Hello everyone,

First thing: when mailing stuff up here do NOT use the P O box. I
guess the postal service gets mad when mail is sent there. Sis.
Campbell, one of the senior couples who works in the office, called
and told me.

Yes, I am still a ZL, hopefully for not too much longer tho, I like
just being a normal missionary and being able to really focus on the
area that I am serving in. We have four exchanges lined up for this
week. They are only going to be 1-8 pm exchanges because we have so
many trainers and want to see how they are all doing before we go down
to Anchorage for ZLC again so we have an update to give.

This week was a little rough, we did two exchanges so time was not on
our side. The highlight of it was when we went OYMing at the festival
for the Summer Solastace. I managed to talk to I think 40+ people. I
really do not know if that is good for an hour and a half of trying to
talk to people, it was pretty much my third or fourth time
legitimately doing it, but it was a blast nonetheless. Gave away a lot
of Mormon.org cards and some pamphlets. I am sure my approaches were
aweful, but I did manage to meet some wonderful people. I was also
used to rejection very quickly as well. Some buddhist woman took out a
crab and started chanting something at us, we figured she was not
interested :)

Life is going good, loving my mission; growing closer to Christ every
day, some days better than others. I have had some real spiritual
experiences while writing in my journal lately. There are a lot of
entries I will have to show ya'll, I love looking back on them and am
so grateful I have kept a journal. There are so many things I have
forgotten so quickly, but when I read back over that passage, the
memory is refreshed :)

Love ya'll, thank you again!

Love,
 -Elder Hartman1

=========================================================

1.  Did you talk to Elder Kolicker again?  Too bad you didn't know he
came from Africa.

No, I did not. I did know he came from Africa actually and he even
mentioned he knew both of ya'll haha, sorry, forgot to mention that in
the last letter I think ;)


2.  Are you still a zone leader?  I am assuming because you had to go
for zone leadership training to Anchorage. By the way how did you get
there?  Fly? Drive?  How long did it take to get there?

Yes ma'am I am. We drove down to Anchorage, beautiful drive, loved it.
It takes about six hours to drive from Anchorage to Fairbanks. I have
some pics, but I keep forgetting either my camera or my little chord
connector thingy or both. I will probably end up showing you all of
the awesome pics after my mission haha.


3.  What was the best thing that happened this week?

When we went OYMing. It felt so good to be out and doing my part in
inviting others to come unto Christ. I felt really accomplished that
day.


4.  How are you liking Fairbanks now?  What do you like about it?
What don't you like?

I like it. It is super hot up here tho, way too hot; it got up to I
think 87 degrees the other day while we were tracting, I felt as if I
was going to pass out. I am, however, getting a nice tan again :)


5. Did you get to participate in the summer solustice?  If so tell us about it.

No unfortunately, but a fun fact: there is a contest to see who has
the best outfit, we did not get to see a whole lot unfortunately
because we were not there during the evening. I talked to a storm
trooper and a Sith Lord, it was sweet :)


6.  How are the companionships going?  Why are you in a threesome for
so long?  Isn't that unusual?

They seem to be going really well, everyone seems to be getting along
from what we can see. I have no idea why I am in a trio for so long,
it is weird to think this is my third one in a row - not due to
anything I have done I assure you ;) It is unusual to be in a trio, I
know that President does not like trios all that much. I think this
next transfer this trio will change.


7. Where are you living?  It sounded like a members home. How is it
there?  Describe you apt.

We were living with members, but now we are living in our own place
now. It is way too hot inside of it, we sleep with out any sheets and
two fans going.


8.  Did you know Brad Davis?  I told you last week we were supposed to
see him this week in Angola.  Did you know about Ashley?

I did not know about Brad - I know who he is, really nice guy.
 I knew Ashley wanted to serve a mission - I had no idea she got her
call tho! That is so exciting! Try and get her address for me so I can
congragulate her. It is a shame I will not get to see her before she
leaves...


9.  The Woods said "the church is truer in Fairbanks". Do you agree or
disagree. By the way did you tell the people there hello from them?
Remember he was the stake president there that we told you about.

I have no opinion regarding the matter. I have not told the people
hello from the woods here yet, I apologize. I totally forgot he was
the Stake Pres. up here.


10.  What was the most spiritual thing that has happened in Fairbanks?
 Tell us about it.

I am not sure if you mean for the zone or for the companionship we are
in. I cannot think of the most spiritual thing that has happened for
Fairbanks this week, but I did have a very spiritual experience
writing in my journal. There are a lot of journal entries I have to
show you, they would take too long writing out or talking about.

- -Elder Hartman1

Father's Day & A Week In The Life of A Missionary

Dear Dad - 

Well, as you know dad it was Father's day yesterday. I just wanted to
let you know how incredibly awesome you are as a dad. You always were
so much fun to be with and would always make light of the situation. I
loved how you just had fun everywhere you went. There is a missionary
out here, Elder Tonga who is a total Yellow, thro and thro - always
laughing, just loves to have fun everywhere he goes. He reminds me so
much of you, I hope I get to serve with him on my mission.

One thing I am grateful that you taught me was to put 20% of the money
I receive aside for savings and tithing. I remembered one conversation
you were having with someone a few years back where you mentioned
this; they were wondering why you did that and were a little perplexed
at it even. You just simply stated 'once I get the check, I
immediately put twenty percent aside. It is a habit that I have
developed and have never looked back on it.' How true that is. Once I
would get my checks, I would instantly ask you to take out twenty
percent for tithing and savings. I will admit: I always say that with
a little bit of pride when I am on the subject of it with members,
missionaries, whoever it may be. It is one of the teachings of my
wonderful father that will stay with me for the rest of my life and
will definitely be passed down to my children one day.

One thing that I have been trying to work on lately is speaking from
the heart. I have to tell you, it has been so hard, being a WHITE I do
not like to show my emotions that much, but I do know that it is
something necessary to do every now and then. Thro the trial of you
being sick, it has really humbled me to rely and put my faith in
Heavenly Father. This trial really gave me a testimony to always have
faith in God, regardless of the situation. I love you so much dad, I
will never be able to thank you enough for everything you have done
for me and the example you have been to me in my life. I love you!

Love,

 -Elder Hartman1

=======================================================
Greetings from Alaska,

Writers block, writers block, writers block; I heard that if you
write/type 'writers block' three times, you get out of the rut you are
in. It seemed to work alright. I always struggle with starting out
letters.

I am going to try a new format this week, to send my letter in.

Monday:

It was p-day, mainly involved sports, shopping, and building some good
zone unity. There is a lot of trainers and trainees up here, so we are
still working out exchanges. We played basketball for sports, I
managed to write one letter...still really behind on those.

Tuesday:

This day was a little rough; we had a lot of lessons set up and pretty
much all of them fell thro; that is always a little aggravating, at
least we know we did our part tho! I had a great study that day tho, I
focused primarily on Dispensations and used the Old Testament Student
manual to help me out, I love learning and studying - never thought I
would ever say that in my life. I did also realize that day tho that I
need to study out of the Book of Mormon a lot more, I am studying out
of the Bible way too much - not that it is bad or anything, but the
Book of Mormon is what we use primarily to teach and clarifies
teachings in the Bible. We also had district meeting, it was pretty
good, one of the companionship's in the district has to call in, that
is always a little hard to work around.

Wednesday:

We traveled down to Anchorage for Zone Conference. We also got to go
to the temple to see one of Elder Na'as recent converts go thro and
receive his endowments - he is getting ready to go on a mission.  I
love going to the temple, it is so much fun and such a huge spiritual
feast, I get so tired during the first part of the session. We spent
the night at the Ap's apartment; it was alright, they had these blow -
up mattresses that were as hard as a rock, so we just slept on the
floor, it was nice.

Thursday:

Zone conference today. There was a General Authority visiting the
mission: Elder Koelliker, a member of the first quorum of the seventy
- he spoke in general conference. Before Zone Conference, all of the
Zone Leaders met with him and Pres. to have a council on how things
are going in the mission. It was really enlightening, the Lord knows
who He chooses to help build up His kingdom here on earth. At one
point in the meeting, he (Elder Koelliker) said 'the Lord likes us
(general authorities) to be independent - to stand alone.' It was
really interesting, but made a lot of sense. Zone conference itself
was good. After that, we went and saw Paul, the recent convert who
went to the hospital shortly after he was baptized, he seemed to be
doing good, should have received the priesthood yesterday, I was so
happy for him. Then went and visited some members in the Tongan ward,
where Elder Na'a served.

Friday:

Pretty much drove back up from Anchorage. We went to the temple again
in the morning, for the whole zone. It was so awesome, but I was SO
tired that day. I love the temple.

Saturday:

We did a zone tract, it was so much fun; testifying of Christ is the
best part about being a missionary. We talked to a lot of people,
found some great potential investigators, and overall just had a
blast. For the last part of my mission, I want to just be a Senior
companion so I can more focus on missionary work and not have as much
stewardship over people. I love missionary work :)

Sunday:

Saw Jill again, gave me an update on dad, that was so relieving. We
did service at a less actives house for a while, mainly helped sort
thro laundry and unpack boxes. We ate dinner at a members home shortly
afterwards. I thought the couple was married, so I addressed them as
mom and dad at one point in the dinner and was wondering why the dad
was not responding. Come to find out they are brother and sister, that
was pretty interesting, hopefully we have dinner there again soon!

We are going to be traveling down to Anchorage again in about two
weeks - this will make three times in one transfer...it has been a
little difficult, the weeks we go down we only have two or three
legitimate proselyting days in our area, but this whole week we can
focus on our area, yay! We have exchanges tonight with Delta Junction,
an area that is an hour away. This will be a kool experience.

It is crazy to think how fast time goes by. I am really going to have
to start considering a career and such. I am pretty sure Physical
Therapist, but we will have to see what the future holds. I do not
want my mission to end, I like just having one purpose to focus on;
spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do know that I have awesome
family back home and will have a lot of support, thank goodness.
Anyways, thank you again everybody for your support. I love you!

Quick Note

Hello everyone,

I apologize, I have been a little distracted this past week. Thank you
everyone for the updates on dad, they really help. Quite a big scare
if I must say so myself.

Fairbanks is awesome; way too hot tho, it was 75 the other day, I was
going to die, I could barely stand it. It is interesting serving with
two polys, a whole new dynamic to the companionship really, very
different from my last one. I definitely have to be more relaxed with
a lot of things and choose my battles more carefully. It has been
really enriching tho and I am grateful for it. The zone itself is
really cool, everyone seems to have a great relationship with one
another, I really like it.

I did see Jill the other day at church (I am in her ward). I almost
walked right past her until she said 'hey TJ', totally threw me off. I
did not recognize her! She gave me a hug, 

and said it was from mom - thank you! It is kind of weird to
have family in the ward you are serving in, but I guess it is also a
good thing I do not know them all that well so I can stay more
focused.

Thank you again everyone for the updates and such, it helps. I will
talk to y'all next week :)

Love,
  -Elder Hartman1

Heading to Fairbanks!

Hello there family and friends,

Life out here is great, serving the Lord is the best work anyone can
do! I love it :)

I am getting transferred to Fairbanks, yay! I will be going to the
Fairbanks, second ward and serving with E. Na'a - a Tongan from
Inglewood, Cali; and E. Leota - a Samoan from America Samoa I believe.
I will update y'all on the ward next week. Elder Butler is going to be
staying in the Sand Lake ward and Elder Fina'i will be going to Fish
hook, Wasilla. It is a bummer, when you get the call and are notified
you are getting transferred, you usually have a mixture of emotion -
happiness and reluctance. You are happy you are going somewhere else
and getting a new experience/adventure, but that is also when you
realize how much you love the ward, members and your companion(s).
This ward rocks, I love the Sand Lake ward. Everyone is so nice and
welcoming here, definitely one of the nicest wards I have been in on
my mission thus far. We said some goodbyes yesterday. I will most
likely see a lot of these members again tho, since they are in
Anchorage and they are moderately close to the mission home.

I think I already updated y'all on this, but we got a new bishop a
while ago, so our main focus was making a good first impression on him
and giving him some suggestions/ideas on things we want to see happen
in the ward. There is a bright future here in the ward, hopefully the
work picks up. E. Butler and I really felt like we were going thro a
junk pile the last two transfers, sorting things out and getting
things moving again, finding something valuable here and there. The
area is awesome tho, I will always remember it definitely.

I am going to be sending some more pictures, so enjoy them! The one I
am sending with this e-mail is all of us in the car - obviously ;)

Love you all so much and thank you for everything!

Love,
  Elder Hartman1

Mom's Questions

1.  Tell us all about your transfer - how do you feel about it -
describe your new area - companion etc.  I realize this may have to be
next week's question if you don't know yet.

I am getting transferred to Fairbanks! I will be in another trio up
there (my third one in a row) with E. Na'a and E. Leota, both
polleynesian. I have served around E. Na'a throughout my mission and
we get along great, both really excited! I do now know a whole lot
about the area yet, but I will let you know next week! (Ask me again,
I will forget)


2.  Loved the picture - is the girl in the picture his wife or
girlfriend?  Is she a member?  How was the experience - confirming him
in the hospital?  Is he doing better?

The girl is his wife and she is a member - recent convert, was
baptized last year. It was a kool experience confirming him in the
hospital, definitely a different place to do it. He is doing a lot
better yes, he just needs to get his priesthood now.


3.  What will you miss most about your companion(s) - (are  you still
in a 3 some?)  What will you miss most about your ward?

I will miss the dynamic of it really. We have a lot of fun and get
along with each other really well. We work hard, throughout the day,
but we are good at having a balance at the same time. I loved serving
in the Sand Lake ward and I will definitely miss it for sure.


4.  What did you learn this week that was new to you?  About yourself
- the gospel - about your mission?

How much the prophets, in both the scriptures and nowadays, put a
stress on prayer and fasting. I read over that just this last Sunday
while fasting and it really hit me. President Spencer W. Kimball said
that prayer and fasting are what help you the most in regards to
learning doctrine and principals of the gospel, seeking answers and
guidance for life, and many other such things. If you utilize those
two together, you can pretty much find the answer to anything.


5.  You mentioned that you are realizing you like hospitals and would
like to work there some day - doing what and what has happened to
influence this decision?

It was while we visited Paul in the hospital while he was recovering
from his surgery mainly. I am not sure what it is about it, I like how
clean it is and also the quiet atmosphere as well. Also very spacious
too, I like places that have a lot of space, if that makes any
sense...I am not sure what I would like to do in a hospital for work
yet.


6.  I heard that on the Summer Solaces it is light almost 24 hours in
Alaska and they play a baseball game at midnight with no lights - is
this true - are you allowed to go - or is it past bedtime?  Is it hard
sleeping in the light?

Yes it is. We are not allowed to play no, I wish we could tho! It is
not hard sleeping with the light no, I adjusted to that pretty fast
actually. It makes waking up a ton easier because it is already bright
outside.


7.  What are you doing today for pday - your possibly last in Anchorage?

Just running a lot of errands, saying bye to some members and packing,
oh how I dislike packing sometimes...but ya, nothing too big, just
getting ready to be transferred.