Last Week In Peru! It's a Sprint to the Finish

All of us missionaries who will be going home next week after we went through the temple in Lima with President and his wife.

We went to a place called Parque de las Aguas. It is like a giant park with different water fountains and water shooting out of the ground and light shows with water. It was really cool. It's in San Isidro which is where President lives.

This is all of the missionaries that will end with me.  We are at President's house.

Dear Mom,

Mom, I am coming home in a week! AHHH!!!

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 8:46 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

I can't wait to hear all about your day with your mission president. How has your week been

This past week was a crazy one for me. Monday Nathan did something to his ankle and by Tuesday it was really swollen and giving him trouble so I took him in to have an x ray done. It came back most likely broken, but the doctor wanted radiology to take a look at it. He had a floating bone. Basically a little tiny piece of the bone was broken off from the rest of the foot. To make a long story short, they do not cast for it because it is such a small piece so we were told to just treat it like a sprain. 

He used crutches from Monday through Friday, but then on Friday we had the Siler's in town staying at our house. The Sidney boys basketball team made it to state so they came to watch the games. Thursday evening Sidney won so they were playing again on Friday. We couldn't go to the game on Thursday because Tim and I both have school, but I decided to pull the kids out of school and go support the old team on Friday. Nathan didn't want to have to try and maneuver around on crutches and his hands had blisters already, so he asked if we could just wrap it real tight and let him try to walk on it. By Friday evening, after he had been walking on it, the swelling went down immensely. So much so, that he was even able to perform on it Saturday during his show choir competition.

Sidney ended up winning on Friday so they played again on Saturday for the championship game. They lost by 9 in the final game, but overall had a wonderful season. It was crazy because they lost in the first round of the playoffs and only made it to state in a wild card spot, but then ended up taking 2nd place over all. It was sure fun to watch.

Saturday, Nathan went to a competition in Iowa. A little town about 2 hours away. There were 31 teams from 4 states competing at this competition. His team made it into the finals. Only six teams went on to compete in the finals and his was one of them. They took 6th place, so basically last place in the finals, but 6th out of 31 teams. Not bad

Ryan Shields got engaged over the weekend. He is going to school at BYU. The girl he is going to marry is from Cheyenne. She looks real cute and nice.

I sure love you!

Love Mom

Dad....It is so surreal. I am so excited to get home and see you guys. But I will miss my mission something fierce. Ya we had a baptism last week and we have 2 more this Saturday. 

I am going to work this week like I have never worked before. 

I sure love you dad. I will save what I have to say and teach you all for next week.

Your son,

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 8:29 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

How was your week?? Were you really teaching a super-big family? Didn't you have a baptism lined up for a couple days ago too? How did all that go? Also, did you get to go the Temple and hang out with Pres. Archibald?

I ordained Grant to be a Teacher yesterday and he's scheduled to get his Patriarchal blessing the 2nd week in April. He's so dang excited to be in the teachers Quorum.

Well, my son, you made it! I hope while you are working this week you take a moment to breathe in the smells on the wind, taste the flavors of the food and commit to memory the faces of those you serve. Words cannot describe the joy and love I have for you. I'm not going to write you next Monday because you probably won't have a chance to check email anyway!

Well done, thou faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Te amo,

Papá

Baptism This Week!

We had a baptism this week!

This is my zone.There are quite a few of us huh!

Dear Mom,

I am glad you guys are having fun with Grandma Polly. Send her my love. I am stocking up on some cool stuff to bring home to you guys. I know every single thing that is on that list. I will see what I can do to get him hooked up. We had a baptism this week! We also found a family of like 15. That is the hard part about ending my mission. I am contacting and setting baptismal dates for people that I won't be able to baptize =( 

Tomorrow I have my going home party with president Archibald. We are going to the center of Lima, to a really fancy restaurant, the temple and his house. I am excited for that.  I sure love you!


Elder Hackleman


On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 4:17 PM, To Grant

First off, FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS GRANT!!!


On Sun, Mar 8, 2015 at 10:43 PM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

The last email was the shopping list, this one is the weeks events. Grandma Polly arrived here safe and sound. She forgot her suitcase on the plane, but we were able to find it so all is well.

We have been having a good time together.

Nathan's show choir took first place at the competition yesterday. He did awesome! He is quite the performer. Grandma Polly loved it. She could hardly stay in her seat she wanted to get up and dance:)

Nathan is on the right.

Friday we went to the temple. Grandma Polly did a great job even though it does scare her since she struggles so much with her memory.

The Sidney boys basketball team made it to state. They will be coming to Lincoln this week. I think the Siler's might be coming and staying with us. It will be so nice to see them. I haven't seen them since right before you went on your mission.

I'm still sticking it out with my math class although each week is more painful than the last. My class has a facebook group page and this is what I posted on it:

"If I had the choice of ice picks being shoved under my fingernails or doing Algebra, I would pick the ice picks. Ha Ha. 

Did I tell you I broke my pinkey finger. Seriously, what is my deal? I think it might have happened while I was having a nightmare. Tim said he heard me mumbling in my sleep, something about x's and y's were chasing me. Those darn Algebra terms are coming after me in my dreams. What's next, the parenthesis and fractions joining the gang of thugs? It's scary stuff ha ha.

Thank goodness I have four boys who do not have my brilliant math skills. I can't get my homework done at night until my own personal tutor helps me along the way, thank you very much Nathan.

The worst thing is I was working on a sewing project and I realized I could use an Algebraic term to figure out the dimensions of the cut I needed to make, but since I like to cut off my nose to spite my face, I did it the old fashioned way instead. Maybe someday, when my math class is over and I stop having nightmares about it, I will actually use some of what I am learning:)

I thought you would enjoy a meme I created. The picture in the background is one Seth took in Mexico. Just a little milk humor.

I sure love you. Tell me all about your week. Even though you are getting home in two weeks, I still love to hear the stories.

Love,
Mom

My Companion and I Right Now

My companion Elder Rivera and I....right now. Haha

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 9:58 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

Ok, so now you can tell me, what is your new companion like? Where is he from etc?

We had a good week. Nathan had his first show choir competition on Saturday. He did a great job. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of him. I was videoing the entire production but didn't take a picture. Don't worry, I will get one next week. He performs again on Saturday. He wore a blue tux with a green tie and the girls wore green dresses.

They sounded and looked awesome.

Church yesterday was great. We were sitting on the front row during sacrament meeting and I had my head bowed. I saw out of the corner of my eyes the deacons walking past and I noticed one of them was wearing pants that were way too short. I thought, boy who is that, so I looked up and to my utter amazement it was Grant. It appeared he had grown a couple of inches in a week, either that or he has been wearing high waters for a while and I just haven't noticed. I guess we are going shopping this week for some new church pants for the poor guy.

Grant played great during the church basketball game. He actually played center for a while. He has never played that position before so he didn't really know where to stand but he is one of the tallest players on the team when Nathan isn't there. It worked out perfectly, because Nathan performed first thing in the morning so I was able to hurry over to the church after Nathan's performance and still catch most of Grant's basketball game. Anyway I was looking at Grant out on the court and thought to myself, he seems taller than last week, but then I shrugged it off almost as fast as I thought it. Obviously I should have considered it further. I hate to say it, but he might be taller than Seth already.

Well, we are getting ready to head out for Nathan to get his wisdom teeth removed. His appointment is at 11:00. It's nice because the boys don't have school today because it is President's Day so Grant gets to go with me.

The big thing happening this week is I am the lead teacher at Pathways. I never usually get nervous teaching, but I have been having anxiety about being the lead student since it is math and it's not my favorite subject. Luckily we are discussing spreadsheets and I am not too bad at that. We'll see how it goes. One good thing is I have learned a formula for calculating Celsius into Fahrenheit so I can figure out the temperature for you if you ever need me to. I am supposed to be able to transform pesos into dollars as well, but I'm not as good at that. Sorry. If you ever wanted to know the formula for temperature conversion is: C=5/9(F-32). 

Temperature Conversion Formula

I sure love you. Have a wonderful week!

Love, Mom

Mom, I love you so much. I hate to be a jerk, but I have known that formula since I was but a wee one.....=) I am so proud of you though. Next time I need the temperature converted I will definitely consult you before taking the time to do it myself. I can’t believe grant is so tall. He hasn't past me has he?

My companion is awesome! He is one of my favorite companions. His name is Elder Rivera. He is from Guayaquil Ecuador. We were best friends from the get go. We teach and contact so well together. I would love to have 2 or more transfers with him instead of just one. =( Mom. My mission is going by so fast! They are buying my plane ticket already. AHHH!!! I can’t wait to see you guys though. I love you!

Elder Hackleman

I got a few pictures of Nathan before and after his wisdom teeth surgery. Crazy kid wanted to show me he wasn't in pain so he ran around the car the second after the nurse put him in the car after his surgery. I was so mad at him. The bleeding had clotted and stopped before we left the Dr. office but due to his run around the town, it started bleeding profusely. Dang it all. He thought he was so funny. Ya, he won't be laughing when he gets dry sockets. I thought of letting the pain meds wear completely off to teach him a lesson, but then after thinking about it for a while I realized he was still under the influence of the meds so I need to give him a break. He claims he counted down to 94 before he fell asleep. I forgot to ask the nurse so I can't confirm that number. I will double check on our follow-up appointment.

Love Mom

He was goofy before they even gave him any Meds.

Ice Packs!

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 8:55 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

How were transfers?!?!?!? Tell us all about your new companion! You have the opportunity to show him what going out in style really means!! I know you have a lot of Zone work to do, but were you able to teach anyone this week? Something that came to me at church yesterday. I was sitting in PEC and we were talking about home teaching and the struggles that we have doing it and reporting it. Then we started talking about the people who request no contact with the Church. How do we deal with them? The church strongly discourages and dissuades names being removed from the records. My thoughts turned to the parable of the lost sheep of course. But then it occurred to me that, much of what we need to learn is the "process of seeking." So much of the time we go to an address and find that they've moved. So we diligently try ways that seek them out to have their records follow them? Anyway, I just thought it was interesting that sometimes it's not just the act of doing, but learning from the act of doing.

On the home front, Nathan is getting his wisdom teeth out for real today. We'll let you know how that went next week. I attached a couple pictures of your silly brother. One is while he was at the kitchen table over the weekend. He was working on one of his many "experiments". The other is of him at the UNO hockey game with me on Friday. And by the way... I gave him a haircut on Saturday after I saw these.

I can't wait to hear all about your week!!

¡Te amo tanto!

Papá

Grant at the UNO Hockey Game

Hey dad! I got my new companion this week. His name is Elder Rivera. He is from Ecuador and is one of my favorite companions of my entire mission. From the second we were put together we just clicked. He is so awesome. We love to work hard but have fun doing it. We have been in meetings almost all week but we are going hard this week because the people we find this week will potentially be my last baptisms. =( I will send a pic of him in a sec....p.s. I am living in a peruvian oven right now but I still love life. How can that be......Haha Love you dad!

On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 4:04 PM, Tim wrote:

It's only 80 degrees there!! :) Plus, there's no way it's worse than two-a-days in Buenavista, VA!!

Dad

That thermometer is lying. It’s gotta be 110. Haha and air conditioning doesn't exist here. I have two of my buddies writing me from SVU right now saying they walked on at Weber state. One of them is in Jake Kitchen`s Spanish class! Haha

Burger and Fries Peruvian Style

This is a hamburger filled with French fries and soda in a bag. It is very common here. It was my dinner while we were making phone calls with the zone the other night.

Peruvians do not have their drinks cold.  They believe you will get sick if you eat or drink cold things.  I have told them I drink ice cold drinks in the middle of the winter and I've never gotten sick from it.  They tell me it's because Americans are immune.

Hey mom!!!! I´m sorry but I hope it is blisteringly cold at home when I get there. I hope I have to step off the plane in 3 feet of snow. I have not passed five minutes without sweating in like 3 months. Haha Sounds like you are having fun at school. What a turn of events, I leave home and quit school and while I’m gone, my mom starts school again and my dad starts teaching it!!!!!! Crazy... haha

Elder Hackleman

We were having warm weather for Omaha until Elder Hackleman requested cold in his email.   Look what we woke up to this morning.  This is looking out the back window of the Hackleman home in Nebraska.  Thanks a lot Elder Hackleman:)  We have so much snow today that church was cancelled.  2-1-2015

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 10:11 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder,

How has this week been? I hope it is better than last week. Did you get a new companion and if so, what is he like?

The weather is nice today. It is supposed to get up to 60 degrees. Crazy for January, but I'll take it!

Nathan has a couple more weeks of practice and then his show choir is going to start their rounds. They perform almost every week for the next couple of months. I can't wait to see him. He won't show me anything right now. He wants the first time for us to see him to be the real deal. We have seen him sing, but never sing and dance yet. I can't wait.

Grant rode his bike all day on Saturday with his friend. This warm weather is giving us spring fever ha ha. They like to ride to Shadow Lake shopping center and walk around. They usually stop in at Freddy's and get a French fry or milkshake. I love to see him get out. November and December were so cold we tend to stay in a lot.

Nathan had a birthday party he went to on Friday evening and it was warm enough to have a bon fire outside. I know this weather won't last, but it is nice for a change.

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy for your dad. It is the only time that the two classes he is teaching actually over-lap. He keeps joking around about holding down 3 jobs, but that is exactly what he is doing right now. He's a trooper. He is so funny because he gets so sad when he has to give someone a bad grade. He wants to call them up and mentor them, but there is only so much he can do.

I am chugging along with my math class. It's not so bad. Each week at the beginning of the week I am always over-whelmed because I don't remember the rules, but then after a little refresher, it all comes back to me and by the end of the week I am sailing along. I can certainly see how this is good for me even though I complain a little bit. I keep thinking I just need to get through this quarter. It's funny because we are supposed to read a finance book by the end of the quarter to go along with one of our requirements. They give us a list of approved books to choose from. I have already blown through two different books and I think I might read another one. I love the reading part of it so I guess I am an over achiever when it comes to that part but give me a page with fractions and decimals that I need to do and I will put it off until the last minute because I find no pleasure in that part of the homework.

I sure love you!

Love Mom

Hey Dad. That is so sad to hear about that poor girl. What an awful experience. Well, this week was good. We have a baptism this Saturday!

I can´t believe how good Utah is in basketball right now. They are hangin in there with Arizona. Impressive.....

You are gonna do awesome in your class. Just remember that they are college kids. They´re more mature than people think. Let them know that you are there to help them and that what you have to teach them is something really awesome and can be enjoyable to do. Students will naturally put more interest and effort into something that appears enjoyable. The interesting thing is even the most boring class about nothing can be cool if the teacher makes it that way. You are gonna do awesome. I am not even frettin. Haha I sure love you dad! You´re the best.

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Jan 26, 2015 at 11:43 Tim Hackleman wrote:

Dear Elder,

How was your week? We are doing great up here, everyone is healthy. It was a busy weekend! There was an accident a little over a week ago out in Plattesmouth. Just south of Offutt. A 17 year old member of the Church turned in front of on-coming traffic on Hwy 75 and was struck broadside (I think). Apparently it's a dangerous turn to make every time. She had her 7 year old sister as a passenger. The 7 year old was killed, but the 17 year old survived. It was all over the news here. Anyway, they ended up having the funeral at our Stake Center on Saturday. There were over 700 people at it.

The Utes are #12 in Men's Basketball. They should move up a little this week. It's going to come down to Utah and Arizona for the Pac-12 Championship. The Super Bowl is coming up this weekend.

I'm getting a little nervous. Thursday is my first day teaching at Midland University. Introduction to Advertising Design. I have 21 students enrolled so far...gulp. I am just past halfway with my Fundamentals of Print Design class at Bellevue University. It's actually been pretty fun, even though it's an online class. The Ad class will be fun too, I just have to get past the first class jitters. The only thing that kinda stresses me out is the time commitment.

I know you are super busy, but send some pics or stories about what's going on. :)

¡Te amo hijo!

Papá

Mormon Tour in Peru

I want to go on this bus!

Do you recognize any of these tourists?

Note from mom: We got an email from a member in Peru that does tours. Originally we were hoping to go pick Jaren up when he got done with his mission and tour around Peru with him. Unfortunately we are not going to be able to do it, but I sure do appreciate these pictures he sent us. In my dreams I would go visit these sights!

Pictures From Peru - Jan 12, 2015

My companion and I exploring a cave on P-Day.

We were on a bus and thought it would be funny to take a picture with a dog that was riding along.  Just before my companion could snap the picture the dog jumped off the bus.  I guess he didn't want his picture taken with me today.  I think he must be shy.

Oh, well, maybe next time.

Note from mom: (The funny thing about this, is in America this week it was all over the news that there was a dog who rode the bus by himself.  It was such a huge story.  I guess in Peru dogs riding the bus isn't a big deal).

On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 9:47 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder J. Hackleman,

Good morning. I watched the Law kids Friday and Saturday so Becky and Tim could go to Arkansas to find a house. They found a real nice place and will be moving on Saturday :(

School is going good I guess. Math is a hard class for me. This past week our assignment was to learn our times tables by heart up to 15. That is harder than it sounds. I made flash cards and Nathan and Grant helped me. I don't know what has happened to me, but even the basic times tables have slipped my mind over the years. 8's especially went to Mars for a vacation from my brain. I have been playing a game online that helps bring them back into my memory. I still don't have them all 100% but I have come a long way in one short week.

My Book of Mormon class is still my favorite class. I love studying that book. At times I will start studying and then time goes by and I look at the clock and realize 6 hours has passed. Time flies when you are having fun.

I shared some of your ward council ideas with our ward council yesterday. Everyone was very receptive. Unfortunately it does put a lot of extra work on the Elders Quorum and High Priests. I was talking about how I had been encouraging the women to increase their temple attendance this year, but then was taught by you that this goal was not enough. The goal should be for the couple not just the women. After we discussed all the benefits of the men leading the temple attendance, it was decided that one of our ward mission goals for the year was to encourage the men to lead out in home teaching and leading their families to the temple. It really changed the course of our goals for the year as a ward. Thank you for sharing the wonderful things you are learning on your mission. I just wanted you to know that the trickle down effects are circulating throughout our ward now as well.

The bishop told a story about a similar thing that happened on his mission. The result was the same but the reason was different. He served in Australia. Most of his contacts were by walking up to people on the street. The wards he served in were struggling immensely for priesthood leadership. They had plenty of women and children, so they focused in on men only. They would walk right past women and children on the street and only talk to the men. The result was amazing. They found that when they taught the men, they would teach the entire family and when the men came into the church, entire families came into the church.

I was thinking about the counsel the mission president gave over a year ago for the Omaha area. He said that every less active family in the ward has a baptism. When you combine all these things, you end up with the outcome of what is now our ward mission plan. That is, if every home teacher in the ward took on the families they visited and helped encourage them to temple attendance with the father leading out, huge progress could be made. As a Relief Society, it will be very easy to make goals to align with the ward mission goals. We can help encourage our husbands to lead out in the gospel in our homes.

I am excited for the coming year.

Ok, let's talk about you. Last week the boys had a day out of school because the weather was so cold. While they were home, I was working on a project, but decided I would enlist Nathan and his computer skills to help me do some college applications for you. We did one for the University of Utah. We will do a few other schools as well, just so you will have options when you get home.

I attached a couple of pictures to show you some of my DIY projects I have been working on. Our kitchen table has been needing a make-over for quite some time. Also, the paper blinds I had on the upper windows in the living room had to go. I changed them out with vinyl stained glass on the side windows and reflective vinyl on the large middle window. I also made knew curtains. I love how it all is turning out. (Note to family and friends. There is a link on the right side of the page to my blog if you would like to see pictures). I have also been re-staining all the woodwork to a darker color. This house is going to be in top shape by the time you get home!

I sure love you!

Keep up the good work.

Love Mom

Hey Momma!!!!! That is so awesome to hear about ward council! It’s true, it’s not that women aren’t important in the church, but it is true that it is a package deal when you strike the men first. =) If every priesthood holder only focused in their family, and then the families that they are assigned to as home teachers, the ward would be unstoppable. Home teaching is so key. If I am a father, my family is active. Simple as that, and my home teaching families are active as well. No question.....when every priesthood holder thinks that way, the ward suddenly doesn’t have any less active members. =)

Wow!!! That table looks brand new! Haha I like it!!! I gotta tell ya. I can’t wait to get home and see you guys. I want you to know that I am working harder than ever. I am going out baptizing if it’s the last thing I do. I sure am excited for the next part of my life though. =)

Pic explanation... the first one is of my companion and I in a cave. The other one is of a dog that got on a bus that we were on and was freaking out because it wanted to get off but didn’t know how. I tried to get my companion to get a picture of me with it but right when he went to take it, the bus stopped and the door opened so the dog jumped out, but he got the tail and my foot. Haha I love you mom!

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Jan 12, 2015 at 9:40 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

You hit the 20 month mark! Or is it 21? That's getting crazy. Your mom and I think about you all the time. We are so happy for you! Anyway, you need to send us pictures! I don't think you told us about your new companion! We need info!! I know you are super busy, and it's getting close to the end, but you gotta keep us up to date :)

So, we sprung a leak in the Cottonwood ward. The Hadley's left a couple weeks ago for Enid, Oklahoma. I can't remember if you knew the McKee's? They were with us in the Bellevue 2nd Ward. They leave today for Germany. The Law's are leaving on Saturday!!! It will seem like a completely different ward when you get home.

Elder Kitchens posted that he is starting school today. I'm assuming he's going to the U, but he didn't say. Tonight is the National Championship game between Oregon and Ohio State. I have to admit, I'm kinda rooting for Urban Meyer!

So I had a cool revelation yesterday in Ward Council. We were discussing faith and someone mentioned the Brother of Jared. Well it came to me that Ether Chapter 2 and 3 can be applied to missionary work. In Chpt. 2 we have to exercise faith that there is a way to bring our neighbors/friends to the gospel. In Chpt. 3, the Savior is the only one that can put the "light" into them through the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Anyway, I sure do love you. Continue to be careful, obedient and listen to the Holy Ghost.

¡Te amo tanto, hijo!

Papá

Hey dad! I hit 21! Can you believe it? I sure can’t. I sent a few pics to mom. Sorry. Dang, the very few number of families that I did know before going on my mission are leaving. I am going to give a homecoming talk to a bunch of strangers....oh well. What do ya do. Haha Oh ya, I am a true ohio state fan right now! Elder Kitchens is going to Weber state....just for this semester til I get home. Haha

Merry Christmas From Peru

Merry Christmas to All

Some pics! this is called panetón.
It's a fruit cake basically. and I eat it. haha

On Mon, Dec 22, 2014 at 10:00 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder J Hackleman,

How are you doing today? What is this week like? Do you have a regular week with the exception of Christmas or is it different in some way.

Don't forget our skype account is: xxxx

What time would you like to skype? We are available any time you are.

We are pretty excited for Thursday. I can hardly wait to see you and Seth.

Well, the good news is, I got done with my school on Saturday and now I have two weeks off. It is a nice break. I got to A's! Ha.

I sure love you. I can't wait for Thursday!

Love Mom

Hey mom!!!! I am so excited to skype you too! My week will be the same except for when I skype home. Haha That´s awesome. I know Jake will get me hook ups. How about we skype at like 3 o´clock my time? is that ok? Woo!!! Mom get´s Christmas break too! Haha I love you!

Elder Hackleman

December 1st Letters

My Missionary Companion

My Companion's Birthday

Nathan at the Airforce/CSU Football Game in Colorado Springs

Nice picture of the back of Amy's Head
Beautiful Day for Football

 On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 9:45 AM, Amy wrote:

Elder J Hackleman,

Hello. We made it back from our trip. We had a great time. I know your dad sent some pictures. The day of the game the weather was fabulous. It has turned cold again. We are freezing now, but at least we aren't trying to go to an outdoor football game in this weather. I am cooking cinnamon rolls right now, to help warm up the house.

Karen came back with us so she can be here for Tim's surgery this afternoon. I'm sure all will go well. We decided it was time for your dad to get his hernia fixed once and for all.

We sure have been talking a lot about you and Seth with grandma. She talks about all the missionaries that come and visit her and grandpa all the time. She lets them give her a message. We stayed at the Marriott in Colorado Springs and Grandpa saw The Book of Mormon in the drawer and he said he was going to start reading it but the print was too small. When we got back to Ft Collins your dad worked on grandpa's computer re-sizing things so he could read on there. We told him he could download the Book of Mormon for free and read it in large print on his kindle or computer.

On a different note, how are you doing? I was thinking I don't know what your companion looks like. I am not sure if I have seen a picture of your current companion.

I sure love you!

Love,

Mom

Hey mom! Here is a pic of my companion. The one is of his birthday that was a few weeks ago. That is so awesome that grandma and grandpa are familiarizing themselves with the church. One thing´s for sure, nothing is impossible. We can always put our money on the book of mormon. If grandpa starts reading it consistently, it will change everything. My testimony of the Book of Mormon has grown SO much.

On another note, I forgot cinnamon rolls existed until just now, I miss them SOOOOO much! Put that on the ¨must eat when I get home¨ list. Haha I sent an email a little longer to dad about what is going on in the zone and everything. You will have to go read it. =) Your son is working hard down here. Well, both of them are, because both of them are ¨down¨ from where you are. =) haha I can´t believe we are already in December!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Time is really starting to fly now...You need to get in touch with Jake Kitchens, He was my trainer that I always talk about. I want him to make it out to Omaha when I get home so that he can meet you guys. I love you!

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Dec 1, 2014 at 7:36 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder J Hackleman,

How was your week? I know I start off with that every single time, but you wouldn't believe how excited your mom and I get on Mondays!! We truly love hearing about your work. We had a wonderful visit with Grandma and Grandpa for Thanksgiving. It was really nice. Wednesday night we went to the CSU vs. Wyoming volleyball game. CSU won the Mountain West Conference Championship that night. Then we had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving. On Friday, we went to Colorado Springs too watch the football team play Air Force. The Falcons won with a last second field goal. It was a great game even though CSU lost. Then we went out to dinner and spent the night there and went back to Ft. Collins on Saturday. Finally we came home last night. Grandma rode home with us so that she could be here for my surgery this morning.

We have been so blessed! Tell us about your week! How is familia Palomina doing? Are you teaching anyone else? How is the Zone doing? How is your companion doing? What was the name of your area again? Are there a lot of stray dogs there? Seth says that they are everywhere in Veracruz but they are all tame. I forgot. What do you do for meals there? You just have to get me back up to speed. I know you told me a lot of this stuff already. Speaking of Seth. Do you hear from him every week? I know we don't get his emails until Monday even so you probably get them a week behind. I know I asked a lot of questions! :)

I'll tell you how the surgery goes in my next email!

I am so proud of you son. Keep working hard. The Lord has blessed you and your family with tremendous blessings because of your faithfulness.

¡Ámele hijo!

Papá

Hey Dad! This week has been a roller coaster, but an awesome one just like always, our zone is making ground breaking moves, we are on track to break the record for the most baptisms in a single month in the history of this mission. My companion and I are pushing them hard =) I am so proud of our missionaries though. President Archibald is going to be a general authority I know it. We are making big strides. 

I have a pension for lunch and my companion and I are on our own for breakfast and dinner. Familia xxxxxx is doing great. They didn't make it to church yesterday but we have a family home evening tonight with them and we will get things set straight. =) We have whats called a noche blanca which is White Night in English. haha the 20 of December, we as a zone are going to have around 20 baptisms! In one night! And familia xxxxx is going to be part of it as well so we are stoked. We have some others that are awesome that we are teaching that we plan on getting in the water this month as well. All in all. Miracle month. =) My zone´s name is Ventanilla and my area´s name is Los Alamos.

 

I do talk to Seth almost every week so that's good. It sounds like he is doing awesome. =) The kid already knows Spanish like a champ. I knew he would pick it up quick. Well Sure love you dad! Looks like you guys had a fun thanksgiving week. I forgot all about it.....haha Love you!

Elder Hackleman

Ventanilla, Peru

Ventanilla, Peru

Elder Roco is one of my best friends in the whole mission.He was my district leader when I was in Huaraz.
He is ending his mission this transfer.

On Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 8:54 AM, Amy wrote:

Elder J Hackleman,

Another week has flown by. Last week I was traveling back from Idaho on Monday. It was a long drive, but the weather cooperated so there were no problems along the way.

We are gearing up for Halloween. Nathan is having a Halloween party at our house. He is considering having a Twilight Marathon with all his friends. It should be interesting.

What is your new area like and your new companion? I would love some pictures:) What is your address? We were thinking of google mapping again. It's fun to see the area you are serving via google earth.

So your uncle's are wondering if you would consider ISU for college. I never really knew what your opinion about ISU was or is?

Do you know what day you come home? I know you said it was in March but do you know the day? Not urgent, just curious.

I love you so much. I can't wait to hear from you:) Monday's are my favorite day!

Love Mom

Hey momma!!!! our address is xxxxxx. I hope you can find it. The city is called Ventanilla. We are right around the corner from the church building! I would love to play football again.

I do know what day I go home. It is March 23 If I’m not mistaken. My companions name is Elder Quezada. He is from El Salvador. He is awesome. I don’t have picturess of him yet. Haha it was kind of a crazy week this week. We had tons of different trainings with president. The missionary I am with in the second picture is Elder Roco. He is one of my best friends in the whole mission. He was my district leader when I was in Huaraz. He is ending his mission this transfer. Him, Elder Kitchens, (My best friend on earth), Elder Crozier, (The missionary that knows Josh Woodbury) Elder Acero, (My second companion in the mission after Elder Kitchens) and others. I will be losing a lot of brothers this transfer. Anyway, the pictures are a few of my area so you can get a feel for it. Haha love you!

Elder Hackleman

On Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 9:24 AM, Tim wrote:

Dear Elder,

How was your week last week? I'm getting the feeling that you're a little stressed out. What can your Dad do for you? I know you are working hard and busier than ever with the work of the Lord. That's good! Probably a little stressed out because you feel time is slipping through your fingers. That's okay too. That means your heart is where it needs to be. You're probably even starting to allow thoughts about what's next creep into your mind. That's where mommy and daddy come in. As time goes by and you ponder the things that you want to do when you get home, like school, etc., let us know! We can get a jump start on things while you are finishing up your labors in the field. We can send in college applications, scholarship applications or whatever you need! That's my little pep talk to my eldest son!

Okay, so Utah pulled out a squeaker against USC at home. Blackout game!

University of Utah
Blackout Uniform 2014

I attached a photo of Utah's sick black uniforms! Anyway, they ended up winning 24-21. It should have been much worse. We reached the 2-yard line twice and turned it over both times!!! We got there a third time and had to settle for a field goal!! They moved up to #18 in the polls. Here's one for you! Colorado State could win the Mountain West conference!

We're going to Grandma's for Thanksgiving. Gpa is getting us tickets to the CSU vs. Air Force game in Colorado Springs. That should be a fun game. Your mom is doing great in school. She's my woman. Have you been hearing from Seth? I hope so! Apparently, he has to have his hair longer!!! He says that there has to be a line, or part, in it so he has to keep the top longer. He's so funny. Well enough of me rambling on! What's happening in Ventanilla? How's the food there compared to the other places you've been? Also, what are your living arrangements there? Apartment, house? Do you have a pensionist?

Do you ever hear from Seth? I guess Mexico is infested with tarantulas. He's loving it!! Not the tarantulas!

I am so proud of you son!!

¡Te amo hijo!!

Papá

Dear Dad,

haha yea he writes me. I love that kid. He said hasn’t been rejected once! Everyone wants to hear him!!!! I am proud of him......that is not the case where I am afraid....haha

Hey dad!!!! You read my mind. It has been a stressful week. I don´t have time to breath. The last six months of a mission are craziness. I do think a lot about where I am going to college. Just thinking about it, I am thinking between ISU and the U. Dad, I really want to go to the U. I would go to ISU if I could play football there though. Could you and mom start going crazy on college applications and scholarships for those two schools? GOOO UTES!!!! That is so sick. Their helmets are awesome!!!!! I can’t believe CSU though! Where did that come from? Are they ranked?

Ventanilla is great. We are finding a lot of new people to teach. I have a pensionist who is a fantastic cook so the food is great.

I am in a room that is part of a house but it has its own entry and everything apart so it feels like it’s own separate house. I gave mom the address for it so you can google earth it. It’s right around the corner from the church so that is nice. I sure love you dad! How are your college classes coming along?

Elder Hackleman

Elder Hackleman was Tagged On Facebook

Elder Hackleman and Elder Brown

Letters from Peru Mon, Sept 22, 2014

We went to this place called La Caleta.
It is a huge dirt field by the beach that is covered in human bones.
Skulls, legs, arms, spines, everything you can imagine.

They say it is an old ancient Incan burial ground that has been raided.
 It is very odd to have a burial ground with human bones all over the place as a tourist attraction.

On Mon, Sep 22, 2014 at 8:01 AM, Amy wrote:

Dear Elder J Hackleman,

How goes it? What's new in your neck of the woods?

We have had a good week. I started school last week and so far so good. I am just getting ready to start studying for the day, but decided I would write you first:)

Grant's football team has not lost a game. In fact they have had blowouts every single time. Last Tuesday's game they played some shotgun and he didn't miss a snap. He is turning into quite the offensive lineman. He did have a couple of botched snaps under center where he didn't complete the snap to the quarterback before he started getting into position for the nose-guard. Luckily we were able to hold on to the ball so all is well. He is still learning.

Nathan is talking about possibly going out for football next year as a kicker. We will see, but he has been missing it a little especially when he is at the games. The varsity team won again on Friday night.

Grandma Karen and Grandpa Roger are coming for a visit next week so they can see Grant's last game. That should be fun.

I sure love you!

Love

Mom

Dear Mom,

We went to this place called La Caleta. It is a huge dirt field by the beach that is covered in human bones. Skulls, legs, arms, spines, everything you can imagine. Some of the skulls still have hair on them.

I don´t get it mom. Nathan misses football so he is thinking about trying out but as a kicker?!?!?!?!?! That is if Tom Cruise in Top Gun said, ´´I like planes, I think I would like to wash jets for the air force.´´ No, Tom Cruise didn´t wash them, he flew them, he was born to fly. Nathan was born to catch. I am coming back with a fierceness for that kid. He better be ready =)

In other news, WAY TO GO GRANT! It´s not very often we play for an undefeated team. My senior year couldn´t have been more opposite. Haha Love you mom!

Elder Hackleman

Missionary Life In Peru

My companion and I helped a lady in our branch milk her cow. 

Yes, I can milk a cow =)

This is my new companion. He is from Chili. He is the only member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in his family. One of the sister missionaries who taught him the lessons married someone from Omaha and now lives in Nebraska. Pretty Cool.

Peruvians tie the legs and the tail so they can milk on both sides without getting kicked or swatted by the tail. Not the way Granpa Howard milked a cow, but it seems to be effective.

Dear Elder J Hackleman,

How has your week been? Things have been good around here. Thursday Nathan tried out for the swing choir and he made it, so that will be a new adventure for him. Grant had a football game against a Bellevue School and they won by a long shot. I can't remember the score, but it was a lot to not a lot, ha ha. Grant played center and was in on every single snap and never had a bad snap so life is good. They practiced shotgun the night before the game and he wasn't getting the snap to the right place, so he needs more practice on that. Luckily the coach was smart enough to recognize he wasn't ready for that yet so they played under center except for when they needed him to long snap for punt returns.

So I officially start my online classes today. As soon as I get done emailing, I am going to get to work studying. Should be fun:)

We had a great Sunday. The meetings were so spiritually uplifting. I always feel replenished after a great Sunday. Now I just need to carry that spirit into the rest of the week.

What's going on in your neck of the woods?

I sure love you!

Love Mom

Hey momma!!! Good for Nathan! I hope he likes it. He better be the next hot thing after ¨one direction¨ if he is gonna give up football for it. haha No that is awesome though. You know that I always wanted to do swing choir. It looked fun and Mr. Mead wanted me in it really bad but it was during seminary and my teacher was kind of a nazi about those types of things.......=) (side note, Elder Hackleman's seminary teacher was his mother). Speaking of seminary, did seth tell you he saw Lance in the Provo Temple the other day? How cool is that? He says he is a twig now. Haha.

I hope you are icing your toe and putting on all of your witchcraft oils so that it heals quick. =) What are your classes like? You can tell me next week if you are studying right now. I know how school can be stressful =) Everything is going great around here! We have a baptism this week!

Elder J. Hackleman

I taught my branch presidency how to make pizza!
My ward mission leader had never eaten pizza in his life.......what!!!!!!!

Gringo teaching Peruvian's how to make American Pizza

City Street in Pueblo Supe, Peru

3 Wheel Vehicles

Houses on the Hill

Elder Hackleman Heading to a Teaching Appointment

Dear Elder,

How was your week? How did your teachings go? I think you getting someone ready for baptism, but I can't remember. How is your greenie companion doing? Things up here at home are great. Everyone is healthy and doing well. It's starting to cool off. I'm ready for that! But that means it's going to start heating up in Peru! You know, our lives are kinda boring when half our children are out serving the Lord! Your old man wouldn't have it any other way :)

Papio South won their game Friday night. They are 2-1. Sidney won theirs too. I think they are 2-0 so far. Utah had a bye week this week. They Michigan at the Big House on Saturday! Grant won his game. They are 2-0 so far too. Mom's toe is finally starting to heal. That's been a struggle for her to not move as quickly as she wants! So what cool spiritual things did you learn last week? I'm reading about the Savior's visit to the America's in my scripture study. I love those few chapters of 3 Nephi.

Seth is doing great. It sounds like he won't have any problems with his Visa. I think he flies out on September 29! I hope he's able to call from the airport like you did. That would be nice!!

Anyway, take care of yourself and your comp!!

¡Ámele hijo!

Papá

Hey dad! Teachings are going good! We do have a baptism coming up this saturday. My companion and I are doing good. My companion and I were studying a lot this week. Why it makes so much sense that God only has one true church and its the one we represent. I feel so strengthened by my scripture studies that I feel like I could take on the Pope himself on which church is true. I made sure to study a lot about humility afterwords to make sure I know where I stand and don´t cross any boundaries and that its not my place to prove people wrong, just to show them what is right. That is kinda what I have been focusing on this week.

So far it looks like all is well in the football relm!!! Who has sidney played so far? I am so stoked for seth. Thanks too for the money dad! Love you!

Elder J Hackleman

Ancient Incan Pottery - Huacos

These things are ancient pottery you can buy here in Peru called Huacos. The people here swear that it comes from the Incans. There was a time where the government just started selling them off to people for a 100 soles a piece or more. I am not convinced that they are really that old.....but they are cool!

On Mon, Sep 8, 2014 at 8:32 AM, Amy wrote:

Elder Hackleman,

Grant had his first football game on Thursday. He did great. He is playing center. He takes after his older brothers. We beat a team who killed us last year so that was fun.

So what is new in Peru? What is the weather like now? Is it hot or cold? What is your ward like?

Did you know that Elder Anderson, from the quorum of the 12 apostles came to Peru recently? That is pretty neat.

Love you tons!

Mom

Hey mom! I did know Elder Anderson came, but I didn´t get the chance to go see him. I think it was a meeting just for bishops and branch presidents. The weather is nice right now. Every once in awhile we will have a day that is a little hot for my taste, but other than that, it stays pretty cool for right now. I am in a branch and it is pretty little so we are trying to grow it up some.

Elder J Hackleman

Neil L Andersen Visits Peru

In Peru, about 70 percent of the missionaries are from Latin America, with 30 percent being from North America. These Latin American missionaries come from nearly every country in Latin America—from Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, the countries of Central America, and of course from Peru. It is a beautiful thing to see the national cultures mixed together but all yielding to the culture of the kingdom of God. We were very impressed with the missionaries and the mission presidents. This information was written in Neil L Andersen's Facebook post, September 4, 2014.

Letters This Week

There is one more Elder Hackleman in the mission field now

On Mon, Aug 25, 2014 at 7:22 AM, Amy wrote:

Elder J Hackleman,

I have to put the J in so I don't get confused at which son I am writing to:) It's a great problem to have. I couldn't be prouder to be the mother of two missionaries.

I forgot to tell you last week, that we got a renewal notice in the mail for your driver’s license. It had a code for an online renewal, so that is what we did. You are all set and legal for 4 more years. One less thing to worry about when you get home:)

Saturday I was on the computer updating Seth's mission blog. I was so emotional because I was feeling so blessed to have two boys on a mission at the same time, but missing you both dearly. During this emotional time I checked my email and low and behold, I had an email from Seth! I guess Saturday is his p-day and he had just enough time to send off a one paragraph letter to me. Yeah! I posted it on his blog, which you can get to from your blog. It has a link on the right side of the page. He has seen Lauren a couple of times, but hasn't had enough time to talk to her.

On another note, I don't know if you have heard about all the rage going on right now concerning the ALS Ice bucket challenge. Basically, people video themselves dumping ice-water on their head to bring awareness to Lou Gehrig's disease. Anyway, Grant just now dumped ice-water on your dad while he was in the shower as a prank and called it the ALS splash. Silly boy.

Ok, back to my letter to you, sorry, Grant side tracked me ha ha.

So Seth got off ok. He was one happy boy who couldn't wait to start his mission

We took pictures in the exact spot we did when you left. It felt very much like deja-vu.

I have all the pictures of his last week posted on his blog.

You need to go take a look at your blog today for one other reason. You had a late birthday wish from someone special that didn't make it on the blog last week. You are going to be amazed!

How are things going for you? What is new in your neck of the woods?

I sure love you!

Love,

Mom


Hey mom!!!! I gotta say, your letter was a little scatter-brained. Haha but thats ok. I followed. =) I can´t believe Seth is in the MTC!!!!!!! I am bummed his P day isn't monday because now we can´t chat for awhile, at least until he makes it to Mexico. Haha I hope you and dad are doing ok. I know it’s tough but hopefully the painful part is passing. I know I have said it before but I´ll say it again, he is more protected then ya´ll are....haha I am glad you got my drivers license. I had to use it the other day to take some documents out and remembered it was expired. I handed it to the chick and she accepted it anyway. Then I remembered that I am in Perú. They really don´t care, nor can they even understand what it says cuz it´s in english. haha but I am pretty sure I will need it before I get home, otherwise I will be stuck in immigrations in Texas or something and won´t be able to make it home! Haha I am not sure how but we need to figure out a way for you to send it to me. =) It sure looks like dejavu in the good ol´ omaha airport! Your eyes look pretty waterlogged momma!!!! haha What the heck is up with nathan and grant´s shoes and socks? Is that what´s cool with the kids these days or did they accidently put them in the washer with a rainbow on a hot cycle? They are more colorful than Grant´s favorite pack of skittles!!!!! What happened to classic black or grey? I am going to be lost when I get home.... haha

We are teaching the missionary lessons to this wonderful couple.

I have to admit, when you are a missionary the thought of marriage scares you to death.  

I have such a one track mind right now.

Ok, to explain the pictures. We got a couple married the other day. The girl is a less active member that we are reactivating and the guy is going to get baptized. Sound familiar? It is almost the exact same thing I was doing this time last year with my buddy the Uraguayan! We are happy for them. The other pictures, well, they speak for themselves. I got real riding a motorcycle.

Now that's my kind of bike!

On your mark, get set...

Go!!!!!
Ok, I didn't really ride it.  

If you look closely you can see the kickstand is still down:)

Love you mom!!!!

Elder J. Hackleman