June 15th

Family,

Thank you for all your letters and support. 

Dad, I received your letter in the mail this past week and I'll be sure to look for the last remaining ones in the mail at some point either this week or next. And Karen, thank you for the offer on the new phone! I kind of feel spoiled lol but at the same time I am truly grateful and blessed:) Again, thank you guys.

I can't believe the time has come to this. I only have 2 weeks remaining... But because the Lord has blessed me to endure to the end, I will have the privilege to be a part of another baptism held in our ward this upcoming Saturday. This is for an ex-communicated member, ______, who has been faithful and worthy to re-enter into the waters of baptism. This is someone who the missionaries have been working with for a long time. And now he has finally been approved by Salt Lake City to become a member again. We are all excited for him! 

Everyone will find out their new companions this Friday, and then next week on Saturday (June 27th) is when we will hold our transfer meeting. It will be the farewell for President Packard, his family, and 30 other missionaries that are going home as well. I am grateful to have been companions with Elder Villar. He has strengthened my testimony and has helped me grow, even only during the 2 months that I've been with him. To be honest, I believe he has taught me more than I have been able to teach him. He has been one of my favorite companions by far! I know why the Lord has put us together during this time.   

As I explained in my last email, this will most likely be my final email that I will write to you all on my mission. Elder Villar, A___ D______, and I are planning to make the trip to Boston next week for my final P-Day. No better way to end the mission than being in the city I love, while being with Villar and my other best friend A____, who I had the opportunity to literally see change his life by accepting the gospel! It's a storybook ending for a roller coaster ride of a mission that I experienced. No doubt, we'll have a great time:) 

I will end it all with my testimony that I know that our Savior lives and loves us. I've come to a knowledge of these truths by the Holy Spirit. It is real. This gospel is real. People do change by accepting Jesus Christ in their lives, I am a witness to that. I am a witness to the power of the Atonement. I have been able to exercise it myself and experience the divinity and power of the atonement on my mission. At a certain point of my mission, I have felt the lowest I've ever felt in my life. Only coming to realize later on that it was only to experience true joy, in a sense. That is what this gospel is all about. The Lord humbled me to know this. It's not about me, it's not about the personal gain, or popularity, or any of that. No, it's about the Lord and being a  blessing for his children. This is my purpose as a Saint and a servant of the Lord. It is my humble testimony that I know this church is true. And how blessed I am to have been raised into this church by an amazing family to help me get to this point in my life! 

I accomplished His work as a Full-Time Representative of Jesus Christ here in New England by the hand of the Lord. And for this, I couldn't be any happier.

Pat, I will hopefully be seeing you and your family soon! Jazzy, I can't wait to give you a big hug as well:)

This is it. See you all in 2 weeks! Les Quiero mucho! 

​Go Sox! 

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

May 24th

Family,

I am writing a quick email tonight because of the Memorial Day holiday. We are blessed to have the opportunity again to attend the Temple early in the a.m. tomorrow!  Although we will be in the Boston area, we're actually spending the rest of the day tomorrow in Cambridge where a group of missionaries and some other Brazilian locals and will be having a huge BBQ and playing soccer. I know that Elder Villar and I will have a blast, it should be a great day:)  

I am doing well. Elder Villar and I are continuing to work hard by helping our investigators progress, poco a poco:) We were also introduced this week to what is known as "Digital Missionary Work." This is a new concept of missionary work that the MBM alone has created, where we can communicate to others using Skype and other social media networks to contact people. We reach out to others through the net to introduce them to the Gospel! And once they are interested in further discussions or baptism, we will be able to contact the local missionaries in that area to further their progression. It's super neat. We are required to do this during the slow hours of the day, and then we go about our normal proselyting work for the remainder of the time. For example, just this past week I was able to Skype with a woman from Italy and also another from Venezuela. As well, I was able to call a guy over the internet from Mexico. So this next week, Elder Villar and I will possibly have the opportunity to share the first discussion over Skype with the two women both from Italy and Venezuela, hopefully by this Tuesday. Its awesome! The work is hastening all over the world.        

I am grateful for the tender mercies of the Lord, especially the blessings of great church leaders- specifically the bishop of the current ward I am serving. His name is Bishop Doughty. He was able to give me great advice in regard to keep working hard towards the end of my mission. As well, I received the letter from Dad that helped me even greater to understand what I need to do to finish strong. So Dad, thank you for the letter! We will talk about everything soon;)

I want you guys to know how much I love you all. I hope you are not too worried or concerned about me... I know I'm supposed to endure difficult times on the mission for a reason. I only know that this reason is making me stronger and building up my testimony even more. Thank you for all your love and support as well. 

Here is the link to the information for the parent Web-Ex for tonight. http://www.bostonmission.org/events/I hope you are able to get this in time, it starts in 5 minutes from now...

Have a great week. I love you all. BostonStrong!

 

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

Final Transfers, April 6th

Family,

I received my final transfers earlier this week. The Lord has called me to serve in Franklin, MA Spanish-Speaking for my final months on the mission!! It is 45 min South of Boston, right next to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, and 30 min North of my first area in Providence. It is perfect. I will also be a District Leader and Training my new companion who is a native speaker from... CHILE!! I am so excited!!! This is the way the Lord wanted me to end the mission:) Although I did not have a chance to actually serve in the city of Boston, this opportunity is much better. I'm blessed to train a new missionary, which will allow me to apply all the things I've been able to learn as a missionary throughout the past two years. The geographic area doesn't matter either, it's all about the people I will be able to bless. This is definitely the way to end it!

I hope you all took the time to reflect upon our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ during this past Easter weekend while also watching General Conference:) I love General Conference and it helped strengthened my testimony on what I can do to improve in my own personal life to draw me closer to my Savior. He lives and he loves us. I also can't believe the time that has gone by knowing that this was the final time I would be able to watch conference as a full time missionary. The time is going by each day...

I believe that the Packards are hosting a video chat with all the parents next Sunday on April 12th, which sounds pretty exciting. I will also let you know more details next week about my new area and how everything goes with my new companion from Chile. Again, I am way excited for what's about to take place!

Thank you for all your love and support. Les Quiero Mucho!   

PS. I did not go to New York City, we went into the New York within the mission boundries:)

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

 

 

February 23rd

Family,

This week has been another solid week in terms of extending Baptismal Dates for our investigators! The weather here blows but the work is progressing. Elder Terry and I were able to extend 3 more baptism dates, one for V__ V____ for May 2nd and two for our new investigators R__ D____ and N____ R____ for the end of March. R____ and N____ were actually found while we were tracking the streets at 8:30 at night when it was only 10 degrees outside. It was definitely a tender mercy for us since we were able to leave a blessing on their home that night and then later they committed to attend church a couple days after. It was awesome! So right now we have planned 6 baptisms, most of them lined up to occur at least every weekend in March. It sure is a blessing to have the success that we've been having. The key to all of this is the blessings that comes through obedience, diligence to rely upon the Lord, and by working with the members:) 

Thank you for your emails. ,,,,,,,,,,and yes, I'm stoked to play the courses:) Can't wait!

As for now, I will keep doing the Lord's will during this time in his service. I'm blessed for the miracles that I've seen and the spiritual progression I'm able to witness in the lives of others and for myself as well. I know that Heavenly Father has his purposes, even during times of difficulty. This is just his way of preparing us to become his choice sons and daughters that he knows we are.

Thanks again for all that you do. Keep up the good work. Les Quiero Mucho! 

​

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

February 16th

Family,

I'm sure you all of you are aware of the bitter cold weather we experienced yesterday here in NE. Church was also canceled for the first time on my mission because of the severity of the cold. We still had a chance to give some service though by shoveling snow for people during part of the day yesterday. This has been honestly the most brutal weather I have ever experienced. Anytime down the road when I have the chance to come back to NE, I will make it a priority to visit in the summer instead of the winter. 

I can continue to talk about how awful this weather has been for us, but all in all it has not really affected our work. In fact, we have seen tender mercies occur in our area just in the past couple days. V____ sent us a text yesterday saying that she does want to be baptized! She is still trying to figure out a specific date though. We are also starting to plan for Ma_____'s and M_____'s baptisms for March 7th and March 15th. And we also plan to extend baptism for S___ D_____ and possibly for J____ tomorrow as well. We have not been able to see J______ in a while so we will see what happens with him. 

So although we have had some obstacles occur for us these past couple days, I'm blessed to see the positives that occurred for us. Plus by being inside for all of yesterday, it gave me the time to reflect on my mission and about my life and where I stand. I know that the Lord has great plans for me, including the time that I have serving Him and his children at this moment. I am aware of the amount of time that I have left as well, its crazy to think about but its also exciting at the same time. I am finding out more and more of what the Lord wants me to do in the future and most importantly the type of person he wants me to become.

.........Also Karen, thank you for the socks and valentines day card. I'm glad you and dad were able to be with Ron and Denise for this past week too. Tell them that I say hi! 

Keep up the hard work. Jazz- Happy Mardi Gras! Don't get too crazy:P lol.

Enjoy the warmth. Les Quiero Mucho!             

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

 

 

 

February 9th

Family,

Thanks for all the updates on what's been happening. That's exciting for dad how he has a new calling as a ward clerk. Perfect- Now I can make sure to pay my tithing in pennies when I get home:) lol. Glad to know that Jazzy is doing well in BA and attending the temple out there as well. 

This past week was pretty exciting! Elder Terry and I were able to set 2 baptismal dates this week. Our first one with M___ ____ and the other with M___ A____. It was amazing because M____ has been investigating the church since June of last year, and this past week she was able to self-commit herself to be baptized in March! It really was a miracle for us that she was able to do that. M_____ plans to be baptized on March 7th and M_____ for the following week on March 15th. We will be praying that everything goes well for them. Also, we were able to meet with another one of our other investigators, V____ V_____, as of yesterday. We extended a baptismal invitation for her and she simply told us she was going to pray about a date. She knows that its true, she just needs to pray for a time when she feels like she would be ready. This next month will be the month when all our baptisms will be in check, for everything that we have planned for. The goal of the mission (if I hadn't already mentioned it yet) is to bring 420 people to the waters of baptism by the end of June, or when President Packard goes home. This means that as a mission we are working our tails off doing everything we can to extend baptism and to help these people come unto Christ. It truly will be amazing when we will accomplish this goal. I know and the Lord knows that we are capable of achieving it. This has been one of the coolest concepts I've been able to learn on my mission, how to set goals and prioritize my time to accomplish them. 

Last week we also had our Zone Meeting, which went great! We really do have great missionaries in our Zone. Everyone is way excited and is working hard. For this upcoming week, we also plan to extend baptism to a couple of our other investigators that we are working with, including J_____. We are pumped for what is yet to come.

Tomorrow is the day when we plan to have our one on one interviews with President Packard. This will possibly be my last interview that I will have with him before my departing interview in a few months... crazy how much time is going by.

Even with the weather being as miserable as it is, I am blessed to know that I can still rely upon the Lord to help me bear challenges as such. And to answer dads question, my health is good. I don't work out at a gym anymore, I just do daily exercises in the apartment. My weight is pretty much the same... I am not really gaining muscle. This is just part of the sacrifice I need to endure on my mission though. I don't think the Lord intended for me to be physically strong over the course of my mission but for me to rather gain greater mental/spiritual strength. That is the point of all of this. I will just hit it hard again at the gym when I return home.   

Thanks for the blanket by the way! I received it today. Glad to know that everyone is doing well and is working hard.

Les Quiero Mucho! 

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

Pic 1: The Candelario family with other missionaries

Pic 2: Elder Lee  

Pic 3: Elder Smith

Pic 4: The Blanchette family

Pic 5: Missionaries in the Springfield Zone!

(My companion, Elder Terry, is on the very left with the glasses)

 

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 6th

Family,

I will keep this letter short. I am sending an email out to Sarah Edwards and reaching out to her. She is so strong for remaining on her mission during this difficult time for both her and her family. I too have a testimony of the Plan of Salvation, and knowing this is one of the greatest blessings that I have been given personally in my life. Just as Sarah had mentioned from her email, I too know that families are eternal. Yes this life is difficult, but its the only way that we are ever going to know of Him. To know what He has gone through and what we must do to become like Him. The atonement is real and is for everyone, no matter their back round, members or nonmembers of the church, etc. Please let Pam Edwards, Bro. Edwards and Alex know how much we (our family) love and support them. But I'm sure you have already done so. 

I am doing well. And yes, General Conference was the biggest event that took place for us. I like to think of it as the "Super Bowl for Missionaries." lol. But that is what it basically is. I am able to get a great spiritual high after watching and hearing from the leaders of the church on what we must do. Well I definitely took a lot of insight on what I needed to do. Anyways, it was great. Favorite talk was by Pres. Uchtdorf, in the Sunday Morning session of conference talking about Truth and how to self discover it. I'm blessed for the given opportunities to feel inspired and uplifted in my life.

Glad to know everyone is doing well. Karen/Dad- Thanks for the letter and package. I'll look for it this week. Oh and Karen, did you happen to hear from Tami Thurber about my comp E. Lee?? I just found out about that connection. That is way cool! Again, small world... Everybody has a connection somewhere if you're LDS haha. Its true though. But yes, I will send out an email after my visit with the Doc. I have an appt scheduled for tomorrow at 11. I'll follow up on it.

I'll be praying for the Edwards family. Keep working hard. I love you all!!      

Family,

I hope this email finds you well. It sounds like everyone kinda had one of those weeks... I can't believe someone would vandalize us, that would tick me off as well. But just remember that the situation could have been a lot worse (that no one was harmed). I'm blessed that you guys are ok, its still a shame that that happened. Dad, I know exactly what you mean- some of my hardest struggles on the mission have unfortunately been based off what you wrote to me in the email. We'll talk about it when I get home.

This week for me was a pretty good week. We had our Zone Conference in Hartford, CT. last Thursday, which was awesome and then our baptism was this past Saturday. It was a blessing for me to be able to perform the ordinance for B____. He is a 15 year old kid from Ethiopia and he is also planning to go to the Temple to do baptisms for the dead for his father, who passed away when he was young. I know that this is an incredible moment in his life right now. Also over this past weekend, we had our AP's come to our Zone to do exchanges with us and we were able to get great insight on ways to improve the work here in New Haven. We are going to be focused on our finding efforts in order to have more opportunities to teach. We are blessed for the success in the work that we have already had and hopefully will continue to have. Elder Lee and I are tearing it up!

Dad- What a way for Jeter to go out the way he did. That's incredible. That would be a dream to end off your career with a walk-off to win it. Thanks for all the updates, I appreciate it

Karen- Thanks for the pics. Frank was able to baptize his little girl and Hunter got the Priesthood:) Sweet! I'm glad Cambria and Hunter are having fun with you guys. As well, I will let you know if there is anything I need. 

K/Dad- I wrote you guys a separate email. I will explain my situation in detail in that email.

Jazzy- Te quiero Hermana!

Keep working hard guys, despite what happened over the weekend just remember to keep your head up.

There are great times ahead, especially with everything going on with our new PHX Temple!!! 

Love you guys! 

  

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

September 8th

Family,

 

Like always, I am doing great! Not only did my previous companion receive a change from transfers but my current companion now, Elder Ripplinger, also received transfers. He will be serving in Franklin, Mass. which means I will have a new companion! His name is Elder Lee. I hear he is a great guy, from Gilbert, AZ. I know that we will get along great, we've already made good connections with one another. I am way excited to be working with him! The only thing is that he has never been a ZL before, which basically means I have to train him on everything that I've learned. Plus, there are many other changes that have occurred within our Zone as well. I've only been in this position for a little over a month, so it'll be fun to see how everything will go. Like I said, I'm excited for the change! I enjoy having different experiences, especially the ones where I know that I will have to be challenged a little bit. Its all good too because I also know that this experience will allow me to rely more heavily upon the Lord to seek for further guidance of what He wants me to do.

 

It has just been a crazy week with Leadership Trainings, Zone Meetings, Transfers, etc, which meant our work has been a little slower than normal. Unfortunately, our Investigators aren't progressing as well as they should be either. We had to move a couple of their baptism dates back for our investigators B___ and M_____. One because of Stake Conference that is coming up for us in the next couple weeks and another because of different circumstances. We are doing our best working a lot with our Recent Converts though. Like I said from my email from last week, we are giving these individuals the opportunity to feel the spirit very strong in their lives, such by attending a sacred place like the Temple. And because of the spirit they felt, I know it will give them opportunities to share those great feelings with their non member friends as well. I am blessed for the work that is we have in our area and the opportunities that are given to us. I am also blessed for awesome ward members, such as the D_____. They are my favorite family in the ward because of the connections we've made. Bro. D_____t and I talk sports and their family is always willing to help us with the work. They have been giving us referrals which is always a blessing too.

 

I received both the Labor Day letter and the package in the mail the other day. Thank you guys!!! Tell Cambria and Hunter I said thanks for their letter! Can't wait to spend some time with them back in AZ! They are awesome:)

 

I know that the Lord has plans for the Christensen family. My heart goes out to them, please send them my regards and let them know that they are in my prayers.

 

Keep working hard! You guys are in my thoughts and prayers.

 

Les Quiero Mucho!!!

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

September 2nd

Family,

I don't have too much time at this moment to write down everything that happened throughout this week. But overall, this week was great, especially yesterday for Labor Day! I have been very blessed to see miracles happen all throughout this week. All of which I can say helped strengthened my testimony by recognizing certain blessings and being reassured to know that the Lord is truly watching over me. One of the blessings included what took place yesterday during our Recent Convert Temple trip. We had 3 of our recent converts attend the session to do baptisms for their ancestors for the first time. The blessing of witnessing someone else have an incredible spiritual experience is just as amazing as experiencing it for yourself. I'm blessed to help serve those to take them to the House of the Lord, the ultimate goal that all of us should pursue.  

Dad you were right, I was in Boston all day yesterday as well, and for that reason I didn't have any time to email... Plus, there was too much going on in the North End;) (Fanuial Hall/Quincy Market was way fun as well). But FINALLY, for the first time on the mission, I had the chance to get some Regina's pizza- brick oven style crust with a little tomato, spinach, mushroom and sausage. Delicioso! Plus Mike's was only a short block away, needless to say there was also a Boston Creme Puff in dad's favor, haha. It was too bad that the Red Sox didn't have a home game yesterday, or else I would've gone. Can't get enough of Boston though! I'm blessed to be serving in my favorite city!

Another little experience I had yesterday- As I was walking down Hanover Street with about 10 other missionaries, I distinctly remember asking dad a little over 2 years ago. "What is one advice you can give me about serving a mission?" That piece of advice hit me as I was walking on that very part of the street yesterday as a missionary myself... And to add on to the advice that dad has given me, yes I can say that I am living it right now. I am doing everything I can to love the people whom I serve. I can honestly say the friendships that I have made so far is incredible. The guys that I've served with along with other people that I've met has made this whole experience worth it. Speaking of which, A____ is only 1 short month away from receiving his endowments. He was able to give me a call the other week telling me he made plans to receive his patriarchal blessing sometime this month along with considering even more to serve a mission. The change that I've been able to see in this guy's life is incredible. Like I said the people, like A____, make it worth it.   

Dad- Already looking forward to Oakland:) I got the letter too. Thank you man. I want to talk to you in person about these experiences when I get home. We definitely have some stories to catch up on! And for that, we have some more golf and dog trips we'll be catching up on as well. Looking forward to it, but you know what needs to happen first. Can you also let Brother Brock know that I received his letter from all the young men. Tell those guys thank you from me.

Karen- Thank you for your letter. Cambria is all grown up, wow. Glad to know everyone is doing great. I'll keep the Christensen family in my prayers.

Jazz- Glad you got the package! You are an example to me. Keep working hard as a trainer! That is awesome how you are able to have those experiences. Love you jazzy. 

Thank you for all your love and support. I love you all! 

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong