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

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

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

March 23rd

Family,

Thank you for all your letters and emails. 9th place isn't so bad for the tournament pool:) LETS GO AZ!!! We'll find out where we are all seeded when it really comes down to it in the final four. 

This week was a pretty normal week as far as working with our current investigators. Unfortunately, it has been kind of rough working with a few of our investigators because of the fact that we had to move some of their baptism dates for the next month, since they will not be ready in time for the baptism dates that we originally had them scheduled for. Yes it is frustrating, but it feels like I have dealt with this many times throughout my mission, so this is nothing too shocking. 

This past Saturday we also went to the Temple to help out with baptisms for our recent converts. G__ W___ was the recent convert that attended from our ward here in Ludlow. He is the man! Talk about a guy who is on fire with his testimony, its him. He usually comes out with us to help us teach lessons about 3-4 times a week and sometimes multiple lessons throughout the day. So he is definitely doing his fair share of missionary work and helping us out too. 

 

I really don't have much else to say this week... other than blessings I am witnessing from even the little moments day to day. Because of this, I am happier and feel better about the progress we are making in the work.  

I also emailed Karen about my interests on where I want to attend college. I thought and prayed about it and feel pretty set in attending BYU-I for the fall and winter semesters. I will need to get more information about it and start picking classes once I am also decided about a specific major I want to pursue.

Sounds like everyone is doing great. Congrats Jazzy on your acceptance to LSU!!! Por Fin!! I'm way excited for you:) ..........

Thanks for all your support. Continue to keep us updated on the NCAA tourney!! Les quiero mucho!!

Elder Berthelson

BostonStrong

March 9th

Family,

Thank you for all your emails and responses back. Like I mentioned to you from my letter a couple days ago, I decided to extend my mission! I am so excited to know that I will have the opportunity to finish the rest of my mission with President Packard and the rest of his family. I also believe that I will have even more opportunities to see greater miracles happen because of this. I don't know what or when this will happen, but I am certainly anticipating what is yet to come for me and for those that I will be able to serve with for these last few months.  

This past Saturday, M___ M___ was baptized! She is an older woman who is related to a recent convert that was baptized just a few months prior back in November. The recent convert, G____ W_____, was converted to the church because one day he came across an LDS ad on the internet. The song "Glorious" by David Archuleta was the ad that was on the internet and he felt moved by the song. He is a veteran from the Vietnam War and never really had any interest in religion, until he heard that song and decided to call the missionaries about our faith. He ended up getting baptized just a short time later, and is now one of our strongest members of the ward with such an incredible testimony. He was the one who was able to introduce M_____ into the church and is now helping hasten the work by trying to convert the rest of his family! So that is where we are right now, by helping G____ to introduce the gospel to the rest of his family:)

Not too much has been going on since the last time I wrote. This past week all the missionary leaders in the mission went to the Temple, which was an awesome experience as always. That was the time and place where I also received greater insight on deciding whether or not it would be worth extending the mission time. The Temple really is a sacred place where we can be able to receive direct answers to questions we desire to receive. I'm blessed to have those opportunities to attend the Temple on my mission.

Thanks for the pics and the updates on the missionaries serving in the ward. I can't believe Holden is already planning to come home this Wednesday... I also can't believe March Madness is already starting up! Great time of the year, no doubt. 

......... But until then, keep up the great work. I look forward to hearing from you guys soon.  

Les Quiero Mucho! 

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

March 2nd

Family,

I can't believe its already March... Its one of the best times of the year considering March Madness and Spring Training that's happening right now. I am also doing great! I am working hard and enjoying the blessings that I am receiving as a result from the hard work. I feel like it is all paying off. We were able to set a date with J____ C___ for April 12th. So now we currently have 4 investigators with baptismal dates with 2 more that we will extend a date with hopefully sometime later this week. 

It is going to be a great week this week as well. We have a scheduled temple trip for all the leaders in the mission on Wednesday, so I will have another opportunity to go to the temple! And this Saturday is M___ M___'s baptism, so everyone is looking forward to that.    

Other than that, not too much has been happening... just another week. Glad to know that E Lee and Johnston are back home, crazy to think that.

.............

Thank you for all your letters that you've sent, I look forward to reading those soon! Have a good week. Les quiero mucho!      

Elder BerthelsonBostonStrong

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)

 

December 29th

Family,

It was awesome to see everyone at Christmas! It was definitely one of the highlights of the mission, being able to see my family happy and doing well. 

Dad and Karen- The picture with all the Marquardt kids with Santa was priceless:) haha. ........

Jazzy- This is it! I understand if you do not read this email. But if you are able to check one more time I just want you to know how much I love you and proud I am of you! 

We had our recent convert temple trip the other day on Saturday. ... but we were still able to go to the temple to help out with baptisms anyways. It was a great experience to go to see all the missionaries and a few other people I know gathered in one area in the House of the Lord.

I hope you guys have a great week (weeks) spending time with Jazzy. Make sure to send me a few pictures and most importantly to give her a big hug from her baby brother when you see her at the airport. I'm sure she will appreciate that.

Les quiero mucho!

Go Pats!

September 22nd

Family,

I am doing well. This week was all about our Stake Conference and promoting the "game plan" to encourage members and missionaries to work together in the New Haven Stake. I feel like this concept is basically what I've preached my whole mission along with the gospel lol. Also, this past Saturday, Elder Lee and I had to give a training to all the Ward Mission Leaders on how to develop an effective ward mission plan. It was sorta intimidating because President Packard was in attendance for our training, but it turned out really well. We were in a business type setting being with all the big name leaders in the stake, another including Elder Snow, who is a member of the 70. He was the one that spoke at our Stake Conference and we also had the opportunity to have dinner with him before the Adult session of our conference. So this weekend was pretty crazy for us... but it was awesome!  

As far as the work goes, we have our baptism for our investigator, B______, that is all set up for this Saturday. We are pumped for that! 

Thank you for your letters and emails. 

Dad- There is no such thing as overdoing it with the subway gift cards. That is basically all I eat when it comes to eating out, so I appreciate it! Also the with the Chargers, Cards and Pats winning this weekend there are definitely son complaints on the topic of football. Its still too bad that the Red Sox aren't making it this year for the playoffs... But your right though, there is always next season. I'm already stoked for the upcoming 2015 season!! 

Karen- Wisconsin still looks the same:) Glad you were able to take pics of the old place. Great memories for sure!

Jazzy- Keep doing what you do lol. Te quiero hermana!

I apologize for the short email. I am typing all this out at the apple store at Yale University here in downtown New Haven. Its pretty sweet. I've had a great P-Day so far and looking forward to another great week working with one of my best friends on the mission, E. Lee. This guy is a stud. I'm blessed to be his companion:)  Dad you are right, I am called where I'm called for a reason. New England is all about the people for sure! 

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

Pics- Recent Convert Temple Trip from a few weeks ago. 

Few Pics from today's P-Day! We were able to hit the range earlier this morning (first time swinging the clubs since back home:) And Elder Watson, who is an RM, took us out to lunch with his family before heading to NY for the MNF game tonight. 

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