Wednesday, April 6, 2016

April 4, 2016 Soaking up all 10 hours of General Conference!

Hellooo again everybody ;)

Well... I sure hope all of you were able to soak in ALL 10 hours of general conference this weekend! It was legendary :) Seriously. At about 12:55 on Saturday morning which would have been 9:55 am in Utah, I pictured you guys back home, and chuckled to myself seeing dad sitting on the coach with his iPad or notebook, and ready to rumble for conference. And trying to get cole and brit to come down from their rooms to watch because conference was just about to start. And I pictured mom in the kitchen making a fresh batch of Belgium waffles! YUMMM. I don't know if thats what really happened, just what I imagined to myself. ha. But seriously such a cool opportunity for all the members of the church in the entire world (15.5 million) to be gathered to hear the voice of the Lord through his chosen prophet and apostles.

I was on such a spiritual high, with some incredibly powerful talks, and music by the choir. And like Elder Holland put it "coming back to reality" can be tough sometimes.... "coming back from out mountain peak experiences". I really liked that. Both of my questions that I have been thinking about for a long time were answered in Conference. And just like I thought it would be, they weren't even necesarily something that someone said. But rather something that I knew I needed to change, or that I could do, based on how I felt (promptings of the spirit) when I watched the conference. 

And hey, how about those 4 new temples. cool right? Especially the 2nd one in Lima!!!! haha thats so sick!

Well our number one struggle in this entire zone of missionaries is getting people to commit and bring them to church. So please pray that we will be able to somehow through the spirit get to their hearts, so that they will understand the importance of church in preparation for baptism, and that they will have the desires to go!

I love you guys tons. And am so glad that we belong to the Lords church. And I rejoice again with Elder Stevenson.... that we will NEVER EVER again have to ask the question "Where are the keys?" Because we live during the restoration of the gospel, and the keys will never be taken again from the earth!

Remember that the greatest blessings of conference come "After the conference is over." Take advantage of the technology we have and Ensigns etc. to re-read and re-study the conference talks over and over again. They are scripture for us in our time, TODAY!

Con mucho amor
tu wachito lindo
Elder Hartvigsen ;)

Mar. 28, 2016 Pascua de la Resurreccion! (Easter Sunday)


Hey guys, so I hope you have all had a great week. Seriously this week has been super super good for us. Remember how I was sort of bummed last week for being a bit sick, and the work was just going really really slow. Well Im not sure what we did to deserve such a good week this week .... but we seriously have found so many different new people to teach. Granted not all seem like golden investigators, but there are a couple who seem promising. So we are excited for the chance to be able to work with lots of new people and see if they progress or not.

A funny story this week, is how we were knocking on doors on this certain street that Elder LeCheminant "hates" (because he has been here for 6 months and has talked to everyone on that street and really doesnt have much desire to keep knocking on those same doors hahaha. basically how I felt in HualpĂ©n everyday) anyways... we knock on this guys door, that my comp had never talked to. And you have to realized that this house was a POOR HOUSE. Like seriously, Or at least from the outside thats how it looked. Made of 2x4s and plywood. With thin tin sheets to cover the walls and roof. Like the most basic of chilean construction that there is. Anyways the guy Reinaldo says know that he is sort of busy etc.... and Elder LeCheminant just says "can we please just share a 2 minute video with you about Easter and Christ´s resurrection?" and he was like... yeah sure really quickly, come on in. And Elder Fuentealba and I look at eachother both thinking the same thing. How are we going to show this guy the video thats on my thumbdrive when Im sure he doesnt have a computer even a half decent TV. anyays we walked in.... I immediately look on the wall to my left, and spot this BIG OLD 50 inch or so LG flat screen smart TV. hahahaha I looked back at elder Fuentealba and just had the biggest smile on my face trying not to let the guy notice. hahah and then I remembered I was in Chile. And thats how it is here... Brady knows what Im talking about. You could have the junkiest little shack as a house, and all the kids have smart phones, or tablets, and a big old smart TV. haha

And well on a sad note, I totally found out about the terrorist attack in brussels. And then a couple days later found out that Mason Wells was one of the missionaries, so that is just awful. Also a member showed me the interviews and stories online. So im sure you guys will have already sent me that stuff, but anyways thats just terrible. Keep them in your prayers!!

Keep getting pumped up for general conference, and remember to watch it with QUESTIONS IN MIND. I am doing the same thing, and I have the certainty that throught the spirit (not necessarily something that someone says) our questions will be answered. I know that this church is true. That Christ directs his church, and I also know that we are getting closer and closer to the second coming every single day. So thats why general conference gets sicker and sicker every 6 months! hahaha The prophet is inspired. Keep reading the scriptures daily too!!

Love you tons!
Elder Hartvigsen

Mar. 21, 2016 La Semana Santa, passover week, people eat seafood instead of meat.Thi


Elder Melo from Brazil!


This big ole completo for only 2$.  That ok with me:)

I'm in a sweater because winter is coming!


Hey guys! well its weird that this week is going to be easter and its not even April yet. haha well... what are we gonna do about it? So here in Chile there is a catholic tradition that apparently you are not supposed to eat meat during "la Semana santa" (the passover week) and so everyone eats seafood to replace their meat for those days.... haha its just another foolish tradition  pushed upon everyone here. luckily we aren't allowed to eat seafood here!! :) even though thats the only thing that people sell and eat in the center of town. eeewh it smells awful :/

I hope you have all seen the new church video "halleluja" its super great. Its powerful, and I love the part about the people showing picture of their loved ones that have died and stuff, and how "through adam all men die... but in christ all shall be made alive."

Grandma annette wrote me this week, which was really sweet of her and I responded with a thought from the scriptures that I had been reading this week. Helaman 14:14-17 talks about the importance of the resurrection. Well basically physical death is a NECCESARY STEP in life right. Its necessary that we die, because thats the only way to be able to be resurrected. And the resurrection is what brings us back to the presence of God, and allows us Eternal life. Its definiately worth studying (those verses, along with any other scripture related to the resurrection :) haha its super cool)

So this week, not gonna lie has been pretty hard. A long and not super great week, because I have been sick with a cold and a fever and have really just struggled with desires to work and everything. Because of my lack in physical strength and also the work is going incredibly slow here. Our ward mission leader isnt really doing much, and its hard to keep the members kicked into motion, and missionary work without the help of the members is 100% useless. So its been rough, and I get along pretty well with my comps, but just kind of different now that I have a companion that takes charge and wants to lead everything, and its just a whole difference type of experience than what I was used to the past few months.... anyways I dont want to complain or anything, but just letting you guys know how I feel. You cant always have amazing weeks right? 

But we did have stake conference and it was super cool how at the end of the saturday session the Stake President got all serious in his talk, and sort of emotional, and through his priesthood authority invoked a blessing upon all of us there in that session (there were very few people) and he blessed us that we (more specifically the members there) would be able to be a "light among their peers" and be an example to everyone. And that they would be blessed because everyone of them left something behind in order to come to that session that night, and that that act would not be forgotten in heaven, because WE ARE ALWAYS blessed when we put god first!

thats so true. I love you guys, have a great week. keep studying the scriptures, and know that trials are for our benefit...., even though we can almost NEVER see the benefit in the moment. it takes time to see :)

Elder ckelly hartsfinger