Hello everybody! How is it going? It is continuing to go well here in Mandeville. This week has been pretty good. Time has been flying fast, and our investigators are still progressing so I am pretty excited about that. Not too much new has happened this week. Still just working hard to help our investigators become truly converted to the gospel. 

Our apartment is still being invaded by flying cockroaches so that is always fun haha. Last preparation day Negril was fun. We went to the beach and chilled, and then we went to this place called Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville. It was pretty cool. Negril was so beautiful. I was thinking how blessed I am to be able to go to these places that many people spend their lives just dreaming about going to. And to think that I have the opportunity of living here for 2 years while serving the Lord. What a blessing. 

This past week, A lot of the things that I learned about in studies and such was about prayer. Prayer is so essential for us to come close to God. I read in a quote that it is through prayer that we come the closest to God. Prayer is truly a form of work, and is something that we must continue to develop throughout the rest of our lives. I have really been trying to improve my prayer relationship with God and receive revelation for my own life. In Preach My Gospel they say that the only way we can know of spiritual truths is through prayer. I would like to encourage all of you back home to continue to work on and evaluate your prayers. As we do so, we will begin to know God even more in a very real sense. 

I love serving my mission. I have definitely learned that there are many areas in my life where I can improve. Thank you all for your support through the years of my lifetime. I know that Jesus Christ Lives, and that He is truly our Lord and our Saviour. I know that this missionary work that i am blessed to take a part of is truly the work of the Lord. I love you all and miss you 

Love,

Elder  Nugent

P.S. the pictures are mostly of Negril last monday and also the picture where i look quite angry is when an investigator floured me on my birthday

Hello Everyone! wah tah goh waahn? Mi deh yah! This week has been quite excellent if i might say so. It started off about a week ago. My companion and I were out in the middle of nowhere teaching a great family the first lesson. It was the first time teaching this family so we didn't know the area well, and it was starting to get kinda late by the end of the lesson. After the lesson, we waited forever outside with a member to find a taxi, but no taxis were coming our way. I was getting quite worried, because I wasn't sure how we would be able to reach home. The place where we were at would probably take about 3 hours to walk back home. We all said a couple prayers in our hearts. Eventually, a police truck came and stopped because one of the police officers knew the member we were waiting with from way back in the day in high school. The member somehow convinced the police officer to give us a ride. As we were driving with the police officers, we learned that they had just intended to drop us off at a post office which was also clear out in the middle of no where. But, we were able to use our people skills and we became friends with the police, and they decided to drive us all the way back to the town. Later in the week I learned that police officers never give people rides. My companion and I were truly blessed by the Lord. He answered our prayers and provided a way for us to get back home safely. He also softened the heart of the police officers to give us a ride all the way to the town. What a blessing it was. I am so grateful.

Mandeville area is doing awesome though. We are working with several people who I feel have truly been prepared by the Lord, and this week we had more people in sacrament meeting than we have ever had before. The area is doing great, and we are starting to work with the members more in helping them to do missionary work. Well, Today will also be a good day. We are spending the day with the zone in Negril, which is at a beach that has 7 miles of white sand, it is very famous in Jamaica. It should be fun. Thank you for all your prayers and support. I am truly enjoying my time here in Jamaica. It has definitely been the hardest time of my life, but it has been the best time as well. I know that this is the work of the Lord, and I know that he hears and answers our prayers. I know that he loves us and that Jesus is the Christ, our Lord and our Savior. I know that we are led and guided by a living prophet to day. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

With much love,
Elder Nugent

P.S. picture should come next week.

Hello everybody! how is it going?! thank you for the birthday wishes, I appreciate it. This past week has been good. The Jamaicans have a tradition where when it is your birthday they throw flour all over you. They call it flouring. So, naturally, on Tuesday I was floured. Pictures will come next week. 

Everything has been going well here though. Yesterday, I gave the longest talk I have ever given in a sacrament meeting. It was roughly 30 minutes long. My companion overestimated the length of his talk so he only talked for about 8 minutes, so I had to make up the difference haha. It was good though. The mission has definitely moulded me into a better teacher and speaker. 

It is crazy how the mission has been changing me. I hardly have any fear about going up to random people on the street and talking to them. I love studying the gospel like never before. Before I came on my mission i thought gospel study would be like a chore, now it is something i look forward too. It is amazing to me how every time you read your scriptures you learn something new. 

Everything you learn, if applied into your life can help you become a better, happier person. Many people spend their lives searching for the secret of life, how to be successful, and how to be happy. The answer to all of those questions are contained in the scriptures. we just have to open them with an open heart and read and study and ponder and apply them into our lives. 

Time has also been moving than faster than ever now. It feels like every day i just wake up and then go to bed. Everything is moving like a blur. I love serving out here though. We are working with a really cool investigator who is 16 who should be getting baptised on may19. He is awesome. he has been reading and praying and so i am excited for him. training is going pretty well. 

My companion and I definitely have our ups and downs, But i am thankful because i am learning so much from this experience. After all, we go through troubles and trials so we can learn and grow. I love this gospel, and I love my Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that he lives and loves us. I am so very grateful for our living prophet who helps us stay on the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life. I love and miss you all,

Love, 

Elder Nugent

Hey everybody! how is everything going? I hope you are all doing something fun for my birthday hahaha. Just kidding but I am doing great here in Mandeville. We have someone who should be getting baptized in 2 weeks so I am excited about that. A quick funny story is about to follow: so yesterday at church, out of the blue over 20 non members came to church. In church, My companion and I teach an investigator class where nonmembers go to sunday school. So in our investigator class we had about 25 people that we taught which is much more than the usual 5 that show up on other sundays. After the class I learned that most of those new people are students at a bible college and many of them are studying to become clergy, and they showed up to get more information about our church for a research paper. so, they came to the church and were all pretending to be investigators. It was kind of disappointing to learn that they just came to the church to write a paper, but hopefully the message of the restoration which we taught them will plant some seeds in their hearts, and hopefully they will be willing to learn more and find out for themselves that the church is true.

This past week has been good though. We have been working hard. Training a new missionary can be challenging at times, but I am definitely learning in the process. We had another cool experience a couple weeks ago with one of our investigators. I will call the investigators name Dr. M.. Dr. M has been taught by missionaries for about a year and still has not been baptized. Then, a few weeks ago he had a dream where he saw his dead grandfather and Joseph Smith, and they were friends. The very next time that Dr. M came to church we had a lesson about temple and geneology work. Dr. M had been taught about temple work before, but I think he really felt the spirit testify to him at church about the divinity of temple work and genealogy because right after church, He came up to us and told us that he wants to be baptized as soon as possible. He should be getting baptized a few weeks into May if all goes well.

I love serving here in Jamaica. Everyday I love this country more and more. And everyday I learn more and more. I love my mission and I love the people here. I definitely know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ truly lives. I know that we have a prophet on the earth today who leads and guides us. Sorry this email is a little bit shorter today too. But I am sending a couple pictures and pictures are worth a thousand words. so technically this letter is really long. haha

P.S. as of tomorrow I am no longer a teenager that is another weird thought. time sure is flying. P.P.S. The pictures are of our Preparation day. We went to Treasure Beach in Saint Elizabeth. The person that is in a few of the pictures with me is the companion that I am training. 

Hello Everybody, Long time no talk. sorry this email has to be pretty short, i just came back from the beach with my zone. Things are going well here in Mandeville my companion and I are getting along well. It is a little bit different training, because my companion looks at everything that I do and I am constantly teaching so I have to be at the top of my game, which I always strive to do anyways, but it just puts the pressure on a little bit more. This week I was also called to be a district leader so I will have to teach district meeting every week which i am excited to do because i always find that i learn much more when i teach others. Our investigators here are doing well though. We now have 7 investigators who have a baptism date. We should be baptizing a man in about 2 weeks. There is a really cool story about how he finally comitted to baptism, but that will have to be shared next time due to lack of time. But i am doing well here. we are working hard and staying busy. Next week i will also send some pretty sweet pictures. But I just want to let all of you know that I know this church is true. I am so thankful to be serving a mission and I know that Jesus Christ lives. I know that we have a true prophet on the earth today. And we are so blessed to be living in this day and time. Well I hope to hear from you all very soon. I love and miss you all

Elder Nugent

Hello everybody! Long time no talk haha. I wasnt able to email yesterday because it was a national holiday in Jamaica and the email place was closed. I am still doing well in Mandeville. This week has been pretty crazy. My new companion was stuck in texas for a few days because of some tornadoes, so I was put with a missionary from another area close to mandeville for a few days. But, my new companion finally arrived safe and sound on saturday and we are doing lots of work here in Mandeville. He is a great missionary, and is excited to serve here in Jamaica. His name is Elder Olson by the way. The work has been going good here so far. We have three people with baptism dates and we have a lot more who are progressing slowly but surely. This week, I was reflecting on my calling and purpose as a missionary, and it really hit me that as missionaries we are called to represent Christ and help people become cleansed from their sins. I then thought of how much in my life I use the atonement, and the joy that comes from repentance and forgiveness, and it has really motivated me even more to spread the gospel to others. It made me feel kind of like Alma and the sons of Mosiah and also like Enos. In Preach My Gospel they tell us that as our understanding of the Atonement increases, our desire to share the gospel will increase as well. And I definitely know that to be true in my life. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and I know that he truly atoned for our sins. I have experienced the cleansing power of the Atonement in my life, and I love being able to help others apply that same power in their lives. Well I love and miss you all. Happy late easter! 

Love,

Elder Nugent

Hello everyone! Elder Nugent here. This week has been pretty good. It was a little bit tough because a lot of appointments fell through, but we were able to push through and have a pretty successful week. This week we also received transfer calls, and I will be staying in Mandeville and I will be getting a new companion who is a brand new missionary who i will be training. I am a little bit nervous, but im excited too. 

General Conference was really good too. I loved hearing all the talks and it flew by way too fast. Every session felt like it was only 30 minutes long it was so crazy. I definitely learned a lot of principles that will not only help me in my missionary work, but also when I come back home. I loved preisthood session, It really gave me a strong desire to serve the Lord and others with all ive got. 

I loved in conference how they also emphasized the importance of family. I never realized the true importance of family until I came on my mission and saw the effects of having unstable family units. I would like to add my testimony that strengthening the relationship that we have with our families is one of the most important goals and objectives that we should EVER have in this life. The family is so important. As a missionary I constantly try to find and strengthen families. The best way to strengthen and grow a family is on the principles of the gospel. These principles will cultivate love, respect, charity, service, and other essential attributes that are required for strong family units. Scripture reading, prayer, service, family home evenings, and spending time with family members are great activities to build the foundation of the family on gospel principles. All of these things invite and cultivate an enviornment where the Spirit can be present to make the family grow stronger. 

This gospel and my mission has definitely changed my life. I am so grateful for it. I know that Christ lives and that he atoned for the sins of the world. I am thankful for my family who have helped me become the person that I am. I love and miss you all

Love,

Elder Nugent