Tuesday, July 27, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Letter from 7-26-10

We baptized this weekend a guy named Carlos. he’s awesome. he just got outta prison a while ago and decided to turn his life around with the help of his brother in law and sister and family he’s awesome. 34 years old i think. and his nephew baptized him. rafita. ha. it means little rafiel. saddest part about Mexico is that there is tons of 7-11s but none hakve slurpies...... apostate if you ask me.

we live in an entirely concrete house that is more like an oven. the only benefit is you cant punch a hole in a concrete wall. ;) I usually have a rock or two in my pocket at all times too to throw at the dogs that occasionally attack us.

and Mexican people are funny. whenever they eat its like a race. just frantic. hands only ha-ha and they like to pet people. its weird....

oh and this week was awesome cuz they found like 63 bodies in a hole five minutes from our house that are all from the past two weeks. ah Mexico. but anyway. thanks all. thanks a ton. love you all and miss you all.


love Nate



The bodies of the 51 were found 5 minutes from Nate’s house thought you might be interested in this article.

July 25, 2010

Reporting from Mexico City —

Forensic workers have recovered 51 bodies, some burned and mutilated, from a mass grave believed linked to Mexico'sraging drug war, authorities said Saturday.

The site near a trash dump in the northern border state of Nuevo Leon is the second-largest clandestine grave found in recent weeks.

Nuevo Leon Gov. Rodrigo Medina said most of the dead were probably drug traffickers killed in fighting with rivals. But he acknowledged that the bodies had yet to be identified.



"They could have been people linked to organized crime, [killed in] a clash, in the war that the cartels are fighting among themselves," he told reporters.

"It undoubtedly shows the level of violence with which they confront each other."

At least three women were among the dead, authorities said, and the rest were men, aged between 20 and 50 and many bearing tattoos.

"The tattoos may tell us if they belonged to one group or the other," Adrian de la Garza, head of a state police agency, told Milenio television. DNA testing may be used to identify some of the dead, he added.

Some of the bodies were burned and some were dismembered. Several had their hands tied with rope or cords. They didn't appear to have been dead for more than 15 days, De la Garza said.

Digging began Thursday, when a military patrol reported seeing body parts and disturbed dirt in a field near the town of Juarez, and concluded Saturday. Workers used backhoes to move the earth and refrigerated trucks to hold the corpses.

De la Garza said several other graves appeared to be at the same site, suggesting that the number of dead could rise.

About 25,000 people have been killed since President
Felipe Calderon launched a military-led offensive against powerful drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006.

Calderon has said most of the dead are traffickers, but victims also include police, soldiers, mayors and civilians. Most killings are not investigated.

In late May, another mass grave, at an abandoned silver mine near the picturesque city of Taxco, yielded 55 bodies.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Letter from July 19th

its pretty hot here to say the least and figure we actually walk about 25-30 miles every day. whew. i hate the heat. but its gettin a bit better here. our area is huge. its the same size as my area was in the us but we dont have a car or bikes and too poor to use many busses or taxis. ha i dunno whats more dangerous being in the cars or walking. oh those shoes i sent home. i switched off every day for four months and they were toast and my eccos are like new. minus the leather a bit cuz the days that we walked in the rain for four days.

so did you guys finnish the cabin finially? i miss it up there. more than anything i miss hanging out with the family. if i could do anything more it would just be hang out with you guys doing nothing and eating like were good at. the food here isnt bad. sometimes its awesome sometimes your scared for your life. omaha. theres a song by the counting crows. somwhere in the middle of nowhere. mikes way fun to be with when hes not whining haha anyway. we had a baptism last week if i didnt tell you. im outta time but ill send pics next week. his name was jonothan reyes. way cool. 27 and was investigating for a year and 7 months haha thats cool about brother tuller. i love that temple so much. thats the thing i miss the most right now was goin to the temple every week for four months. love it there. can get you through everything that peace. anyway. love you all. thanks for everything. brooke edit this letter hahah oh and ive only thrown up like four times since ive been here. heat sucks. and love you.
love, nate

PostHeaderIcon Nate's Mailing Info

Thank you for all you have done to support Nate. Many of you have asked for his mailing address. You can send letters to him throught the pouch at the following address:


Elder Nathan Clair Free

Mexico Monterrey East Mission

POB 30150

Salt Lake City UT 84130-0150

USA


Pouch Mail Instructions: To prevent possible fines, only postcards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes) may be sent through the pouch.


Letters in envelopes and packages to the Mission must be mailed to the Mission Office at the following address:


Elder Nathan Clair Free

Mexico Monterrey East Mission

Cerralvo #134

Col. Libertad

67130 Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon

Mexico

Phone: 52-81-8379-6858


If your family ships a package with a private courier, they will need the mission office telephone number indicated above.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Letter from July 5th

hey family so how are you. love you all.

im currently in guatalupe in monterrey in nuevo leon in mexico. in a little house in the tamaulipas branch. our house is orange. three rooms. two beds. a desk two chairs one dresser and a fridge or and a toilet with no seat and nice cold showers. awesome?

but its interesting here. i have kidds throw stuff at me every day. walk like 10-20 miles, in the hottest place you can imagine. take gold showers and sweat in my sleep and every other waking moment and sick every day. speaking of i was pretty sick this morning doin some good barfing and all that fun stuff. that was sweet. rained for three days strait here and washed away half the highways. and flooded tons of peoples houses like 3 feet in places. crazy. my companion is elder mirelez. doesnt speak a lick of english. makes things interesting and very frustrating at times to say the least. its hot too very hot. did i mention that? the people are great though minus the drivers haha they're all insane. my english gets worse and worse. thats about it. dont have any pictures yet cuz havent had the guts to take my camera with me anywhere. all i can say is im so greatful for the situation i live in with the people and family i have. and for the state and country im from. itll be interesting for the next 20 months.

hidey ho.

anyway. love you family. ps and friends ha

love nate(elder free)

Thursday, July 1, 2010

PostHeaderIcon Finally in Mexico!

so i am now in monterrey mexico. sitting in the office at the mission home. its like a little prison. in a good way. haha big gates. bunks and the courtyard. the works way cool. here till i think tomorrow when i will be sent out to my area. its crazy for sure. almost died ten times just driving to lunch and back. monterry is huge. and so pretty. the mountains are amazing. and its hot as satans armpit to quote elder kade herbert. loving it. went to bed last night at very late we´ll say. got two hours of sleep. and flew here through dallas. awesome stuff. this place just makes me smile. its amazing. im pretty lost when ten people are yelling at once and some guy is trying to sell you windshield wipers as you stop at the stop light but its awesome. anyway. im safe and sound soon to get out there. wish me luck. love you all

-nate


oh ps. dunno who my companion will be but he is a native. and thats it. love you

Disclaimer!

Nate has asked me (his sister-in-law) to update his blog while he's gone. I will be doing a lot of copy and pasting so it will be up to you to interpret his letters! Good Luck!!!!!!! :D

Brooke :)

About Me

Followers