Zacatlán de las Manzanas

Hey y'all! How are you all doing? 

I've had a week with a lot of firsts, and it was a great week! On Tuesday we had the changes meeting and I met my companion! So my comp is named Elder Dominguez and is from Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua. He´s an awesome Elder, and has really surprised my of how prepared he is. If I didn't know I would say that he has at least a few months in the mission. He´s never afraid to do anything, he talks to everyone and teaches really well. I feel very blessed to be with him. We are in the area of Zacatlán, which is one of the three branches of the mission. We´re pretty far out of Puebla. From the bus station it takes about 2.5 or 3 hours to get here. However I love it! Its super pretty out here and I like the town a lot. Our area is huge however, there is one part that takes 4 hours to get to because the roads are pretty bad, but we've been here in the main town for this last week. Maybe this week we´ll go check our some of the other ones. It has also been a little difficult to open area. We've gotten lost a few times and one time at night haha. However the people here are nice and help us out.

So on Wednesday our first day in the area we helped out the Branch President, Pres. Cordova clean up a little shop that he has. Also, Pres. Cordova is good, he´s an ex-missionary that served here in Puebla and in this area and came back and got married. But that shop was super dirty. The floor was also made of wood, and it was rotting. We had to start taking out the floor. We also saw a parade if like the whole town that day for the Mexican Independence day. Thursday we had a zone conference with Elder Valenzuela who is an Area Seventy. It was a powerful spiritual conference. But we went to the conference really early and got home really late. We´re pretty retired from the other parts of the mission.

Mexican Independence Day in the rain

Friday we had a day of normal work. We've been working on finding the investigators that the other Elders left behind and getting them progressing. We had a good lesson with an investigator who accepted a baptismal date but didn´t look too convinced. We´ll see how she progresses. Saturday we got to know the area better (AKA we were lost much of the day) and had a lesson with some recent converts who are awesome. They were so happy to see us. It was a really good lesson. Sunday we had church in the house of prayer (its like a mini chapel) and about 60 people showed up. It has a whole different feel than a ward does. Sunday was also really good because we had 4 lessons that day.

Beautiful Zacatlan

Yup, I¨m really content to be training out here. It's a really cool experience. Oh, we also share the area with Elder Hammer (ex-assistant who's a great elder) who is also training a new elder as well. I´ll have to take a picture of us 4. Have a good week!

-Elder Hartvigsen

Hijo! (A Son)

Hey everyone. The time of transfers rolled around again and it happens that we are going to close our area. That means that both my companion and I have changes. We´re pretty sad to leave the area, and the members are also a little disappointed too. It seems like the president always closes our area. The sister missionaries are also closing area, but they´re closing theirs for good. Next change there is only going to be one pair of missionaries in the ward Tule. 

Last days in Tule

We had an alright week this week. It was full of stuff that took us away from really working. On Tuesday we had an average day. Only a few lessons with new investigators and a meeting with President Nelson and President Delgado, the stake president. It was a good meeting. Both of the presidents are great leaders. I like our stake president a lot, he´s a great guy.

On Wednesday I got sick. Who knows why. My companion ate the same things and he was fine. I was pretty miserable that day, so we stayed in the house. It is the worst thing ever to be sick as a missionary. However I have been very fortunate in my mission so far. Many times the Americans get really sick sometimes, and sometimes they get sick frequently. I´ve only gotten really sick 2 or 3 times in my mission. I have a pretty strong stomach, most of the time haha. Thursday we had our weekly planning session in the morning and in the afternoon we did splits. My companion went to San Martin Texmalucan to do a baptismal interview for a member had his information lost in the system, and I stayed in the area with Hno. Artemio Perez. It went alright, all of our lessons fell through, which is tough to deal with when your in splits apart from your companion. In the end we finally found an investigator in her house and we were able to teach a lesson.

Tlaxcala Zone Conference

OK, I forgot to mention that on Wednesday we received a call from Elder Suarez one of the assistants who told us that we´re going to close area and that I'm going to train! I´m really excited for this opportunity to be able to train a new elder. It'll be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it. So on Friday we went to Puebla for a meeting with the trainers. It was really good, we learned that we need to provide our companions with opportunities to make decisions, and how to provide "leadership as a shadow." Afterwards we went to the baptism of the son of our (awesome) ward mission leader. It was good but they fed us tacos de canasta (it literally translates to basket tacos). They´re these tacos that they make in a town near here with a ton of grease and they usually sell them pedaling around on bikes all day. So there is always a bunch of guys with their bikes around here that have baskets full of little tacos. They also sometimes call them tacos de la muerte lenta. I¨ll let you all translate that haha. After we had a good activity in the ward.

Concilio (Council  Meeting)

Saturday we were in Puebla all day in the hospital with my companion and his knees. We also saw the cultural event broadcast for the rededication for the Mexico City temple. On Sunday we saw the last rededication session with Pres. Eyring and Elder Holland and it was sweet. Really powerful.

Well I have to go but have a great week everyone!

-Elder Hartvigsen

Mexico City Temple - rededicated September 13, 2015

Matthew 16:25-26

Hello everyone. I hope you´re all enjoying your Labor Day weekend. American holidays just pass me by haha. Soon it´s going to be the Mexican Independence day which is good. It means that we are going to eat a lot of Pozole which is alright with me! 

Working in Hill Country

We had an alright week. We had to take some time to do other things that took us away from proselyting which was a bummer but that´s how it happens sometimes. Monday in the evening was good, we went to one of the ends of our area to a town called Ixtlacuixtla. We had a lesson with an investigator that went well. On Tuesday, we had some good lessons. We had an investigator that was studying to become a Catholic Father for 2 years until he left. He was doing well. He seems interested when we teach him he almost doesn't have questions which seems strange to me. I would think that an ex-future-father would have a ton of questions. We also had a few other appointments and in one of them we put a baptismal date which was great! Her name is Claudia and her father in law was a member. She also works in a bakery and gives us bread. :)

On Wednesday, we visited an other town in our area for the first time to contact a few references. It´s called Tizostoc and its pretty high up on one of the hills around here. We also taught a new family there of 7 which was good. It was an interesting lesson, it was difficult to keep them focused. After we went and taught a few other people in Por Venir, another town close by. On Thursday we had our weekly planning session in the morning, went to lunch and then went to the hospital in Puebla for my companions knees. We got back to the house super late. The next day we had the leadership council in Puebla. So we went to Puebla again. It was good, the President is getting into the swing of things. The last one was controlled mostly by the assistants, but now the President is becoming more comfortable. 

On Saturday we only had a few lessons with Ivett, the girl that was baptized a few weeks ago. She´s doing super well, she had a great testimony! She even asked us where she can go for institute. Puro poder! Sunday was good but kind of a let down. We were expecting to have at least a few investigators come but nobody showed up. We even passed by to go with Claudia but she had to work. It was a bummer, but the meetings were good. Our bishop gave a talk, he´s pretty powerful. He´s been a bishop for about 8 or 9 years here, well he technically started as branch president when Tule was a branch.

Foggy P-Day

Today was good but pretty bland. We didn´t have any activities, but in the morning it was super foggy. Visibility was really low. Yup. Everyone enjoy the end of your Labor Day weekend! Adiós!

-Elder Hartvigsen

Matthew 16:25-26
  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
  For what is a man profited, if her shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul.

Pueblitos (Small towns)

Hey everyone, I hope that everyone is enjoying their back to school experiences and is getting into the groove of things. 

Learning at Zone Conference

We had a successful week this week. It was also pretty busy. On Tuesday we started with a zone conference which was the first one that President Nelson gave as a misión president. It was good. There was a lot of different topics and at one point we divided into groups to practice some things which made the conference a lot more interesting and edifying. On Wednesday we had interchanges with Elder Philippe and Elder Rodríguez, I was with Elder Philippe in Tezoquipan and we had a good day. Their área is pretty small, or rather the main town in their área is pretty small. It was a good day and I learned a bunch.

On Thursday we saw the weekly planning of the other two elders (which is always a blast) and in the afternoon did splits and visited a lot of people. I was with one of the Young men of the Ward, Sergio and we taught a really powerful lesson to an investigator that´s named Noemi. She understood the Restauration really well, the only thing is that she works in our área but technically lives outside of it. She still pertains to the Ward though. On Friday we only had a few lessons due to our weekly planning session and the correlation meeting but we went to a town in our área where we´d never been that's called Por Venir. Its a really cool town but its on a hill so its a hike to go anywhere there. We had a lesson with a less active return missionary that was really powerful, but then he didn't show up to church after promising to go :(. Saturday it was totally dead around here, there wasn't anybody in the Street. We did have a good amount of lessons though, a cool one with some investigators that are named Refugio and Dominga. We finished the plan of salvation and they really liked it. Dominga also asked for a blessing which I had the privilege to give. The spirit there was really strong, even though there was a party with music blaring next door haha.

Sunday was full of meetings, with our sacrament meeting at 12, and after lunch, and after that a meeting in the stake again that the stake president invited us to. We did have one lesson in the evening with Arely. It was also really powerful, but the thing is that she lived with her boyfriend and they´re really young. We´ve also been working more in the towns that are farther away in our área. We´re actually about to head to one that's a little out of the way. Its cool to be outside the city! Everyone have a good week!

-Elder Hartvigsen

2 Nephi 22:2

Buen dia. How´s it going with everyone? I hope well. I heard that school is starting again in the states and it also started for the kids here where I´m at as well. Summer is ending. Strange to think that at the end of next summer I´ll be at home. 

This week went very well for us. We found a bunch of new investigators and some of them have a lot of potential. We just have to get the majority of them attending church. So on Tuesday we had a meeting with a Doctor that toured the mission. He told us how to be healthy and what things not to do. I need to repent because he told us not to eat in the street, but the tacos are so good! That night we also found a new investigator that has a lot of potential, the only thing is that she needs to get married to her member boyfriend and they only are 16 and 17 years old. We´re going to be working on that, but she´s really solid and understands very well.

On Wednesday we also had a good day, we had 3 new investigators and the three came from a reference that we received from a member. It was a good lesson, they understood very well. However it was a long lesson, because that member likes to talk and talk and put examples and explain every piece of doctrine. It was a good lesson however. On Thursday we had interchanges with one of the assistants, Elder Suarez in our area. We were working that day in trio. Elder Suarez is a really good missionary, he helped us learn a lot that day. It also rained and hailed hard for about 40 minutes, and we had to wait it out underneath a little porch roof thing. After that we went with some of our investigators and one of them had water coming into her house from the street so we helped her get the water out. It was also a good day even though we didn't have many lessons.

On Friday we had weekly planning, and we went with a great new investigator family. The mother was sort of into it but the father was super engaged. It was a great spiritual lesson. The only bummer is that when we went to visit them for the second time, they weren't home. We´re going to find them this week though. On Saturday a few things happened. In the morning the Sister missionaries called us to let us know that a member had died of cancer, and the bishop wanted me to play the piano in her viewing. We also had stake conference that day and we went to a session for the priesthood leaders to talk a little bit about the challenges in the stake. That night in the viewing there were a ton of people in her little house and the majority weren't members. It was really cool, the Bishop (it was his aunt that died) and the Stake President both were there and talked about the plan of salvacion. They were pretty cool talks which talked about how the Hermana knew about the plan of salvation and had entered the temple. Pres. Delgado asked everyone if they would be ready to die in that moment. It was cool, but after they served coffee haha.

On Sunday we had stake conference in Tlaxcala, and we had two investigators that showed up. It was a good conference, the speakers gave their messages well. After the conference, they had the funeral services and I had to play the prelude music. There were four talks that time from the bishop and stake president again and two of their counselors. It was a powerful meeting. That day we also had a lesson with Yasmine who had a baptismal date for the 12 of September. It was a sad lesson, she told us that she didn't want to get baptized and that she feels more comfortable with her traditions. We committed her to pray about it, and we´re going to see what happens.

Well, I hope that you all have a great week. Bye!

-Elder Hartvigsen

2 Nephi 22:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.

Week 3 already!

What a short week! I am saying it more and more but time is accelerating! You need to enjoy life as it goes by because it goes by too fast. 

This week was a good one, we´re still in a finding phase and starting to work with the new investigators to see if they are going to progress. Tuesday we had a day full of planning for the zone meeting we had on Wednesday and we also had another meeting with the Stake President Delgado and Pres. Nelson. It was a good meeting, we had 20 baptisms in the stake last month so it was great to see that growth and be able to discuss what we did to obtain it and what we can do to improve even more. That night we had a lesson with one of our new investigators who´s named Socorro and we found out that she´s actually a member as well haha. So we´re now teaching a less active instead of an investigator haha. It was a little bit of a surprise but we´re going to start working on reactivating her. 

August Zone Meeting

On Wednesday we had our Zone Meeting which went well, we were able to put some goals as a zone and talk about how we can leave commitments with more power. It was a good meeting and I learned a lot from the missionaries in the zone. The greatest thing about the district and zone meetings that we have is that we have the opportunity to receive revelation on how to improve. 

After the meeting we had interchanges with Elder Concha and Elder Sarver, I stayed in Tule with Elder Sarver and we had a good day. We had some really interesting lessons. One of our investigators recently had two of her nephews die in a car accident, so we asked her if we could go to share a message with her family members. She told us yes and when we went we sat down with one of the mothers of the deceased and before we started the lesson more and more of their family came. When we started the lesson there were about 15-20 people! We had a good lesson, it was a little scattered because we talked a little about the spirit world, and then one of the mothers started asking questions about whether her son would be able to be with God if he wasn't baptized so we talked a little about Temples as well. It was a new experience for me to teach so many in one lesson. It was good though.

Thursday and Friday went well also, we had the opportunity to teach a new family that seems interested as well as Yazmin who right now is the only investigator that is progressing. She´s doing really well. On Saturday we had to go to Puebla to the Hospital with my companion. He has some knee problems so they injected something in one of his knees to help him out I guess. I swear, I've never been really sick in the mission but I´m very familiar with the Hospitals! Sunday we had church, and taught that new family again, and we had a really good lesson. They´re really open and committed to read and pray to know if this message is true.

Today we had a really fun District activity in which we played some fun games. Yup, so this week is shaping up to be another good one, we´re expecting some good new investigators from some references and we´re going to put some baptismal dates! Everyone have a good week!

-Elder Hartvigsen

Busy Week, Successful Week

Hey everyone. Sorry for my last email. We really didn't have that much time at all. We were pretty far away from our area with 4 Elders and one computer. 

So this week has been full of tons of stuff. To start it off we had transfers this week. Elder Breceda left the area and went to Puebla as a District Leader. One of the assistants told me that one of the reasons was to have him closer to the hospital haha. My new companion is name Elder Gonzalez and he is from Jalisco. He has 20 months in the mission and is a great Elder. A little more quiet than Elder Breceda, but he´s super focused and a great worker. I´m very grateful that he is my companion and that we have this time to work together.

On Wednesday we had our usual District meeting, with our new district leader Elder Concha, who is from Chile. It was a good meeting. Now both of our District leaders are from Chile, and I can´t understand either of them when we talk by phone haha. That day we also had a lot of lessons, we had our last lesson with Ivett before her baptism, with Jazmine, and we taught a new investigator that is awesome. She´s named Socorro and her brother is a less active member. We had a spiritual lesson with her.

On Thursday we had the leadership council, which was all day and we had to get up at 5 am. It was a good meeting, but Puebla is a lot farther away now. We learned a lot on how to plan more effectively and to leave commitments more powerfully. On Friday we had the baptism of Ivett! It was great, the only thing is that everyone showed up half an hour late and we got started an hour late waiting for the bishop to get there with the baptismal clothes. However, when it did get started it was a very spiritual service. Ivett was really prepared, and was super happy to be able to make that promise. It´s the best feeling in the world to see someone change their life to follow the Lord.

Saturday was a super boring day. We planned, did the monthly forms, and ate. It was the worst, but it had to be done. Sunday was a much better day. We had the confirmation of Ivett which was also very powerful, and the classes were also good. After we ate, we did splits and had a lot of lessons. My coon found some new investigators and I had the opportunity to teach some of the members and help them practice sharing the gospel. It went well that night. 

Today for P-day we went to San Martin and played soccer. I´m super beat. I've haven´t played for a while it was tough haha. We had a good week, even though we didn't have a ton of time to work, we made the best of the time we had and we´re excited to be able to dedicate more time this week. I hope you all have a great week!

-Elder Hartvigsen