Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Jan. 25, 2016 Teach Repentance, Baptize Converts



At the President's house.  A pretty view from the balcony!

The Mission Office


Hey guys, well I hope you are all doing well. This week has gone by super fast, and we had interviews with President this week which was always good. Also we had a worldwide missionary training thing this last week, where Elder Bednar, Anderson, Oaks (of the 12) and Elder Clayton, Brent Nielsen, and Waddel (of the 70) spoke to us. It was super great. All based on Preach My Gospel. And basically how we can better find people, and teach repentance, and baptize converts.

Elder Bednar talked about (like he usually does) the role of the Holy Ghost. And he said that "as much as we would like to, or for as good of desires that we have, we simply cannot force someone to feel the Holy Ghost by our testimony. If we could do that.... we would just need to allow everyone on earth to hear President Monson's testimony, and they would all become converted to the gospel and beg to be baptized." haha The role of the Holy Ghost is to convert people to the gospel. But our role as missionaries is to create an environment and setting, where the Holy Ghost can come. All we can do, is bring the spirit UNTO the person. But its up to them whether they are going to allow it into their hearts or not. Super interesting. Also he said that "Teaching is MUCH MORE listening, than speaking." So when we are teaching in companionships the missionary that is NOT talking, has the responsibility to be paying really good attention to be able to detect the promptings of the Holy Ghost to be bale to know what questions to ask.

Also Elder Clayton talked about the Less Active members of the church, are like a gold mine of references. They just simply don't know how to start inviting them to the gospel. Imagine us if we were really standing inside a giant gold mine. We would know for sure that this place is filled with gold! And we wouldn't doubt it, but we simply would have no idea how to find it. Like where do we start digging? Or what tools do we use? etc... We need to teach the members of the church, how to share the gospel, and how to invite the friends to church.

As far as how the work has gone his week.... its been pretty slow. Its definitely ROUGH at times, with the fact that I have been in this sector for so much time, and am struggling to know of things to do here that are gonna work. But this friday we are going to watch Meet the Mormons as a ward, and are inviting everyone to bring one person! So hopefully that helps. Also President Arrington in the interview told me "Elder Hartvigsen.... if the Lord wanted you to stay in Cerro Verde for a 5th transfer.... its because he has someone here waiting for you to find them! Maybe for the past 4 and a half transfers, that person would not have accepted, or just didn't have the opportunity.... maybe now is the time?"

So I just wanna work hard, and overcome any weakness that may be holding me back. But pray for us here in the sector, and pray that the Lord will please soften the hearts of the people here. Because they are ROCK SOLID.

Anyways, the Church is true. Of that I have no doubt. And I know that with all the hardships we face in this life, comes a certain type of learning and growing that wouldn't be possible otherwise :)

Con mucho amor,
Elder Hartvigsen

p.s. here is my comp and I at the Presidents house. Pretty view from the balcony right? :)

Jan. 18, 2016 My 25 yr. old Bolivian Son


They have these all over Conce

Elder Soliz




Heyyyy guys! I hope everyone is doing good back there. Things are going well here too. So I went and picked up my NEW companion from the mission office on tuesday. His name is Elder Soliz. He is from Oruro, Bolivia! He is 25 years old, and has only been a member of the church for 3 years. He is super great. We get a long really well, and I am excited to get to know him better and have a great cambio (transfer) together here! Its been pretty tough for him this week trying to adjust and stuff to the missionary life. More than anything he misses his girlfriend. Because she is the one that introduced him to the church. And they had been dating for 5 years, and then 3 years ago he got baptized, and they both did their missionary papers together, and got their calls together, and left on the very same day! And she is in Paraguay. So I am trying hard to get him excited here about the work and everything, and get his mind thinking about other things here to distract him :) 

And its been a little bit of a stressful week, just because I am training him. And so I have basically had the entire load of my sector on my shoulders, and having to worry about the missionaries in my district as well. And at the same time, our sector is just about dead as far as people to teach. So I have basically been praying hard this week for Heavenly Father to let me know the reason why I am still here in this sector. I know there is a reason, and I just want to figure it out! Also I am praying hard for his help, because as a District leader, my sector needs to be a sector that is an example  or a model to all the other sectors. And I honestly feel like I am in one of the hardest sectors ever! So I am trying to see if the Lord will bless me to be able to accomplish what he is requiring of me.

Anyways, Santos is progressing, and should be receiving the Aaronic Priesthood in 2 weeks. And you better believe I will be blessing the sacrament with him :) haha. Also this wednesday there is a worldwide training meeting for all missionaries and so that should be super interesting. Im way excited! umm... other than all that, I dont think there is much more news. Its blithering hot here, but nevertheless we are enjoying it! Oh, and mom tell grandma Jessie that her package got here last week, and the one from you guys got here today! So Christmas has finally arrived for Elder Hartvigsen :) hahaha thanks for everything guys. Keep reading the scriptures daily!!!! We can't afford not to put on the armor of God, in the sin sickened world that we live in!

Con much amor
Elder Hartvigsen

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

January 11, 2016 Day of transfers except for me!

and this guys is named Neftalì. (yea like one of the 12 tribes)

and when he was 17 years old, he got hit by a train, and lost  his leg and injured his left hand. But he is the high priests group leader, and has been a member for like 30 some odd years. And is stellar! he also took off all the handles and stuff on the back of his wheel chair, so that no one could push him around. he is like the definition of stubborn (in a good sense..... like being independent etc.)

this is Nelson Campos. who is the friendliest guy EVER! and one of the few people in this sector that I feel like is actually excited to see us every time we pass by his house :) On Saturday we went by, and he knew it would probably be my last visit, and was waiting for us with completos and everything :) He calls us "my little angels" (he got baptized like a year and a half ago, and is the only member in his immediate family)





Hey guys!!! So the day of transfers has finally come. And you have to always be expecting surprises, right? Because inspiration from God isn't a guessable a thing. So it turns out that my comp. Elder Parker is the one getting transferred (he is going to Chillàn) and I am staying ANOTHER TRANSFER in Cerro Verde. AHHHHH! I am going to be here for 7 months! but the fun thing is that I get to train again! Which Im actually super excited about. And so I will stay here and continue being district leader, which is gonna be sick.

I totally think that most other people if they were in my same situation would be sad, or sort of mad about it. Because Cerro Verde is BY FAR the hardest ward/sector that I have been in. And to be in a sector for 5 cambios (7 months) is not that common at all. Almost always you get transferred out of the area after being the for 4 cambios ( 5 1/2 months). But I know that the Lord wants me to stay here. And I know that there are more people for us to find here and teach, and hopefully baptize :)

Something super cool this week, is that we ate lunch with a lady (my first time eating lunch with her) and she asked where I was from. And I said utah. And she was like oh.... the Elder who baptized me is from Utah, maybe you know him? (and I was thinking in my mind YEAH RIGHT! hahaha there are so many blithering missionaries that come out of utah) but I asked her what was his name. She said Elder Collins. And I thought, OK. thats a super common name. And then I remembered that Jared Collin's dad had served in Concepciòn. But then she started to pull out this little box that this elder has sent her a Christmas card every single year. And I saw out of the corner of my eye on the envelopes "Alpine, UT"  and then looked closer and it was Sean Collins (Jared`s dad) who had baptized this lady named Maria Isabel (Gònzalez) I think.... but she said they were the "Tapia family" and she could NOT say enough good things about Elder (Bishop) Collins, and how their family had come to visit them in Chile a few years ago, and how it was so nice that he kept sending her a Christmas card each year.  and then I helped the sweet older lady find Jared`s mom on Facebook to be able to add her!  what a small world right?

 Tomorrow I pick up my new companion in the office. I sort of think it will be a latino. because there are like 13 new elders coming. and only 3 of them are gringos. but we will see :)
Elder Hartvigsen

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Jan. 4, 2016 Repairing a broken link in the chain

A special dinner out for amazing burgers!

The Louisiana Burger with onion rings and everything!  A real treat!

Me with Elder Parker, Eduardo, Lorena and Varinia

The entire Maldonado family

A fun P-day out

An aquarium in Talcahuano

Los Lobos Marinos

Gorgeous day!

Talcahuano


Hey guys!! so first off.... its been a super great week! :) We had a really cool experience this Saturday, because we got to be there for Varinia`s baptism! She is the cutest little 9 year old girl ever!! Her dad Eduardo (newly reactivated member) baptized her, and her Grandpa confirmed her on Saturday :)

Im sure I have said this a lot before, but ALL of Eduardo`s family are active in Talcahuano, and he is one of the only ones inactive. And his parents along with his brothers and sisters were just so content at the baptismal service! And a really sweet impression that came to my mind there, was that what we were doing.... was "repairing a broken link in the chain". That fairly small little act, of helping bring 1 man back to church, and allowing him to baptize his 9 year old daughter, would be something that would bless hundreds of people in the future. I am really confident that they will stay active, and that now their kids will grow up in the church, and hopefully Varinia will marry a member of the church, and raise her kids in the church etc. For generations to come :) 

Also her little 8 year old cousin (from her moms side who isn't member) wants to get baptized. And she doesn't live in our sector, but Its so cool to see the influence that good members of the church can cause in their own families, and with all the other people they know!

Also on sunday during Priesthood meeting, a member pulled my companion and I outside for a sec, because some guy named Alvaro walked into the church, and was asking if he could learn a little bit more about what we do here. He is from Santiago, but is on vacation here right now, and has a Mormon friend where he lives, and has learned a lot about what we believe already. He just basically wanted to see for himself what we do inside the church, and stuff. So we took advantage of that amazing opportunity, and gave him like a 30 minute tour of the chapel. We took him to the different art portraits hanging on the walls, we took him to the baptismal font and taught him about the ordinance of baptism. And we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon to finish. He said that if he is still in town he wants to come next sunday at10:00 AM for the meeting. We also helped him go on to lds.org and find the nearest chapel to his house! haha it was so sweet!!!!

I know this church is the only true, and restored church of Jesus christ here on the earth. The only one that has the true Priesthood Authority of god, and the only one that allows us to be sealed together as families for ALL ETERNITY! Never forget how blessed we have been to be born into this amazing gospel. And how much of a responsability we have to share it with EVERYONE :)

Con mucho amor,
Elder Hartvigsen

Dec. 28, 2015 An Awesome Christmas!

A party with our district

A white elephant gift exchange

A cool glass souvenir of the Conce Temple

Only chocolate fountain I have ever seen in Chile!

Our small Christmas tree with presents from members!

The awesome Melgarejo family Christmas Eve

Our presents from members

Still confused as to why the ward mission leader gave us underwear for Christmas :)



Well, it was super fun to see you all guys this christmas. I enjoyed that a lot! And dont worry mom, I was only sick for a couple hours in the morning, I got over it really quick, and enjoyed the rest of the day :) We had a super fun sports activity in concepcion with about 80 missionaries or so. President Arringtons sister was in town visiting him, and she and Hermana Arrington made a whole bunch of American home made chocolate chip cookies that were so blithering scrumptuous! You just wont find things of that quality down here very often! haha So we enjoyed them mucho

So good news this week, is Eduardo is going to baptize his 9 year old daughter Varinia on Saturday :) We are super duper excited for him. It was probably close to 3 months ago that we contacted him in the street, and he was completely inactive, and the only inactive member in his immediate family. Now he is active in church, and his daughter is about to become a member, and the wife just needs a little bit more time I think :)

Something really cool, and fairly humerous yesterday was the fact that we taught The law of chastity as the first lesson to an investigator..... let me explain. For the entire 5 months that I have been here in Hualpèn we have passed by the house of this inactive member Jorge to just get a hold of him and have a lesson. But he is NEVER home, and he has these 2 really mean looking pit bulls out on his front porch as well. They are always tied up with huge chains. And I met him once, and he is like a 30 old guy, with the body type of Zane Mendenhall and has tatoos all up and down his arms and neck. haha But yesterday we finally got in contact with him, and he told us to come by. We started visiting with him, and it turns out that he just has the appearance of a scary guy. He actually has a really great countenance, and is a very meek, humble, sincere guy! I really like him. And the funny thing is that his girlfriend was there (who lives in Concepcion and is Evangelical) after talking for a bit he says.... "Elders, do you guys by chance have with you a pamflet of the law of chastityt?" And we were like... oh crap, No we dont! :(

And he was like, well do you think we could talk about the law of chastity for a few minutes?  and we asked if there was anything specific that he wanted to know. And just basically wanted us to explain to his girlfriend what we believe as Mormons, and why we think Sexual purity is so important. I had never been so excited to teach that lesson in my entire life! hahaha He said they had talked about it a little bit together, and he just was really wanted to show her that its important to God, and thats its found both in the bible and the book of Mormon. He asked if we knew of anywhere in the book of mormon that talked about the law of chastity. So I INSTANTLY looked up Jacob 2:26-27

27 Wherefore, my brethren, heame, and hearken to theword othe Lord: For there shall noany man among youhave save ibe one wifeand concubines he shall havenone;
 28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women.Anwhoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
and shared it with him. He was so pleased, and it was a super great lesson, and we got to share where the book of mormon comes from, to answer the questions of the girlfriend :)

Thats about it for this week guys, love you tons! and put lots of sunblock on.....oh wait thats just a note to myself, haha I got fried this week!

un abrazo,


Elder Hartvigsen

Dec. 21, 2015 Feliz Navidad.... Almost

Hey guys!. Well not much happened this week. Yesterday we had a really great Christmas concert in our stake center that we had been inviting people to all month. There was a band of Carabineros (policemen) that all played like brass instruments and a choir made up of LDS members around Concepcion area. It turned out super cool! It got me super excited for christmas!!

And they had books of mormons with a little pass along card all wrapped up in ribbons to give away to the people that were not members there, and us missionaries were the ushers that showed people to their seats and stuff. We were guarding these 2 sections of seats for a group of old folks that were supposed to come, and tons of people were trying to sit there. So for like 40 minutes before the concert started we were turning people away, but the old folks never arrived.... haha so we just ended up sitting down there and watching the blithering show.

We also had a really fun Ward Family Home evening activity that turned out great as well. There were a few investigators there (not from our sector) but were invited by family members. And now tomorrow we have the big entire mission conference here in Hualpen that is gonna be sick.

And Im just excited to see you guys this friday. Its gonna be sick! or as the chileans would say "¡terrible bacàn!"

Anyways, I would like to end on a spiritual note that I re-studied this week in the bible. Remember how one of Christ's names is "The great multiplier". And the story of where he fed the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and a few fish. And then later feeds 4,000 more? Yeah. Thats a sweet miracle that takes place. The same can take place in our lives if we allow it to. We must be willing to give OUR ALL! Everything that we have. (even if its a couple small fishes and some loaves of bread) And although it will never be enough on its on. Jesus Christ can and WILL multiply us and make us something OUTSTANDING. But only if we lay it all out on the table, and put our faith in him. Thats something President Butler taught me before the mission, that I have always loved!

This church is true. The book of Mormon is the most correct book on the face of the earth, and if we are not studying its pages everyday.... we ought to repent, and start the habit RIGHT NOW :)

Con much amor
Elder Hartvigsen