June 6, 2016 Taking back the Ocean!

This guy is in the ward, and his son is the 2nd counselor in the stake presidency! And they live in a tiny little home with tin walls and a tin roof and this little patio type thing in the back where he cooks crabs (and makes very little money doing it) but they are a happy family. and thats what matters! The material things obviously don't mean much to them.

Cooking crabs in boiling water

One of the millions of stray dogs here

Hey guys, so this week has been pretty good. I really like my comp Elder Lopez (from Bolivia) he is super tranquilo (chill) and we get along great! It has been so absolutely cold here in the afternoons. The sun goes down at like 6 pm and it is just frigid. I have ear muffs and stuff, but I bought a beenie today. Its strange that its been so cold here because we are right next to the ocean that it should be moderating the temp.... but its not. haha

Anyways, yesterday we brought 2 investigators to church which was sort of a miracle. Because that was the mission goal for the entire month of June (2 investigators per companionship in church every week in june) and today is president Arrington's birthday, so his wife really really wanted us to get the goal for his last birthday in the mission. ha and we got really close! like 152 investigators in the entire mission. We are gonna see if they have potential in progressing. One is a lady that has been attending for years and sort of stopped going the last few months, we just sort of re animated her to go, because she is waiting in about 2 months is going to finish her divorce papers to be able to marry her boyfriend and then get baptized. Another is Anita who is 11 years old and is the little sister of a recent convert. So hopefully we can work with her as well.

So after a service project one morning got canceled this week, I took my comp to the beach to take a few pics, because he has never seen the ocean before. Bolivia is a landlocked country, and all the chileans here bug him and joke about him coming to steal the ocean. Because Chile actually took like the northern coast of bolivia in a war a long time ago, and the Bolivians are still ticked about it. haha and we made a new friend (the black dog that wanted to be in the pic.) THERE ARE STRAY DOGS EVERYWHERE HERE!!

Well, thats about it for this week. I know the church is true. I know that when we bare our testimony, or share it with someone else.... it becomes stronger. So find ways to bare your testimony of the things you do know to be true!!

con mucho amor,

Elder Hartvigsen