadn´t had a drink in 2 days. But the interesting thing is, I never thought I could have any sort of love for a man like this before my mission. But on Saturday as I was sharing my testimony with him, I wanted him to feel the Savior´s love. I can´t quite explain the way I felt, but it was different. Anyway. I hope he can stop drinking, for the sake of his family. They have and hard life and they truly have nothing. Anyway...

This morning we had to go do service. He moved a bunch of boxes for an operation smile thing. Then got in the back of the box truck and drove for like 20 minutes to a hospital. Felt like a bunch of illegals or something. 12 missionaries in the back of a dark box truck full of boxes and stuff. Haha it was different but different is always good in the mission. So that was this morning. That was this week.

I love the Gospel. It is so much fun to teach the people of Paraguay. It is the hardest thing I have done so far in my life, but definitely the most worthwhile.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email Sept. 5 2011

Hey Mom,

Alright, so I had a list of things for each day of this week... And I forgot to bring it with me... Haha so sorry about that. Sounds like things are great at home.

This week was tough as far as the work goes. All of our investigators didn't show up to church except for David Colman. Who is the man. Haha in priesthood he fell asleep after about 10 minutes and was out cold. Snoring and drooling. It was awesome. Afterwards I tried to wake him up to take him to class, he wouldn't wake up. I was shaking him and all. He just wouldn't wake up. Haha it was so funny so we just left him in there. Anyway. David can't get baptized until we find out if his senora's previous marriage was legit, which takes a few weeks. Lots of times the judges down here will just pocket the money and throw out the marriage certificate. So we need to find out if that happened. If it is legit and they get married, well then the people who witness for the marriage could get 2 years in jail. So that wouldn't be good.

On Tuesday we were teaching Rebecca, who can't baptized until she gets married to Ricardo. Who is a member. Less active. Super weird funny guy. I bore my testimony of the power of the Spirit. It was incredible. I haven't felt the Spirit that strong on my mission. It was really awesome.

Wednesday is when Elder Arnold of the Seventy came. President of the South American Area or something. Everyone was afraid of him "dropping cane". That is what they say here in the mission. Anyway. I didn't really care. He didn't get too upset with anything. He was happy with the improvement that our mission has shown. "There used to be guitars!!" Haha chill out old man. He asked an elder, "What are you going to do when you get home?" "um... study" to which Elder Arnold responds... "NOOOO!!!!!" Haha the next missionary, who was in my MTC district actually, got it right. He said something to the effect of starting an eternal family. Hahahahaha are you kidding me??? I didn't even have 2 weeks in the mission yet, and | am supposed to be thinking about that?? Haha but that isn't for me to worry about.

Last night was interesting. There is this less active sister. And we were teaching her, she asks the most random questions and basically she doesn't know anything about the church. So we had just finished explaining who Joseph Smith was for about 20 minutes, when she says to me. Why don't you speak much? To which I respond, well I have only been in Paraguay for 2 weeks and I am still learning. She says, You don't know Spanish yet??? She continued to insult my intelligence for a minute, which was wonderful... Haha all I could think was, you couldn't tell me who Joseph Smith was if your life depended on it. And you think I am dumb because I can't speak Spanish? Haha it was pretty funny. I just smiled. So anyway. That was my week.

Life is good. The Book of Mormon is true. Read it. Pray about it. Love it.

The pictures are me at the temple last week. It is in our zone. We were waiting for our zone leaders for lunch. It is pretty cool. I can't wait until I get to go.

Love, Elder Naegle

Email August 29, 2011

Hello mother!!!

Well another P-day in Paraguay!!! Sorry this keyboard really stinks so my letter could really be rough to read... but that is how it goes... sorry. So I am trying to figure out how to attach a voice recording that I made, but this computer will not recognize my device.. So you might not get to hear that....

I will keep trying. Sounds like everything is going good at home. Congrats to Niglet on his hole in one!!! Pretty cool. I never was able to do that. Congrats to Natali with her triatholon, sorry I dont know if that is spelled correctly. Spanish has killed my spelling. I will be praying for Maxine, I am sure she will be fine though. She is the strongest lady I know. I was unable to bring my peanut butter.... They actually had it at that texas barbeque we went to but it was pretty expensive. My companion in the MTC for those few days was named Adamson. Hopefully that got all of what was in your email.

I hope I can put my voice recording on here, because I have a funny story on it that happened yesterday. But yeah. Life is good here in Paraguay. It is hot now. Doesn´t quite make sense to me. It was cold when I got here. Really cold. Now it is hot. It took about all of 2 days to change. Haha I am sure KO is loving the warm, but as you know I am sweating like crazy. It is not too bad yet though. It will get super super hot in November December January I am told. So I have that to look forward to hahaha.

This week we found a couple of new investigators. We found them by visiting the many inactive people that are here. We taught lots of lessons it seemed like, people are progressing, everything is peaches. Then Sunday comes... We are supposed to have 10 investigators in church. We had 2... One of which can´t get baptized until he gets married, and he can´t read so that is sort of a problem. But it is all bueno.

I still can´t understand a whole lot. As it turns out, most of the people here speak really bad Spanish. Really bad Spanish. Haha so it is really really hard for me to even distinguish words with them. With the other latin elders and with my mission president I can understand at least a little bit, but not the Paraguayans.... Haha but I just smile and try my best. They all seem to find it hilarious to ask me if I know Guarani once they realize that I dont speak any Spanish.

Well I am running out of time, and I cant get this computer to recognize that thing... So my encounter with the drunk man yesterday will have to wait for another day. I hope all is well. The church is true. I know by the Spirit, just like Alma did. He saw an angel, but his testimony came by the Spirit.

Love, Elder Naegle

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