La Ultima Semana en la CCM

Hey everyone, como esta? My week was good, honestly it didn't feel like a whole lot happened. Well, I guess we did a lot of things, but it went by really fast. In five days from now I will be in Puebla! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by, and can't believe that I won't be speaking any English once I get down there. Scary! I know that if I trust in the Lord however, I will be fine. Doesn't make it any less intimidating though.

Destination Puebla!

So this week we got that new district of 10 new elders. That was really interesting being around them, and welcoming them as a Zone Leader. The first day you could tell that they were really stressed and kind of scared. They are doing better now, but they are an interesting group. There is a good variety of types of people in that group with interesting sets of companions. I think it is so awesome how you learn so much just by who your companion is. I've learned a lot from my companions, even if it has sometimes been patience.

The devotionals this week were good but not very out of the ordinary. We hear from Richard Heaton, who is the executive director of something at the MTC, and L Edward Brown who was a former general authority and was temple president of the Mt. Timpanogas temple. They were both very spiritual and very simple talks. They were honestly good for us as we are leaving because it is reminder to focus on the simple things. They taught about Charity, and the name of Christ. Charity is something that I have been trying to constantly have and work on, because I want to have that when I go into the mission field and be able to have that pure love of Christ for people. For us to really feel the spirit when we are teaching them, we need to have that pure love for them first. If we don't have charity for people, then we cannot really have the spirit with us. Brown talked a lot about how we do everything in our church through Jesus Christ, and in his name. He challenged us to really emulate Christ in what we say and do, because we are literally representatives of him right now. He also talked much about prayer and vain repetition. It really drove it home for me how bad it is to just say that basic prayer that we don't think about for a meal, or for sunday school then seal it in the name of our perfect and loving savior that died for us. We should put thought into our prayers! That is something that I have been working on since.

Yeah, It has just been a pretty surreal week, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on what I've learned. If I had to really boil it down, it would be that everything we do points to the savior. Our missionary purpose is to "Invitar a las personas a venir a cristo" or invite others to come unto Christ. As we go out into the field we need to be the best examples of him that we can, and in everything we do invite others to come unto him so that they can feel his love, repent, and eventually return to him. I have grown a lot here spiritually and definately come closer to Christ myself. I am so excited to go out and actually help people come unto him, and make that great and wonderful change in their lives. I am so grateful for him and his gospel. I know that even when times are tough he will help us through our trials, and help us grow through them.

I can't wait to get out there and share what I have with other people, and share this spirit and this gospel with them. I also can't wait to get into Mexico and experience their culture. Puebla is going to be awesome! Well I know Jesus loves you guys, and so do I!

Con amor,
Elder Hartvigsen