May 18th

Family,

I am doing fine. There have been countelss weeks when it has been difficult for me on the mission, but for some reason this week was just rough... It was difficult to find productive things to do after almost all of our appointments feel through. It's also frusterating that the majority of our investigators are not progressing as well. And because of this, we spent the majority of our time door to door tracting. No one was remotely interested, so it felt like a waste of time. And time is what I don't have too much left... I'm just glad to know that everything has its purpose though and to know that these experiences, as frustrating as they are, are helping me to grow stronger. Just as Dad put it, these will probably be the hardest 6 weeks trying to finish it out to the end. Maybe the Lord is preparing Elder Villar and I for something better though, we'll see.

To shed some light on the positives, we were able to go to the temple this past Tuesday to do baptisms for the dead with the youth in our ward. We felt that we were able to have a good connection with a lot of the youth and our members from our ward because we were able to help out. It's always a blessing to attend the temple. What an incredible opportunity dad has to work at the Phoenix temple now too. 

Congrats to Jazz!!!! That's exciting how she is moving on to the big leagues, L.S.U!! Ya no BRCC:)  haha. I'm proud of you J, love ya.

Karen- Thanks for sending a package. ..........

Dad- Looking forward to that letter. I want you to know how much I appreciate those and how much it motivates me whenever I read them. Keep it up working at the gym and now at the temple:)

Keep up all the hard work. I know that we have been blessed by the Lord greatly. And I know that he has more in store as well. This week will be a better week for sure, no doubt:)  

Les quiero mucho!

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

November 24th

Family,

Today is freezing.... Its only a chilly 65 degrees to be exact:) I'm so grateful for days like this when I can enjoy a bit of warm weather before the snow actually comes. (Not looking forward to it at all). But this week was a great week for us here in Connecticut. We actually met with S____ yesterday and talked with him about his baptism that is going to take place this upcoming Sunday. I am so excited for him!!! He even agreed to allow me to perform the ordinance for him. I'm so blessed that we were able to help him progress, which will also allow him to receive the Holy Ghost and the Aaronic Priesthood afterwards so that he can have the chance baptize his wife and his son. its great! Unfortunately, we will probably have to postpone A____'s baptism date for the next month. She says that she will most likely be ready during that time. But its alright though, its only for the best for her whenever she feels ready and a time that is right. All in all, it is really a great time for us! We already have 63 baptisms throughout the mission, which means only 7 more baptisms need to occur for the next week- We have about 30 baptisms that are going to take place throughout the mission next week, including Steve's. We are thrilled overall here in our mission. We know that the Lord has blessed us with miracles and has allowed us to see the blessings and the changes that occur, through conversion, by being baptized in his Holy name. I have a strong testimony of that and hope to continue to have more experiences like these throughout the remainder of my mission. (Mosiah 18:8-13)

As for me, I am doing well:) I definitely feel a lot healthier in regards with my physical health overall. This week, we also have our transfers coming up. I have been here in CT for about 3 transfers now, so I have no idea where I will end up... (hopefully I can stay here for at least 1 more). But its wherever the Lord wants me to serve. 

Dad- Thanks for the letters man, I will look for the next one this week. I am so excited for our new temple too! I was able to watch the videos for both the cultural celebration and the dedication. It is great to have a temple so close to the house, I'm glad you were able to go this past week. Tell Frank "beefy" wants to make a trip out there sometime next year! (Some of my post-mission plans that I have). 

Karen- That's exciting that you are going on a cruise with everyone, including Grandma and Grandpa B lol. That is fun to hear! Also, those gloves might not be a bad idea. Only 1 more winter to survive... Enjoy the weather in AZ as much as you can! :)

Jazz- Are you going back to LSU after? Let me know the plans. I'm looking forward to the skype on Christmas for sure, its just right around the corner:) Disfruta el resto de la semana hermana! Te Quiero!

I hope you guys enjoy your thanksgiving, whether in Chicago, Chile, TX wherever you guys are at. I just want you to know how thankful I am to be a missionary and a representative of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful to have the knowledge that pertains through diligence and obedience and to be lead and guided everyday by the Holy Spirit. I know that this gospel is real, for I am able to live it. 

And as well, I am thankful for all your love and support which you have given me. Let the folks know in Chi that I say hi and that I'm doing well. Have a great week. Les quiero mucho! 

October 27th

Family,

 

The Phoenix Temple is amazing!!! I'm so excited to see the progress of the temple and now to finally see it done... wow! What a blessing for our family to have a temple literally in our backyard. What a great experience for you guys- dad and karen- to invite friends and family to join in on the open house. I'd imagine you guys have been getting plenty of questions in regards with the temple and with the church in general. That is awesome! I'm happy to hear about it all and also excited to enter it myself when I come home. (Absolutely the first thing I will be doing is going through that Temple)

 

I am doing well. My health is great and I feel good. No complaints there. The work is progressing as usual too, poco a poco. Hay personas en que estamos trabajando, como nuestro investigadores (S___, A___ B___, etc)  que sean progresando por lo menos. Es un tiempo que vayan durar un poco por que la clima esta cambiando. When the whether in New England changes, it unfortunately means the work changes with it as well... It is what it though. We make the best with what we are given, that is all. Hence, BostonStrong:)

 

We had our Trunk o Treat the other night; man it reminded me so much of both the Parkway Ward in WI and the Woodridge Ward in Bolingbrook when we did those. Of course Elder Lee and I participated by dressing up as "the missionaries" and helped by passing out candy to the kids. We were also able to make chilli for the activity. They ended up giving us the award for the worst tasting chilli.... haha:) We had no idea what we were doing when it came to making chilli, but it was so much fun! - All the ward members ended up signing up on our dinner calender the day after at church because they realized how bad our cooking was lol.

 

We have a lot going on as far as meetings for the next couple weeks. This Wednesday Elder Lawrence from the 70 is planning to meet with all the leaders in the mission. Which means I will have the opportunity to have a one on one interview with him. I'm pretty excited to have this opportunity to have someone from the general authority interview me. It will be a very cool and uplifting spiritual experience for sure!

 

Dad- I'm looking forward to getting your letter in response of what has been on my mind recently and your thoughts on what I wrote to you. Make sure to definitely invite D____ to the Temple. Let him know as well that I'm pulling through for his Giants.    

Karen- ............ I am just blessed to be serving where I am and to be given these opportunities to where I can maintain good physical health on the mission as well. Thanks for the pics btw, I can't get over how cool this temple is! Oh, one of my best friends from SVU is actually serving on the temple grounds as well. His name is Elder Lewis, he is from the Seattle, WA area. I gave him your contact info and told him to hit up our house for dinner or something. He's a stud. If you can try to look out for him, that would be sweet!

 

Jazzy- Mira por una carta en el correo. No se cuando va a durar hasta el tiempo cuando puedes recibirlo. Tambien gracias por tus respuestas del correo que me enviaste la semana pasada en relacion con tus planes despues de la mision. Pero sigue con el trabajo como siempre! Te quiero hermana.

 

Thank you guys for your love and support. Keep working hard. Love you all!

 

  

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong