Category Archive : Missionary

In Honduras

From Mission President :

Dear Family,

We are pleased to have your son, Elder Searle  here in our mission.  He arrived last evening late, Wednesday, Jan 2, and was assigned his new companion this morning, Elder C from Uruguay. They will be serving in the Miramar Zone in the town of La Masica, Honduras.

We have a blog you might want to check out –hondurassanpedrosulaeastmission.blogspot.com and a Facebook page – Honduras San Pedro Sula East Mission 2016-2019.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve with your son.

Sincerely,
President and Sister Carlisle

 

 

Update from MTC

Hey everybody!

This week has been kind of slow and not too dramatic in any way.

Spiritually, we have been growing as a district and having more spiritual experiences here and it is great! My companions and I have been walking in to some awesome lessons and have been feeling more and more ready for the field. We have all also been talking in Spanish and forgetting some of the harder words in English we used to know. It is awesome and I love it! I also got to bless the sacrament again this last week, and I didn’t start the wrong prayer this time haha

I was actually made district leader, which is a humbling opportunity to serve those around me and I am excited for the opportunity. We basically got two preparation days last week with this place being shut down trying to receive the new people. The zoo was awesome and we almost got to feed the giraffes, but we missed our chance sadly. I was going to hug one. 🙁 I am also now the tallest person here in our branch since Elder F was pushed out in to the field so that is weird.

Love you all, doing awesome out here,

Elder Nathan Searle

Week 3 Update

[Comments from dad, Rigil is a goat we took backpacking earlier this year, up by Kings Peak. This letter is mostly unedited, and I think Nathan must be learning Spanish well, because his English skills are falling apart ]

This week’s experiences:
I asked one of my Spanish teachers, how do you say “no pain, no gain” as a joke for lifting weights everyday and being made fun of for it, and then I realized that that applies to more than just physical pain, which wasn’t too deep, but a good thing to keep in mind. I have also further ingrained that every day in life, not just in here, is exactly what you make of it. To the point that you could get hit by a school bus, whether or not that day was a good or a bad day comes down to your attitude. It is a good thing to keep in mind while not achieving perfection, but being asked for it.

Rules of 3: If for any reason at all you see something in the scriptures, here something in a talk, or have a spiritual experience with something, or any combination of those things, if it happens 3 times or more it is because God is trying to teach you something about that. There is several times that this has happened to me this last week, some of the following are included:

The Lord God brings to pass his work by Simple Words ( in Jacob 7, I believe twice)
It may not be doctrine, but God feeds his sheep “one by one” ( 3 Nephi 11 ) I think that if it is at all possible, the Saviors atonement is eternal and infinite, because He suffered for us one by one. As a whole, we are all covered under the atonement, and it would have taken an eternity to have that experience one by one, but is God not all powerful? Is our conception of time not limited on this world? Just my thoughts

Also I have further ingrained my belief that God wants to answer our prayers quickly and perfectly because He is such a loving being. I would invite you all to start every morning and every evening this week with a prayer on your knees and just dump your heart out to God each time. I promise you you will find blessings and answers if you do this.

Okay random stuff this week:
I am up to 68 sneezes since I left home (Yes I have been counting)
I have been getting buff like crazy. I lift for one hour every day and by the time one muscle group is finally not sore any more, I am already using it again. The fatigue helps me to burn off steam and keep my stress down. I am losing weight, looking good and feeling very mentally healthy. I am going to come back with a 6 pack and not be a toothpick.
The “vets” left this week and we are taking their place now. We are halfway through the MTC!! That is crazy right? My first week felt like 6 years, but looking back on it I have also only been gone for 15 minutes. Crazy
I dreamed about Rigil the Goat the other night… Protecting him from like 9 wolves in our front yard, so yeah now that goat has scarred me twice ha ha. I have been having weird dreams here but I can rarely remember what they are about so I figured I should write that one down.
The nights here have been pretty cool, I was expecting hot all the time, but I get a little chilly under just my sheet when we leave the window open all night
I never realized how terrible English was until I was trying to teach my teachers how to use phrase verbs such as “get away, get at, get out” they all use the same verb, but have vastly different meanings

Interesting things about Guatemala:
Everyone just honks their horn for like 25 minutes when they are trying to merge, and people here are kind of low key scary drivers. Motorcycles in between cars like nothing I have seen before
Christmas down here is going to be way different. Everyone is shooting off fireworks like crazy, and it is way loud. They told us we probably won’t get to sleep at all on Christmas eve so that will be fun. They also have a “Devil day” which I think was on the 6 or 7, but they get like a scarecrow of a devil and burn it in their front yards to represent overcoming sin, and they all burn them at exactly 6 pm, so our building filled with smoke about 5 minutes later. On the same day, our Spanish teacher said any fireworks that go off that day are lit by people who are worshiping the devil, not trying to overcome sin. Thought it was interesting and a good change in the “tradition” from home. I’m glad we always changed it up, because everyone here is pretty homesick for their Christmas traditions

I have had my hard moments with leadership and companions, but I am doing well and in good health. Figuring things out and becoming more of an adult every day. I have also increased my testimony by milestones every single day in this MTC. The Lord truly does have a magnificent work out here that He is doing.

I love you all very much and I do miss you, but I am glad to have a strong home base filled with people I know will always love and support me no matter what.

Elder Nathan Searle

Week 2

Hey everybody!

Spiritual experiences I had this week:

Elder E and I were asked by the sisters to give them a blessing, and I have never spoken by the spirit in such a way. It was an amazing experience. Next, we took our morning on Saturday to go to a Catholic girl’s school across the street and served them by cleaning classrooms, gardens, and windows. I got to bless the sacrament in Spanish and bear my testimony on fast Sunday in Spanish too. Both were amazing and strengthening experiences to me. We got to fast for 24 hours whether we wanted to or not, which is one of the first times I have attempted this, and it is a good thing to try out. I also memorized my first scripture in Spanish, which is Nephi 3:7.

Elder E is teaching me sleight of hand tricks when we have down time and I’m getting pretty good, so watch your wallets when I get back home haha 🙂 I haven’t had to buy anything that I forgot, and I have about a million pounds of books to haul with me now. Please keep sending pictures of your adventures together and just of home! I love you all so much and I pray for you in English and Spanish every day.

I testify that the gift of tongues is real and that there are no coincidences in this world. God is real and he knows us and loves us so much that He sacrificed his Son for us. And that wasn’t easy, but he did it willingly because He loved us so much that He couldn’t bear to not be able to live with us again. God loves us so much.

I love you all so much and I hope you are all doing well.

I love you,

Elder Nathan Searle

Week 1 – CCM == MTC

When we arrived we did not stop moving all day long and we had the longest day of our lives!

This week has felt like a year! I can’t wait to see that new world haha. It has been a long week but I am feeling a good grove coming along. It helped with the stress to have a good routine going on, and although it is sweaty, we manage to stay cool enough here to be comfortable. The weather is really nice, and changes every day.

My companions names are Elder O and Elder E. We are all from Utah, and all headed to San Pedro Sula East. Typical day is Breakfast, classes for several hours until lunch, then switch teachers for more lessons in the afternoon. We have gym in the afternoon as well, which makes it even hotter to work out. I put a lot of time on a fake “stationary” bike. Food is good. Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day, because I wake up not feeling ready to try new things, but I manage it most of the time. The food is like school food plus 5 ish on a scale of 1-10 so not too bad. We get to attend the Temple on P days, which are on Tuesdays every week that I will be here.

We study Spanish all day long, and it is coming quickly, the gift of tongues is real and we have started to teach fake lessons already. I can pray in Spanish and bare my testimony in Spanish too, which is a great blessing.
I can’t list all the things I miss most completely, or I’d be at this computer until midnight, but here is a short list of things I would kill a man for:
My bike, a box of Kleenex, a shower stall that is twice as big, my own AC, and to be able to go outside these walls…

It is good to be in the CCM (MTC in Spanish). It feels good to know that I am doing the Lord’s work now and I am on his timeline. We have been in classes all day, and the Spanish is coming well. The Gift of Tongues is very real and we are all found with it here. It doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it is coming quickly.

The companion I was supposed to have stayed home do to a broken toe, so I am in a trio with Elders O and E. They are wonderful servants of the Lord. They each have their strengths and weaknesses as we all do, and we get along well for the most part.

We got to go to the temple this morning. It is a very small temple, but I was overwhelmed with the Spirit of the Lord and poured my soul out to God. I have a lot of love for God, or I would not be here, and this confirms my testimony in all things. My testimony grows stronger every single day and I love this place.

Nathan @ MTC

Hey everybody,
Been in the MTC for about 4 hours now. It is crazy and busy, and very sweaty. We are right next door to the temple, which is very beautiful. Armed guards and a big fence outside… To keep us in? Or keep them out?

It will be a long day, only slept on the second flight for a few hours. Heard that my P day is going to be on Tuesday.

Love you all,
Elder Nathan Searle

PS I keep forgetting to introduce myself as Elder, and I can’t remember anyone’s names 🙁