May 4th

Family,

Its already May.... and it's 80 degrees and sunny today. Finally! If the mission has taught me one thing its to appreciate the tender mercies the Lord blesses us with. With the brutal winter we had, it sure is nice to enjoy good weathah. I now know what it takes to be a true New Englandah. Its no wonder why the people are tough out here too lol.

This week was an awesome week! We picked up an entire family of investigators, the L_____ family. D___, a 13 year old kid, is the only one in the family that is pretty much interested in investigating and wants to be baptized. We have plans to extend the invitation for him and the rest of his family for baptism for the next time that we see them. We are also working with the T____ family. They have been investigating the church for quite a while now and the missionaries in the past have not had good luck working with them. It is our goal to simply invite them to our Spanish Group (which they came this Sunday!) and to slowly work with the father. He has been the one who has been stubborn with the missionaries in the past and is not very open with them, we'll see though. Another family that has been our focus as well is the C_____ family. We plan to see them later tonight. It's also our goal to invite the family to attend the Spanish Group and extend that invitation for baptism at some point in the near future... We are also working with several other individuals. M____ A____, T___ H_____, and M___ H___B___, all of which have great potential too. 

So as the mission comes to a close, I am aware of the trend or the focus of what the Lord expects of me to accomplish in my final area. The focus of families. Two of which may also make the difference for our little Spanish Group as well. I am going out on a full sprint to the finish line. It does not matter whether or not any of these people accept baptism (right away), as long as I am willing and committed to doing everything possible to help them progress spiritually in their lives and allowing them that opportunity to come unto Christ.

Elder Villar is doing great! We had a cool experience last Wednesday as we went to the Temple to do an Endowment session. All the trainers and trainees in the mission have the cool opportunity to do a session at the temple with one another. So that was pretty special. This Thursday we also have our final interviews with President Packard in the mission home. This will be the final time that everyone else in the mission will be able to meet one on one with him (not including my departing interview next month). I'm looking forward to it. 

Thanks for all your letters. It's exciting to know that Dad will be able to work at the Temple! And I had no idea that my companion Elder Smith was related to Scott Smith, I wish I could've made that connection before... I figured he would've known someone from the north canyon ward since he also lives in Glendale. 

It's sounds like everyone is doing great for the most part. It's sad to hear that there are some people that we know are struggling right now. Continue to keep them in your prayers and find ways to reach out and serve them. 

Continue to work hard in all that you do. Remember how blessed we are and that the Lord loves all of us. 
Les Quiero Mucho!       

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

Boston Strong 2015, April 20th

Family,

I went to the Boston Marathon earlier today so I don't have time to write this week. It was freezing today... only 45 degrees and rainy. But of course it was awesome! No better time to be in Boston for sure!! I love it.

The work this week went well. Elder Villar and I are working hard and getting the members to jump on board with the missionary efforts in this area. Our Spanish Group is struggling big time though... I don't know what the Lord has planned as far as the Spanish efforts go in this area, but we sure do have a lot that is occurring right now in the Franklin English Ward. Who knows though, we just have to take things one step at a time.

Jazz- Elder Villar says that he is second-cousins with the Lopez' del barrio El Parque. Pretty neat, small world.

.......

Thank you for all your letters and support. I will send some pictures of the Marathon, hopefully by tomorrow if not next week. Keep working hard.

Les Quiero Mucho! Boston Strong:)

April 13th

Family,

Wow! Yo realice que mi espanol no esta bien, por nada... jaja. Por los menos mi nuevo companero me ha ayudado muchismo con el idioma. Por que el es de Chile, el habla muy rapido y es muy dificil para entenderle, pero todavia estoy bendicido a tener un companero que esta dispuesto a ayudarme con esto. Ahora yo se lo que Jazzy hablaba cuando ella nos decia como dificil a entender los Chileanos por la primera parte de su mision.   

 

(I realize that my Spanish is not good for anything ... haha. At least my new companion has helped me a ton with the language. For that is Chile , speaking very fast and is very difficult to understand , but I'm still be blessing to have a partner who is willing to help me with this . Now I know what she was saying Jazzy when we spoke as difficult to understand Chileanos by the first part of his mission .)

The phrase "running towards the blasts" is certainly taking effect for me at this point on the mission... I have so much to do in so little time, its crazy. We are in charge of the Franklin 1 English Ward and the Spanish Group that was formed about a year ago. The Group is barely staying afloat with only 6-8 active members that actively attend weekly. The goal is to increase the attendance with active priesthood holders and families attending and to work with the members of the English Ward to get them involved in missionary work. We already have a ton of work to do with both. So we are pretty much working back and forth in two separate fields of the work. I definitely have experience in both English and Spanish wards, but the real challenge is finally here... I feel like everything I've worked towards and learned is being put to the test all at once for the last couple months of the mission.

My new companion is awesome! His name is Elder Villar del estado Vitacura en Santiago, Chile este! (the same mission as Jazzy). Jazz did you know anyone with the last name Villar-Barrios??? Anyways he is way cool. Of course he is a soccer player and he came right from high school to come out here to serve a mission. He is super nice and humble too. He also lived in Provo for a few years so he is pretty much fluent in English as well, but is still helping me with my Spanish.

Elder Villar found out a few days before coming out to the field that his dad was called as an area 70 of Chile during this past General Conference. I thought that was pretty amazing that he was able to find that out. Jazzy, you gotta let me know if you know him at all. Sounds like my companion would've lived in the same area of Santiago that you served in! 

I will definitely send some pictures soon. We are going to play soccer or something for our p-day, its his first one so we'll have a good time of course:)

......

 

Keep up the good work! Les quiero mucho!   

     

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

December 8th

Family,

Glad to know everyone is doing well and that you guys enjoyed your trip to San Diego! It sure does bring back a lot of good memories going to watch the Chargers and of course visiting Old Town. I received all of your packages, letters, etc. by the way, so no worries on that. Thank you for those! Its definitely a blessing to know how much you guys are thinking of us (Jazz and I- esp Jazzy at this point I'm sure;) We will all be back to go to San Diego as a family for sure around this time next year!

I am doing well. I felt very welcomed from many of the members and people that I've worked with before- both from Lowell and Nashua. There were also a lot of hugs and greetings from the Spanish folk yesterday when I was able to make an appearance in the Nashua Spanish group at church. The C______, L_____ and M____ family are absolutely a blessing! That was the highlight of my week, being able to see these families and also to see the growth of the Spanish Group since the last time I saw it last spring. I'm also blessed to know that I was able to make a positive impact on a few people from the time I served here before. Right now though, the work in the English ward is not as great as what I had back in New Haven... in fact, I went from the point of almost baptizing an entire family to working with zero investigators. Its kind of frustrating, but maybe this is why I was called to be back in this area. I know that the Lord has plans for me and a work for me to do no matter where I'm assigned to serve. 

I don't really have too much else to say... I am working well with Elder Smith, he is pretty chill. It turns out that we only live about 15 minutes away from one another. He lives south of Thunderbird. Good guy to work with.

Dad- That's awesome that you know a few people that can hook us up to go watch the Chargers play next fall. It's all about the connections:) Be sure to let Ron know that I am looking forward to his offer to go to a few games. Can't wait for that!

Karen- Thanks for the pics. Glad to know that you were able to reunite with your friend. You're right, we are very blessed to have great friends and to know that we can reach out to them. And yes, can't wait for Christmas too! :)

Jazzy- Sigue andelante hermana!! Sola tres semanas mas... que vas a hacer?!?!?! Leave it all in Chile:) Love you J!

Enjoy the rest of your week, I know that the Lord is continually blessing us. Be sure to always remember Him and do what you need to do in order to be touched by the Spirit in your lives. Whether its by scripture study, prayer or continual service for others, I know that the Spirit may be present with us if we are striving to come closer to the Savior.

Les Quiero mucho! GO CHARGERS!!!

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

August 4th

Family,

So this week was basically a week of saying my good-bye's to a few of the families that I had a strong connection with over in Lowell, MA. The G______family especially. I told you guys a little bit about R___ G_____- our Group Leader for the Spanish Group. Him and his family were by far my favorite people in that area. I will definitely take the time to meet with them again; if not on the mission, afterwards for sure! (I only have printed pictures of the families that I visited this past week...)

On Wednesday we were able to receive transfers. My new companion, Elder R______, is pretty cool. He is from Rexburg, Idaho and played basketball and ran track in high school. He also attended a semester of college over at BYU-I. He is a hard, dedicated worker just like myself. I'm definitely going to enjoy working with him, we are already having success being with each other just a few days into the transfer! We have 3 upcoming baptisms for this month alone!

The transition from my last area to serving in a whole new area speaking only English is one of the things that is a challenge for me though... It feels like a whole different mission for me because everything is different- the routine, language, people we work with, exhausting late nights etc. But I love it nonetheless! I also love my Zone! All of us are focused on the goal of finding new investigators since most of our areas were one of the highest baptizing zones in the mission, so we needed to have a "fresh start" for this part of the month. We are all way excited and looking forward to this new goal that we have. It is going to be our responsibility to teach and train these missionaries this week and for us to figure out ways to motivate them in order for them to find more people to teach. 

I had the opportunity to bear my testimony yesterday to my new ward family here in Woodbridge, CT as I expressed my excitement about doing the Lord's work. I was also able to share the blessings that I received from doing so. I know that I am able to receive specific guidance from the Holy Spirit as I am focused by acting on the small things as reading my scriptures and praying with a sincerity of heart to my Heavenly Father. I am also strengthened spiritually as I act on these promptings, which gives me more opportunities to share my testimony with others and to feel the presence of the Holy Ghost more often. 

Thank you for all your letters, it sounds like everyone is doing great!

I love you all!

July 21st

Family,

I really can't believe how fast these weeks are going. Honestly, it feels like the days are flying by, it felt like I just emailed you guys the other day... But this week was really good. We worked so hard to visit all our less actives and we were able to have great success to find a less active family that we've never met, the A_____. We've been trying to reach out to this family for the past 2 months with no luck, but we were finally able to meet them for the first time this past week and it turns out they are way cool. They don't have too much interest in returning to the church, but we were able to talk about their conversion stories and to have them realize the impact the gospel has had in their lives. We are planning to work with them little by little and let the Lord take care of the rest. It's those small miracles in the week that make everything worth it though! Especially when the work is slow, or not going as expected. I am learning how important it is to look for the small successes in the work and to trust in the Lord, no matter the circumstances. We were also able to see the blessings yesterday at church, when we had a total of 43 people attend our sacrament meeting, the most we've had in the group so far! 

We were also able to pick up 2 new investigators this past Tuesday, W_____ and his wife C____ from Puerto Rico. We taught them the Restoration and extended a baptismal invitation. Unfortunately they didn't commit to the baptismal invitation though, but we will continue to work with them. There's 2 more potential investigators that have a lot of interest. It will be our goal to go visit them this upcoming week. So as far as the work is concerned, there are a lot of good potential for this Spanish Group and more success yet to come!  

Thank you for all your letters! I got the letter from Dad. You're the man! And no need for an apologize either, I get pumped every time I receive a letter! I know how special those are, its a thing that I greatly appreciate as well. And yes, we're going golfing at that one course when I get back, no doubt about that! 

 

Karen-   I'll look for your hand-written letter this week in the mail as well. Those pics of Lake Powell and the Phx Temple are amazing. Two places that I also want to go when I get back!

 

Jazz- Those pictures are awesome!! Are those the Andes Mts in the back round? I like the one with the Chilean Flag, that looks sweet!! Sounds like you are doing great as well! Sigue con el trabajo. Espero que todo te vaya bien con tigo! 

We are receiving information on transfers this week. Elder Johnston and I have been together as companions for almost 6 months (about a quarter of our mission). We will see what will happen with this transfer, as far as all that is concerned... I will let you know where next week if there are any changes that occurs.

I know that the Lord has helped strengthened my testimony and given me opportunities to expound my knowledge in the gospel. I've also been greatly blessed to know just how much He wants me to grow and go through difficult times on the mission. This, I know, allows me to depend on Him daily. There are so many times when I feel tired or disappointed but those are the times when I feel I need Him the most. I consider this a blessing to know just how much I can look up to my Father in Heaven and exercise my faith. Because of this, I am able to further understand that everything does happens for a reason. 

Keep up the good work this week. I love you all!        

 

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

July 14th

Family,

I am doing well. One cool thing that happened this past week was that this past Wednesday, I was able to do some service by cooking a dinner for the D____ family! This family is not (yet) part of our Group here in Lowell since they are already members that attend a Spanish Ward in Lawrence, MA that is just 10 miles outside our Ward boundaries (even our mission boundaries).

[This is one of the biggest trials we face starting up this little Spanish Group in Lowell- that a lot of the Hispanic Member Families in this area would preferably travel a little farther to attend a well-established Hispanic Ward, just a 15 min drive for them. It makes since that they prefer this, but it is also going against the regulation of having their records be in a Ward that is outside of their area or location of residency. It's kind of confusing I know, but our Bishopric and Group Leader are taking care of a lot of this. This whole situation sort of stinks and may unfortunately even cause some drama (like most of the Hispanic culture has- Jazz probably knows), but we'll just have to see and have faith that it will all work out...]

Anyways, back to what I was getting at. I was able to make some homemade Abuelita-styled tortillas with avocado, beans, and rice along side with some pasta of course for this family! It was pretty good too, edible to say the least haha. I don't think I've ever mentioned this but one of the things I discovered to do on my mission is to enjoy and learn how to cook various types of food, of different cultures! I started back in Providence making tortillas with Abuelita along with getting some other recipes from different members I've met on the mission. I'm blessed to enjoy even the simple things as far as cooking, I know that Karen would probably be proud about this:)        

This week was kind of slow as far as the work is concerned... (again, we are still waiting on some action items to be taken care of from our Bishopric/Group leader). So we have not had too much progress with our less actives or any of our investigators. We also had a total of 26 that showed up to our Group yesterday for our sacrament meeting. It was one of those weeks, not too thrilling whatsoever. But I know that as long as we are giving it our best, that is what really matters to the Lord. 

It sounds like everyone is doing well! Dad- Thank you for the letter! I'll be looking forward to the letters from you guys this week! I appreciate all your love and support every week. Siguen adelante con el trabajo de cualquir forma. Se que la importancia de mantaner positivo es essencial durante los tiempos dificiles que pasan en la mision. Gracias a ustds. Les quiero mucho! 

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

Family,

This week has been a good week for both Johnston and I! To tell you a little bit about what we did for our 4th of July weekend, we were able to get permission from our AP's to drive down to Boston to stay and watch the fireworks. The weird thing was was that the 4th of July was actually celebrated on the 3rd this year, due to Hurricane Arthur that hit the East Coast pretty hard during the actual day of the 4th... But we were still able to celebrate it that evening with a member who also lives down in Boston. It was so cool to see how many people were along the Charles River during that time!  We were able to find a good spot along the River to watch the fireworks, while also being able to hear the Boston Pops being played in the background. Immediately after the fireworks though, the storm (Hurricane Arthur) came in and it started to downpour like crazy! It was pretty much all of Boston in one area trying to run for the train station over by Park St. Man we were drenched! Just like it was in Philly- Great memories Dad haha. But it was such a cool experience to be able to go to Boston to celebrate Independence Day! You guys can probably guess the plans that I might have next year during that time:) 

As far as the work is going, we are continuing to find small successes here and there. For example, yesterday, one of our less-actives members came to the pulpit and bore her testimony for the first time in a long time. We also had 31 total people attend our Group, so our numbers as far as attendance is slowly starting to increase as well. Other than that, we have been working a lot with our Bishop to finalize our ward list for the Lowell Ward to determine if these people still live in the area. This has basically been our assignment ever since we've gotten here and now we are almost completed with it. Our next steps are to continue to work with the less-actives that are here in the area along with continuing to invite. That's what we do.

Johnston and I were able to pick up 2 more investigators while tracking the streets- Jose and Segundo from Ecuador. We were able to teach them a solid lesson of the Restoration and the Intro to the Book of Mormon the other day. Jose seemed to have a lot of interest as we were teaching and wanted to continue to learn more. We ended up inviting both of them to church this past Sunday but they didn't attend... We hope that we can still be able to work with them, along with a couple others that we have met either by street contact or door to door knocking. I am learning how difficult it is to find investigators in this way and also understanding how non-effective it is, compared with working through the members. That is why starting a Group is also difficult, we don't have too many members and the members that attend don't know too many of the Hispanics that live in this area. We are continuing to chip away and have faith nonetheless.

One of the things that I've enjoyed learning about was actually a talk that was given in this month's issue of the Ensign- "Becoming Perfect in Christ." This talk actually helped strengthened my testimony by reminding me of the importance of understanding that perfection doesn't happen immediately. Sometimes I want so bad to know the right answers right away, to understand a new language, to strive to have perfection- for me, that is typically how my mind works, to have that desire to immediately know right away. As I've mentioned before, this talk was a great reminder for me to realize the importance of building faith to rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ during difficulty and to have patience during those times. These are concepts that you can never really learn enough of. I am always willing to learn more about the Atonement of Christ- Something that is personal and different for each individual person but centered around the same person, through and only through Jesus Christ.

I know that He lives and loves us. 

I'm blessed to know that you all are doing well, along with our friends and family like Devin Hampton and Lauren Dodd- They sound like they are doing well on their missions!

I'm looking forward to the letter Dad, thank you for that. Keep up the hard work everyday!  Les quiero mucho!   

(I love them very much!)

              

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

June 30th

Family,

Thank you for all the packages, letters and emails that were sent out for my birthday!!! I appreciate all the things that were sent, including that banner.. hahahaha! I didn't get to do to much as far as celebrations go and all that, just work. You know how it is. But it was nice to have also had the time to do something cool for both mine and Elder Johnston's "back-to-back birthdays." So last night Elder Johnston and I had dinner with one of my favorite members, the B________ family- they are from Milan, Italy. So talk about the best way to celebrate, with authentic Italian, Nothing Better!! :) We ate soooo well! Pasta, Chicken, Homemade Italian Bread:) Sis B_______ was also able to embarrass me a little bit by showing everyone that ridiculous picture from facebook that K posted, man do I look cheesy. You know I don't like pics lol.

 

 

But one of the things that I was really blessed to do was to have had the opportunity to attend a fireside that was held last night by the stake. Johnston and I were in attendance to translate, but none of the Hispanics showed up to the fireside... We were still able to be a part of the fireside and hear all the talks that were spoken nonetheless. The theme of the fireside was "Conversion unto Christ." Our Stake President, President Holland (Son of Jeffery R Holland) spoke about a time when he was converted in his own way to the Gospel. As for myself reflecting on his talk, it kind of hit me that as a guy (like my Stake President), that grew up in what I'm assuming to be a well Gospel-Oriented household, would ever come to his own way of Conversion. He even made a scriptural reference that I thought to be interesting as well, from John 9:25 by saying "He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." He later emphasized that last phrase at the end of the scripture that illustrates- "Now I see." 

As I reflected, I thought about a time to when I had truly been converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or a specific time to where I realized my own conversion. There have been several small moments, especially throughout the course of my mission. (Some of which I can share and express more when I can tell you them in person). But I do know about the importance of conversion and what it means to every person whether members of the church or a recent converts. Everyone should have their story or moment of how they have come to know of the truth for themselves. Something that I am also in the process of knowing and will continue to learn as well. When was the time or experience when you guys gained/strengthened your testimony or were otherwise "converted" to the Gospel? Just something to think about...

I had a pretty good week as far as the work goes. Elder Johnston and I are cleaning out our ward list by doing everything we can to contact the Hispanic people in the area of Lowell, either by phone, knocking on doors, talking with neighbors, etc. to determine if they are still even living in the area. We don't really work too much with investigators, the primary purpose or our assignment is to form the Spanish Group and bring back those who have fallen away and invite them to return. We have had small miracles this past week doing so. One of which included a lady, N___A____, that was "lost" and hadn't been a part of the church in over 10 years, but we had re-established contact with her because we managed to sneak our way into her apartment complex. Just doing what you gotta do I guess lol.

Everything else is going well. Jazz- Lo siento sobre tu equipo... Nadie pensaba que chile estuviera jugar la manera que jugaron. Todo es la representacion que Chile hizo en la copa. Estoy seguro que hay muchas personas alli que todo villa estan hablando de todo de esa. Espero que todo vaya bien con tigo. Estoy emocionado a recibir su carta en el correo! Gracias Hma!

(Sorry about your team ... Nobody thought that chile was playing the way they played. Everything is the representation that Chile did in the cup. I'm sure there are many people all around town are talking about that. I hope everything goes well with you. I'm excited to get a letter in the mail! Thanks Hma!)

 

Dad/K I am sending a separate email later on. Thank you guys for all your love and support! I love you all.    

(Pics: Lowell, MA. 6/28 and 6/29 Dinner and Desert)

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

June 16th

Family,

 

This week has been really good. It's pretty safe to say that I am at that point of the mission where it is a little bit of a challenge for me to think back at what I did this past week since it all felt like a blur. It feels like the last time a wrote to you guys was just the other day... that's how fast it is going by.

 

Something great that happened this week- 

On Friday, we received a call from my mission president, President Packard, and he informed us about the significance these next 4-5 weeks are for this Spanish Group we have started in Lowell. He told us these weeks will either determine whether or not this Group will so-call "survive" depending on how many people we would have attending it... Later in the conversation, President finally told us a goal that he had in mind for us this week that he felt was right. He told us that it should be our goal to have a total of 25 total people in attendance for this weeks sacrament meeting. The first week we had 42 people, but knowing that more than half those people were only there for support for the first meeting and nothing more, I was a little skeptical about the number. Adding to that, we also had visited, attempted to contact, and tracted all of our less-active members that were on our ward list. We did not have very much success with that whatsoever during this past week.

I prayed a lot over the weekend that we would be able to reach our goal knowing how hard we worked during this past week. So yesterday, as we showed up to the meeting 5 minutes beforehand, there were only 6 people in the room... I was bummed and honestly felt a little humiliated for how many people actually showed up. But at 9:00, right before the meeting started, everyone just showed up almost at one time, it was amazing! And not only that, but we ended up having 25 exactly! I also had the blessing of giving a talk yesterday on how Heavenly Father shows his unconditional love for everyone of his children. I ended up tying in that topic with Fathers and related back on how Dad has shown his love to me by teaching me important principals that would bless me throughout my life.

 

Thanks Dad, Happy Fathers Day!         

  

I did not receive transfers, which means I will be with Elder Johnston for another 6 weeks. I kind of feel like Jazzy and her first companion; this will be my 4th transfer with him...  I believe we work hard and make a good team nonetheless.

 

I did get the letter from dad as well. Thanks for the Dunkin Donuts gift card, that will come in good use for sure! 

 

It sounds like everyone is doing great! And yes, we will definitely be playing the Troon when I get back. I'm looking forward to that.            

Keep working hard guys. I pray for you all everyday. Les quiero mucho!

 

May 19th

Thank you for all your letters. So like I've said, right now I am in Lowell, Mass. The Spanish Group in this area was just announced yesterday so everything is a go! The differences between this one and the Group that we started in Nashua is that we are working completely from scratch... and I mean completely. We do have two investigators right now though, but our primary focus is reactivation and inviting ALL to come unto Christ. With that being said, there are a total of 58 people in the ward who speak Spanish but are no where to be found in the area. That is where we come in, to find and invite. And there are also 27 people who are Brazileros in the ward... This means that our other assignment is to reach out to all the Portugese speaking members in the area as well and to also invite them to the Spanish Group, where they can understand the majority of what is being said. 

 

Lowell is filled with a ton of Brazilians and Cambodians, its pretty crazy! When we spoke with our Bishop yesterday, he discussed some of the issues that this ward has and one of the biggest problems was the amount of less-actives that don't speak English; hence one of the reasons we are starting this group. So yeah, he has also asked us to reach out to all people, no matter their race or language they speak. Elder Johnston and I are now learning Portugese and a little Cambodian... its pretty wild! Portugese is basically a totally different language! I'm excited to be learning different languages and cultures. I never thought I'd ever have to speak those languages. The Lord is definitely making my mission pretty interesting for sure!

 

One of the things I am grateful for is the great relationships I am making with some of the members here in the Lowell Ward. There is this family (the G_____ family) who are our only Spanish active members and are doing all that they can to help us in the work. They are super nice and want to do everything to help. This family consists of an older couple and a son who is our Group Leader (R__ G___). This guy is awesome! He hooked Elder Johnston and I up at a really nice gym for a 30 free pass and is just all around way cool. I'm excited to be working with him to say the least!  

 

Dad and K- That is awesome you were able to make it to the Grand Canyon! I can't wait to hike it when I get back. That is definitely one of the first things I want to do is to hike the whole rim, North and South. I'm sure that grandpa and grandma had just as great of a time as well! That's fun that the Rackham's were able to come to AZ for a visit too. It sounds like everything is going well back home, keep it up!

 

Jazz- Como vai? Eu nao falar muieto portugese mas eu estou tretando aprender.... jaja. Lo que dije es que estoy tratando aprender portugese pero es tan dificil. Basicamente un otro idioma por los menos. Te images tratando hablar en espanol mientras te pillas tu nariz, es lo que como sona el portugese jaja. De todos modos, sigues trabajando. Te quiero mucho hermana!

 

I recieved a package today, which I will open up later this afternoon. Thank you guys for that.

 

I know that this work is tough. I never felt like I have had to work harder in my life... Football is hard but it doesn't even compare as far as the amount of mental and spiritual exhaustion I feel everyday. I just know that the Lord expects a lot out of me and He knows that I can rise up to these types of challenges. Like I said, I am basically starting from nothing; with the people I'm working with, the language, the area... everything. But I'm blessed to know that I can always fall back on my Savior and trust in Him for everything as well.  love you guys. I pray for you often.