#2

Hello Everyone!
It's so good to be able to write to you guys. It seems like forever since i have talked to you but at the same time the MTC is just flying by i feel like i just barely got here. Thank you for all your letters and love and support i have the best support group in the world!
First Items of business
1.I have tons of pictures to send to you but jacie do you remember what i was tlaking about when i told you i might need the bigger chip memory card well i do! I think its in the camera box in my closet on the top left shelf. Could you send that to me?
2.I have to send my ipod back it has video capapbilities so i was maybe thinking i could have dads old old one thats silver. JACE if you could upload songs on it to send to me that would be great. OBEDIENCE WITH EXACTNESS PEOPLE! delete the music off there though please
Ok, well now i got that out of the way i'lll get started the first day was so overwhelming after i said by to you guys i saw archie which was so good for me to see that smiling face of his ha. answer to my prayers. Then i felt like i was at disneyland july 4th weekend waiting in lines for pictures swine flu questions and immuniziations. There crazy about swine flu up here ha were not allowed to shake hands with anyone ha but a lot of people still do. I eat at the same time as steve nelson and it's great to see him and also i see rich durham jordan rodgers friend. There is so many people up here that i know it's great. I wrote you all today so hopefully you'll be getting those letters soon. But the first day i went to a ton of meetings and orientations and met my distric. I am the most popular in my distric with letters ha i've got tlike 15 things my distric leader says to me everyday i'm going to go get your mail elder hammer ha thanks guys i love them. My companion is great we get along so well and we taught lesson 1 to another companionship on sat and we totally just go well with each other. In my district there are 3 of us gong to baltimore 1 to boston 6 to calgary and 2 to guatamala. One of the kids is from st george going to alan and pams mission. i got to see them the other day and man it was great to see them it was almost like seeing my own parents it was so good. My p-days are on monday and i'll be emailing about 12 ish but i have so little time 30 minutes with a timer so i wont be able to read huge long emails so write me and then i'll write back and email back as well. well pretty much we are in class so much and i love it our teachers are so great and they know espanol and the gospel inside out. Brother shulca and hermana jacob. They are both great. We have a great zone and i love my district we all get along so well and the testimonies of the other elders are amazing. I can't believe how amaizng this place is ha it's just thousands of elders going crazy fast and learnign so much. My room is muy pequeno which means very small and i have a top bunk that feels like i'm on a rolling wave in the ocean haha it's not that bad i sleep just fine you know i have no problem with that. We get to go to gym time 5 times a week everyday except p day and sunday but the gym was closed this week since all the mission presidents were here. they took up a lot of room so the cafeteria was way packed but it was ok. I had chicken cordon blue my first day here and it was really good. THe food is really good and mom im drinking a ton of water and liquids and my daily cup of orange juice for the 100% vitamin c :) the days go by so fast and sleep goes by even faster. There was a teacher that came to our class the other day that was from another district that was telling us about how we are the face of god and how when he was serving in peru when there was an earthquake and everyone was scared they came to the missionaries! He also told us that the latin culture doesn't see any difference between us missionaries and the apostles. What a cool experience that was. i'll never fortget that. On friday night we had a devotional and elder holland spoke, it was amazing and to make things better elder oaks, bednar,cook,christopherson, and anderson were there too. I WAS ABOUT 25 YARDS AWAY FROM THEM! It was so cool. President holland told us that we go 3 by 3 because we must always have the spirit with us. I realize that thats all missionary work takes is the spirit and a testimony. It was amazing. jace i saw sister cochran on sunday at the temple and that was so cool to see her.I can't believe how busy we are we have comp study, personal study, language study, and mdt which is more study time which is about 5 hourse of study a day. I cna't get enough i just started over in the book of mormon and i'm in second nephi and i read something that was so good. 2 nephi 25-36. It gave me great hope out here and made me realize who i am and what i'm supposed to do. Thanks nick for your letter and jess as well i just read jessica's i loved it. Those scriptures you gave me nick were so amazing and just made me so excited and happy. Thank you grandma and grandpa fro your letter as well what a cool story that was grandma we just can't learn enough huh Thanks for the updates dad i love telling people whats going on with sports and stuff it's so fun cause its crazy how rumor spreads up here. Like the michael jackson things was so funny everyone was tlaking about it. The package was so great mom i took a picture in those glasses for you i just need that memory card so i can send them to you guys. i have so many of them! Mom thanks for you constant notes and letters. they make me smile everyday. i wrote all those thank you letters today and got all that done just so you know. Thanks for doing those other ones for me i appreciate it. The mtc is so fun guys and i am learning so much. I know that there are people out there waiting for me and i know that i gotta work so hard here i just can't learn enough. The espanol is ok, i'm gonna have to work really hard to get all of that in but slowly i'm gettng it. i can pray and testify in espanol and i'm learnign my purpose right now is espanol too. I can't tell you guys enough how much your letters mean to me i seriously have the best support anyone could ask for! I got a little down on sunday and a great devotional was given on sunday about not giving up. and i know that that was an answer to my prayers. THis is the hardest, most fun work i've ever been apart of. Heres some of my testimony es espanol. Se que el evangelio es verdadero. se que profeta jose smith es verdadero. Jesucristo es my salvador. I love you guys so much and keep me updated on everything. Mom send this on to everybody. Thanks so much mom for everything your the best mom in the world. The church is true and i love all of you. Thanks jace for the letters too. jsut thanks to everyone. I love you all so much. talk to you again next week!
Elder Hammer

first letter

Mi Familia!
Wow I can't even believe that my first day at the MTC is almost over. I'm just sittin on our desk and our brach president said to make sure we write home. Guys i'm doing so good. Today was a great day. The second you guys left I got to see Archie. I was so sad, but I knew that the Lord put Archie there to let me know that I'm going to be okay and everything will just be great. I love my companion. His name is Elder Bowden from Lincoln, California. Jacie you were right. He's a total athlete, football, wrestling, and a dare devil on motorcycles and that kinda of stuff. He loves to garden though, but I can tell we are going to get along great. Monday is my p-day and thats the only time i'm aloud to email/write letters. I am the 1st branch and district A and mailbox #267. Our branch president is great and I know my second counselor. I sat by him at a missionary fireside at BYU last semester. I tell you what this place is such a small world. Archie is in my building and 4 guys in my district are going to Calgary and one from St. George. Guys this place is great and I will tell you more on Monday. But we are going to be so busy. I have the top bunk and our room is as big as our scrapbook room HAHA but I love it. It's so fun and I can't wait to keep learning. Today was so busy and so fast and I can tell it's just going to be the best. I can only write you guys today so tell everyone I will write them on Monday. I love you guys! The church is true and this is the greatest place on earth! Talk to you on Monday!
Elder Hammer

mtc

Here are some pictures of our goodbye with Jordan
at the MTC on June 24th

Elder Hammer about to begin this great journey...

We are so excited for Jordan and know
he will be a great missionary!
We love you Jord!

the airport

The goodbyes started Monday night when Nick & Jess
left the Las Vegas airport to go back to Denver

Nick & Jess have been a great support for
Jordan as he prepared for his mission.

june 24th 2009

Jordan is now officially a Missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and will be laboring in the Maryland Baltimore Mission. He will spend his first 9 weeks in the MTC learning the Spanish language. We are anxiously awaiting our first letter from Jordan and hope to find all is well in the MTC.