Pics!!!

First REAL meal out of the MTC.

La Avion

La Avion

La Avion

Texas airport

Texas airport

Texas Airport

La Avion

La Avion

La Avion

First floor of our residency in Chinandega.

Buses that are always in the streets.

Chinandega

Chinandega

Chinandega

Lizard I found in our room.

The Elders and Me.

Elder S. hitching a ride to Corinto.

Elder M. hitching a ride to Corinto

Road to Corinto

El Mar

El Mar

Hanging out on the rocks on P-day.

Hanging out on the rocks on P-day.

Week 9 in Chinandega, Nicaragua

¡¡Hola Mi Familia!!

I don´t even know where to begin..... Ok, lets start right after I finished phone calls in the Miami airport.
I got on the plane, for the last time to go to Nicaragua. the flight was long and dark. I was sitting next to this guy named T, and he was flying to Nicaragua for the first time as well. He was going there to do eye screenings for the little kids so they could get glasses if they needed to. I gave him a pass-along card and talked to him a lot about the gospel. We arrived at the Nicaragua airport and it was super hot and humid. The AP Missionaries met us at the door and took us to McDonald's (yes they have one in Nicaragua) where we ate and met the Pres. and his wife. They are really cool and I actually think Hna Arredondo called you? not sure... anyways,  after, we went to the mission home and slept. In the morning, we went to a big intro meeting that lasted like all day and then we went out contacting in the streets of Managua. It was pretty nerve racking and difficult. I have no problem with my Spanish here. I can speak and anyone can understand me, but when they talk back to me, I can´t understand ANYTHING!!! It´s really frustrating because I really want to understand and I´m trying so hard to but it doesn´t seem to be coming just yet. I´m sure in time, my ears will adjust and I will be able to understand everyone. I just can´t give up. after we went contacting, we went back to the mission home and slept. In the morning (Wednesday morning) we woke up really early and went to another big meeting, but this meeting was for Changes in the mission. Which meant I was getting a new companion and a new area to go to. After the meeting was over, the Pres announced all the changes. My new companion(s) is Elder M. Elder M is really companions with Elder S but M is my trainer and Elder S is a trainer for another missionary named Elder St who was is my district in the MTC. So technically I have 3 companions. Elder M barely speaks English so I have to really struggle to communicate with him sometimes because he likes to talk REALLY fast and I can never understand him. He is from Guatemala and is about 4 inches shorter than me. After we got paired up, we got assigned to new areas. My new area is Monserrat in the city of Chinandega. This city is one of the HOTTEST cities in Nicaragua and also one that has the biggest wards and stakes in the church. We had to take a 3 hour bus ride to our area from Managua. When we got there, we went contacting for the rest of the day. It started to rain and when it rains here, it RAINS. Like street flooding type of rain. I was walking in a down pour in about 4 inches of water. I was soaked for the rest of the day. It hasn´t rained like that since I got here so I´m taking it as a welcome gift from the city. The next day, we went contacting some more because we don´t have any families that are progressing. This mission is SUPER strong on families because the retention here.... sucks. The whole country of Nicaragua has a huge baptizing rate but only about 20% of the people actually stay active. So the Pres. has us focus on FAMILIAS because if we can baptize a full family (which is a father, mother, and kids, or just father, mother) the retention rate goes up and the family is more likely to stay active in the church. So when we go contacting, we pass a lot of solo people in the street because we are looking only for families. It's hard to do this because I was taught otherwise in the MTC but I´m learning that since it's what the Pres wants, then the Lord must want it too. It´s funny though because as soon as we find a family, we swarm to them like flies and really try to get them to take the lessons and go to church. Friday and Saturday we did the same thing. We walk A LOT!!!! It really sucks because I've got some big blisters on my feet, that are recovering now, that make it hard to walk but I´m pretty sure we walk like 15 miles a day. So on Sunday, the Pres said that we need to have families come to church with is. And if we don´t have families with us, as soon as we take the sacrament, we have to leave and not come back until we have a family. So Sundays really suck here (every missionary in the area hate Sundays  because all you do is walk and contact people. My companion and I contacted about 4 families that said they were going to go to church and when we returned to pick them up to go with us, they weren't there.... Every single family we find is nearly impossible to find again because they are never home, or don´t answer the door even though you can hear/see them inside. That is also frustrating but we are trying our very hardest and if no one wants to accept, then at least we are doing what we are suppose to do and working as hard as we can. So now that Sunday is over, this leads to Monday. Mondays are my P-Days. Mondays are assigned to be P-Day because it´s hard to get missionaries back to work after Sundays because Sundays are the worst. After we woke up this morning, we were deciding what to do. We decided to go fishing in Corinto (west coast I think) and play on the beach. So we hitched a ride on some guys truck and rode to Corinto and went fishing (no success) and played football and soccer on the beach. I´ve got some pictures that I will send after I send this. Also, STEPH JENSEN, I have a letter that I wrote you on the plane but I haven´t figured out how to send it yet.... I´ll get working on that. Mail usually takes about 2-3 weeks to get here and packages can take about 2-3 months so..... Plan ahead! Also, I figured I would tell you about the weather and the day light patterns down here. The sun rises at about 5 am along with all the birds, dogs, people, roosters, taxi drivers, you name it. If it makes lots of noise, it will probably be doing it at 5 am. The sun sets at about 6 pm and it is super dark for the last 3 hours that we have to be working out in the city streets. The weather is super hot in the morning, super hot in the afternoon, even hotter when the sun sets, and super hot all night long. The coolest part of the day is probably in the mornings. This heat, combined with the humidity is KILLER!! We get back home at night drenched in sweat and it takes forever to dry off because its so humid. So I hope you guys enjoy your cold weather and don´t complain about it!! I´d rather be super cold than be super hot. Also, the showers here only have one temperature  COLD! For example, sports players like to take cold showers after games and such because it feels good. Well take the temperature of that water they shower in and turn it down by about 20 degrees. That is how cold the water is here. Showers sure wake me up in the morning!!

Bueno, I´m doing really well so don´t worry about me.

Les Amo!!

Elder Daugherty

BTW, tell everyone that if they want to send me small emails, they can, I probably wont have time to reply but I know that mail is going to be really slow...... Love you!!!  mitchell.daugherty@myldsmail.net

I forget that Halloween is super close!! Only a couple more days!! I hope everyone has fun and is safe!! I hope the guys are doing good, give them all big hugs for me!!! And guys, give my family hugs for me!!
Love you all! 

Adios!

Nicaragua

Mitch and his new companion with his Mission President and his wife.

Week 8: Final Week in the MTC

Hola Les Amo mi familia!!

So I can't even begin to express how excited I am to be leaving on Monday morning to go to Nicaragua!! I can't wait to get there and be in a different culture and speaking a different language!! So I think I'm going to answer some people letters in this email since I don't have much time to write today since I'm packing and such.

Wes,
I loved receiving your letter! Thanks so much for the "Ticket of Love", I thought it was awesome. How is soccer and Art going? I know you may be in a younger art class but don't become lazy! You can still learn things from the basics that can help you alot with the more complex stuff. I really love the doctrine of Christ because it works so well for everyone. You can teach the Doctrine so simply so that a child can understand it and so that an old man can still learn new things from it. So don't take your art class to easily, work hard no matter what! I wanna see your name on some famous pictures someday and say "My brother did that! He never gave up!" Be good and be obedient! Be an example to your family too! I love you Wes!!

Tige,
Sorry I lied!! But teaching these "fake" investigators feels so real! My teacher told me the very first week I was here that "Even though the investigators are fake, the Spirit you feel during the lessons is NEVER fake!" Plus it gives me good practice so I can become better at my Spanish. I gave Elder Larson a BIG hug the day before he left the MTC! He was so excited to be leaving and couldn't wait the challenge that was ahead of him. I have made ALOT of friends here! I try to talk to just about every person I see. It's pretty hard since there are alot of people here at the MTC but I still talk to alot of people. I leave this Monday, the 22nd of October. I can't wait to get to Nicaragua and teach the people there! I'm glad you liked Conference, I hope you were able to find some cool things in all the talks. I miss you too and I love you so much!!

Gma Poulsen,
Only a couple more days until I'm in the nice hot/wet weather of Nicaragua! I can't wait!!! I'm glad Gpa is doing good, he always seems to be doing something doesn't he! Tell Jacolby congrats for me! So every Sunday, We have the same classes as everyone else does during church, just not in the same order or at the same time. But don't worry, they don't deprive us of anything here at the MTC. I just barely finished the Book of Mormon all the way through about 2 weeks ago. I read from cover to cover in a little over a month! I'm working on it in Spanish, it's alot harder though! Keep working on that testimony! Even if you think you have an ordinary testimony, I don't think so. I have learned here that we underestimate the power of a simple testimony. Even if it is super short and simple, thats all it needs to be, as long as it comes from your heart. I love you Gma!!!

Ginger,
Thanks so much for that story of the Japanese Woman. My spanish is pretty good but not as good as I would like it to be. That story really helped me know that even if I can't communicate, I can still serve. All your random stories make me laugh and tell me just how much work you do in your life. Thank you so much for your example and for everything you have done for me! I love you Gingo!

Adam Turner,
You need to email me, DearElder me, or write me or something!! I feel like you have just died!! Let me know how your doing and whats going on in your life!! I miss hearing "What are you up to Brother?" So I'm asking you... What are you up to Brother?!?! I love you and all the Guys (Mark, Kip, Jagger) and wanna hear from ya! Les Amo!!

OK!!! Now that all those are over with, I can start to talk about all the stuff I wanna say! Mom, I will be keeping all the shoes. I like all of them and they all fit perfectly. If, however, I can't take them due to weight issues, I will send some of them home. So guess who I saw today on the way back from the temple today! Marissa (Elder Larson's friend) She told me that she had just turned her papers in for a mission on Tuesday and is super excited to go! It was good to see her and talk to her about a mission. Also, some sad news..... Today was probably the last time I will be in a Temple of Our Lord for almost 2 years!!!! I'm super sad about it but I had a really good experience in the Temple today during the endowment session. I realized that all the covenants and promises that we make in the temple is what us as Missionaries are trying to get people headed toward. Baptism is just a small step in the eternal progression to gain Eternal Life. Our work is so important and I'm glad I get to have the chance to "Go and labour in the Vineyard of the Master". So I'm still waiting for you to send me the addresses of the Stake President of the Singles ward and and Home ward. I would like to write them to let them know how I'm doing. Also, Here is the address to my Mission for the next 22 months.

Edificio Discover 2do Piso
Frente al Club Terraza
Villa Fontana
Managua, Managua
Nicaragua

So I will now talk about what will be happening on Monday, the 22nd. I leave the MTC at 5am to drive to the Airport. Where I will be flying from SLC to Houston, TX. I will have an hour break there and then I will fly from TX to Miami, FL. In Florida, I have about a 2 hour layover where I want to make my phone call home.  From FL, I will then fly to Nicaragua, Managua.

Les Amo Mi Familia!!!!

Elder Daugherty

Brock and Mitch

Last time together for 2 years!! Brock is headed for Tokyo Japan, Mitch is headed in Managua Nicaragua. Good Luck Elder Larsen and Elder Daugherty!!

Week 7

Hola!!

Lots of stuff happened this week that was really awesome! First off, General Conference!! If I had a choice, I would watch General Conference at the MTC every time because it is so spiritual!! Every single talk was super good and very meaningful! I really loved the talks by Elder Holland, Hales, Bednar, and Ballard. The Tuesday after Conference, Elder Bednar came to the MTC for a Devotional and he talked to us about Scripture Study of the Living Prophets, and he used exerts of talks during Conference. It was really really good! I really wish you all could hear the talks given to us at the MTC. I would recommend everyone who reads this, to go back and study each and every one of the talks given at General Conference. Speaking of which... Mom, could you either print all the talks out for me or just send me the Church Magazines that have all the talks in them? I really want to study the talks in their written form. It's hard to remember all of the talks and I really want to read them!! If you could do that, that would be awesome!! So on to experience number two!! During our lesson with Juan, he was having a hard time receiving an answer that the Book of Mormon was true. We would ask him every week is he had received an answer and he would say that he didn't know yet. We finally came to a point where we asked him what he was expecting as an answer and we found out why he didn't know. He thought he was going to hear a voice or have a vision like Joseph Smith. That was our fault completely on not explaining what kind of answer he would receive. So we told him what the answer would be like and then we asked him if he ever felt like that during his prayers. He said he had but still wanted to know if the Book was true. We then asked him if he wanted to pray, right then and there during the lesson. He was a little hesitant but he wanted to. So we all knelt and he started to pray. The beginning of the prayer was kinda normal while he thanked for things and asked for blessings but as soon as he started to ask God if the Book of Mormon was true, the Spirit hit all of us like a Wall!! It was so amazing and such a good experience. Experience Number 3!! During our first day here at the MTC, we go through these little workshops where we kinda learn how to teach an investigator. We go into 3 different rooms and teach as one huge group of about 30 missionaries. In each room, to start the lesson off, 2 missionaries that have already been in the MTC for a while, start the lesson by getting to know the person and finding what they want to know. So yesterday, we had a new batch of missionaries come in and go through the workshops. My companion and I got to be the Missionaries that started the lesson in each room. I was super cool and the spirit was way strong in each room. I'd love to go into more detail but I don't have much time left.

I got to say bye to Elder Larson the day before he left so I was really glad I was able to do that. I hope he's having a blast during his first few days in Japan!!

Les amo!!

Love, Elder Daugherty

Week 6

HOLA MI FAMILIA!!

So I got the package!! I love the shoes! I am keeping the Stacy Adams, of course. I haven't tried the other shoes on yet. Thanks for all the candy. And about the gum... Missionaries aren't allowed to chew gum because it takes away from our appearance. So the gum you sent me will probably last me for my whole mission! I love all the ties as well!! I will send you pictures as soon as I have worn them all. Which won't be too long. I'm not much of a picture taker, which you already know so I'll send my cards home when they are full. I'll try to be better at it though!!  Here in the MTC, I have gotten a different perspective on the will of God. Having faith in God is fully accepting his will and knowing that everything that happens is because God wanted it to happen. When we are submissive to his will, we can receive blessing that will come because of our obedience.  I'm so excited for Brock to be leaving the MTC!! The MTC is pretty great but after 12 weeks, I would be pretty excited to get out of here too. It gets to a point where you don't really care if you know the language all the way, you just want to get out to the field and teach people the Doctrine of Christ!! Everything Elder Larsen said about the Book of Mormon is true!! I know it is and I can testify that reading the Book of Mormon every day will bless you in so many ways! I was thinking about giving you guys my mission address this time but I don't want people sending letters to the wrong address while I'm still in the MTC for 2 and a half more weeks. I'll send it the P-Day before I leave. So our District is 32C. When we all first got here, we had 12 Elders in our District. Now, we have 6 Elders. 4 of our Elders went home for personal problems and should be coming back in about 6 months or a year. The other 2 Elders went to the Guatemala MTC during the 3rd week here. Our District is really small but it gives us more time to study and have more one-on-one time with our teachers so we can learn alot more. I heard a quote from Elder Holland during his talk called Missions Are Forever. It was a MTC talk so I don't know if you guys will be able to read it. Anyways, the quote goes like this...

"Come to the edge" he said
"No. We'll fall"

"Come to the edge" he said
"NO!! We'll fall!!"

"COME TO THE EDGE!!!" he said
So we went....
And he pushed us.

And we FLEW!!

This tells us how the Lord can help us excel when we push ourselves to work harder. When we come to the edge, the Lord will bless us, help us, and love us more than we can imagine. So I challenge all of you to go to the edge and have faith in the Lord that He will help you once you have done your part.

Les amo!!!

Love, Elder Daugherty