A little tired, a little sad, but happy...

Dear Ma,

     I am reasonably sure that the anniversary came first, considering that I`m only twenty, going on twenty one. 

     It sounds like your keeping pretty busy. I am as well. Yesterday I was rather busy saying goodbye to my home for the last seven months. It was hard to say goodbye. Honestly, I cried. It was tough. I`m now in Los Andes with Elder Bush, a gringo from Alabama who arrived with me. This is going to be fun. We have a nice, big house in a very calm area. 

     I love my new backpack. It is not eddie bauer`s fault that it cost so much. FedEx is weird down here. The majority of the charges were taxes from the government. That`s all. Sister Essig said to never do this again, or at the least, send it to the house first, and you can send it to me via USPS. I told her not to worry about it.

     Yes mom, I`m okay. A little tired, a little sad, but happy. Thanks for all of your love and your support. If I had a penny for everytime I thought about you, I guess I`d be making about a hundred bucks a week, to quote Radar.

As Always,

Elder Hjelm

Elder Hjelm and Elder Saravia  on their last day together.

Quick post and freaking fedex

Mom,

    I don`t have much time. I got my backpack today - it is super cool and I already love it. But I had to pay $110 to get it out of customs and everything. I took the money out of my account last week. Freaking FedEx. But hey, now I have my backpack. 

    Sounds like a busy week this past week. Hope that you can keep up with things - I know that you can. I`ll send more info next week. We receive changes on Saturday - wish me luck! I love you Mom.

Elder Hjelm

PS - the photo is of me and elder Saravia on our last day together

Random stuff

Hey mom,

     Sorry, I completely and utterly forgot about doing a video or taking a picture, basically about everything. We had to go to the airport today and visit the fedex people. That was fun. At least I know how to get to the airport now. The fedex people said that they would send my package on to the mission mail box tomorrow, which means that I should be getting it on wednesday.

     Sounds like quite the party there in Lakewood. I sure miss all the green and the lakes and the curvy roads. And you can`t move from the house just for a couple of rats - for heavens sakes, we just painted a year ago! Things are getting back on track, and we are working super hard. Can you send me Leavitt`s mission email? I love you mom, and I still miss you. Oh, can you send me a scarf? I have no Idea where mine is, probably in Gambino.

Until Later,

Elder Hjelm

 

Just to clarify, the rats are not at our house - they are at the neighbors.  They had better stay there!  I thought I should let you know that.  We would hate to frighten away any future houseguests!

 

-Jodi

Persevering through trials

Hello Mother,

     This past week we saw the blessings that come from persevering through trials. We found and taught a lot of people. I`m hanging in there, so don`t worry.

     I talked with a FedEx representative on thursday, and she told me that I had to send some info to someone else about what`s in the box and how much it cost. I sent the info, and now, I`m just waiting. Hopefully, it will arrive to district class on thursday.

     The jacket needs to be BLACK!!! And if it has a hood, even better, but it`s not necessary. I would like it to be what they call a soft shell jacket, like what they sell at costco. Hmmm, What else do I want? Peanut butter. A large jar please. That would be delicious. And my usb drive if Jonah hasn`t stolen it. And my black running gloves. They are made by Champion, C9 brand. I think that they are in the pathfinder or with the other gloves in the closet.

     Anyway, Mom, I love you. Thank you for your prayers and your support. I miss you.

Until next time,

Elder Hjelm

Crazy weeks

Mom,

     We both had crazy weeks. I had a week where every single appointment failed and we only taught two lessons the whole week. You have always done extremely well with young children. It`s a gift that you have.

 I will try and do a video for jonah`s eagle court. It will be interesting to see how I can send it to you, but I feel that I will have help from on high. Speaking of help from on high, I could use some. I found out that my backpack is here in chile, but it`s caught up in customs in the airport. Now I have to call a number and find out what it is that I need to fill out or who I need to talk to. That should be fun. Please pray for me. I need it. I love you.

Elder Hjelm

ps - can you include a package or two of jelly-bellys in the next package? I need them for a companion.  thanks

Mother's Day

Hey mom,

     Great to see you yesterday. Isaac and Jonah are still the same as always. How is your kindergarten class? I hope that it is going well. Are you still working with the same teacher? How are my teachers there? Tell them Hi for me. I wish that I could be there to help with the carnival, but I will most likely be there next year. I still don`t know what I`m going to do. Anyway, there aren`t any gangs here. Don`t worry. I`m fine. I love you.

     If you could include my 8 gigabyte usb drive in my next package, that would be great. Also, more photos. I like photos. I would also like mints, and some gum to chew in the house. 

Love,

Elder Hjelm