Staying in Fairbanks

 Hello everyone,

Well, as y'all know, this week was transfers and to give you and
update, I will be staying here in Fairbanks. I am getting a new
companion, E. Boyer from Las Vegas. I have served around him a little
bit before and talked to him a few times. He is way tight, this should
be a lot of fun :) E. Na'a and E. Leota are both leaving to go serve
in Anchorage; this last week we said a lot of goodbyes to members in
the ward and other people. Last night we had dinner at an active
members home and they have this tradition where missionaries who are
leaving eat the dinner only using their mouths. It was really fun, we
ate spaghetti with a lot of sauce on it. It started into a food fight
at the end, it was so much fun. Another funny thing that happened
during the dinner, after all of the madness and everyone was cleaning
everything up, was when the lava lava I was wearing for my first time
(the families daughter is Samoan) and Polynesians usually wear that
attire and the pants I had on got sauce all over them, which in case
you do not know, it is pretty much a light skirt that both the men and
the women wear in the culture. I was bending down to pick up a pan
that just fell and the lava lava came undone! A good amount of people
got to see my hairy legs - do not worry, I was wearing my garments ;)
It was so embarrassing...but a great story.

Our baptism this weekend was great, the investigators whole family
came and the dad said the closing prayer. It was a touching
experience, it is so cool to see how the gospel brings families closer
together. It definitely does unite everyone and give us a purpose in
life. Now we just have to get the ward involved with the family so
they can stay strong and actively come every Sunday; there were
actually about seven less active families that we have been working
with that came to church yesterday, it was so wonderful to see.

Life is good, everything else is going great. I was not able to write
back to anyone for letters again today, I apologize to those who are
wondering what is taking me so long. I will make time for them -
hopefully ;) I love you all very much and I feel your love as well.
Have a great week and I will talk to you again next week!

Love,
Elder Hartman

 

1.  TELL US ALL ABOUT YOUR TRANSFER.

It was so good. It went by way too fast. I loved it, I learned a lot
about myself - a lot of things I really need to work on and do better.

2.  TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEW COMPANION.  (WHERE HE IS FROM, HOW LONG HE
HAS BEEN OUT, ETC ETC ETC)

His name is E. Boyer. He is from Las Vegas and has been out for one
transfer longer than me, so 21 months. He plays the banjo a little
bit, so I will be more familiar with the banjo this upcoming transfer
:) I am not with him yet, I am getting him on Wednesday morning so I
will be able to tell you more about him next week :)

3.  HOW ARE YOUR INVESTIGATORS COMING ALONG?  DID YOU HAVE THE BAPTISM
YOU WERE HOPING FOR?

They are doing pretty good. We did have a baptism this weekend. It
went really well, the whole family came. It was a great experience,
hopefully this strengthens their family and they continue to be
nourished by the ward! We have to meet with some of our other
investigators, there are some that we have not met with for a while
now, hopefully they are still interested.

4.  TELL US SOMETHING NEW YOU LEARNED THIS WEEK (OR MONTH).

To not be selfish and desire only my own personal salvation.

5.  I KNOW DAD WROTE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR CAR - WHAT DO YOU THINK?
ANY IDEAS AT ALL YET?

Not yet, I really do not have a preference, so long as it can go in
the snow pretty well. I will take anything :)

6.  MIKELLE IS GOING TO REGISTER YOU FOR SCHOOL IN A FEW WEEKS - ANY
THOUGHTS ON CLASSES YOU WANT TO TAKE?  BY THE WAY SCHOOL STARTS ON
JAN. 7TH I BELIVE)

No, not really, just sign me up and I will go :)

7.  DID YOU TALK TO THE PRES. ABOUT YOUR RELEASE DATE?  CAN YOU BE
HOME ON THE 16TH OF DEC. (SAT) SO OUR HOMECOMING CAN BE THE 17TH?  WE
CAN WRITE HIM IF YOU WOULD LIKE??

Would you write to him? That would be ever so nice :) I have not
talked to him about it yet no.

8.  WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR PDAY THIS WEEK?

We are going to go ice skating! Yay! :) Then after that we are not sure yet :)

9.  DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL DAY.

Wake up at six thirty, do a little bit of an exercise (that is
something where there is a lot of room for improvement), then shower,
eat breakfast, studies, then head out the door and proselyte. We
mainly do less active work here, so we drop by a lot of persons homes
throughout the day, since there are so many in the ward and our area
is pretty small. We usually are in around 9 - 9:30, plan for the next
day, then wind down and are usually in bed by around 10:30. I know it
is not in great detail, but I do not have a whole lot of time.

10.  IS THERE ANYTHING YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH BEFORE YOUR MISSION ENDS?

Great question....maybe finding an investigator family would be really
cool. There are a lot of part - members up here. I cannot think of
anything else specific at the moment, sorry!

I love you!

A Lesson Learned

Hello!

Once again, starting out another letter is always difficult, I never
have any idea how to begin...

This week was another great week. We are still just working mainly
with less actives in the area, since there are so many. We are having
good success with them! We found a new investigator from one. We were
driving away and E. Na'a felt prompted to go back and give him
something. We grabbed a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration
pamphlet and went back, bore our testimonies about its truthfulness
and how it brings us peace and happiness from reading it. He sounded
like he was sincere about it and said he would read from it. I love
testifying about the Book of Mormon, it is so fun :)

I learned a good lesson this week: never be afraid to talk and testify
about the gospel. We were at a members home, we were doing service and
they fed us afterwards. I was helping the mom clean and I wanted to
talk about the gospel but did not know what or how I would. I asked
her how long she had been a member for and that started a great
conversation we had. After talking to her for a little bit, I noticed
the other lady in the room was listening to us. I turned to her and
started talking to her. Eventually, she ended up bearing her testimony
to me about how the gospel really shows us and teaches us what is
important in life. The spirit was so strong in the room, it was
awesome. I read in Preach My Gospel earlier this week how a great way
to invite the spirit is to share spiritual experiences. I tell you
what, that really works, I followed that and it invited the spirit and
I know that everyone in that room could feel it. The lady thanked me
afterward for the great conversation and she was gung ho about
missionary work after that. It is so cool to see how the gospel bring
us so much joy into our lives and gives us such fulfillment too. I am
grateful for this gospel and the purpose it gives me in life. If I did
not have it, I would probably be wandering around aimlessly, doing
this and that, without any real purpose behind it. The gospel gives me
that foundation that I need and I know that it is true.

I love you! Have a great week!
 -Elder Hartman1


Questions

1.  You said to remember to ask you about your president interview
last week when you get home. Tell us at least one thing he said so we
don't forget.

He just showed me love, it was not so much what he said, but just what
he did and how he helped me.

2.  What is something you will miss about your companions when transfers come?

The spontaneous craziness. They know how to have a lot of fun :)

3.  Tell us about your hike last week  who did you go with, where etc

It actually was not all that epic. It was just a skiing trail that
went around in a circle. We just went and walked for about 1 1/2 hours
then went to the institute and stayed their for a little bit. The
p-day we have planned today tho is a spiritual p-day. We are meeting
at two at the Stake Center. Every companionship in the zone is doing a
team building activity that relates to a principle of the gospel. We
have about 7-10 minutes to do it. After that, we are going to have a
testimony meeting. It is going to be awesome :)

4. Have you thought about what kind of car you want when you get home?

Not really. The Jeep was just awesome, but it does not matter to me
all that much what I get, so long as I at least have something that
gets me from place to place :)

5.  Are you happy?  Why or why not.

Life is good. I am content right now :) Just trying times, lots of
trials, but lots of blessings as well :)

5. Did you get 3 months of your meds last month?  If not go get more.
How are you feeling?

The ones that Summer sent to me yes. I am feeling good, nothing wrong with me :)

7.  Any news about your camera?

Not yet, just continuous prayer for it and putting trust in Heavenly Father!

8. Tell us about your upcoming baptism.

It is this Saturday at 7 p.m. We are meeting with the family one more
time this week to talk about the baptism (I just realized I did not
talk about this in my weekly letter to y'all!), who she wants to talk,
the songs, go over the interview questions, etc. She wants the
missionaries to do a musical number for her, so we are in the process
of planning that out. It should be good tho! Everything is looking
good.

9.  Do you know we talk about you every day. Several times a day. We
talk about how much we love you and can't wait to be with you again. I
am so happy families are forever!!

That is great to hear. I really appreciate that :) I think about y'all
a lot too and miss you very much. I still love and take pride in
talking about my family and how awesome everyone is. I too am forever
grateful that I know I am able to spend eternity with my family :)

10. Why are you up so early today emailing?  What are you doing today?

No reason, we just got here a little earlier. Next week is transfers,
so if I do not e-mail then you know why. Remember that ;) We are doing
the spiritual p-day, as I answered in question 3 :) I love you!

Life is Good

Hello!

Well, yet another week in the missionary life here in Alaska!

Two of our investigators came to church yesterday. It was so great to
see them, and also a few less active families that we are working with
came as well! I love seeing people come back to church, such a great
feeling. One family that we are working with closely is doing really
well. We meet with  them often throughout the week, like 3 - 4 times.
We have a good relationship with them and have a good time when we are
over there. They are just a fun family and they know that we look to
them as our friends. The daughter was a little uneasy towards us at
first, and now, just the other day, she texted us and said we were
welcome there anytime! 

 

Sometimes it is not until you look back that
you see how much progress you have made with some people; the change
is so small and slow sometimes that you do no know that they are
actually changing right before your eyes. I really like how when we
visit some people that, although they drink alcohol or smoke - do
things that our standards do not necessarily agree with - we are there
and are casual with them. It is not like we have any right to judge
them on what they are doing. They are all great people too, just have
made some bad choices in life. It is really edifying when people
realize that, that you are there to see them and they know that you
love them.

We had a zone study this morning. It was pretty good, the
companionships who came seemed to really enjoy it! We studies on teach
when you find, find when you teach and did a lot of real plays. We
said how people are used to short, clear, simple messages and related
it to commercials. Usually commercials are no longer than 30 seconds
because that is how long your attention span lasts for. We are
encouraged to develop the habit of immediately testifying about our
message with those we come into contact with. We did real plays that
lasted for a minute, then 45 seconds, then 40, down until we had only
5 seconds to give a message. Sometimes that is all you have is just a
few seconds to change someones life. Sometimes it is those short, but
powerful statements that have a huge impact on you. I wrote about one
in the questions I answered to mom, you can read it there :)

Life is good. I feel your prayers and am continually grateful for your
support. Thank you everyone. I love you!

Love,
Elder Hartman

Baptisms

Hello!

First thing is first: the Zip code for the mission is 99502, not
99512, just some info for ya :)

The Baptism was a success! Since we were teaching two kids, E. Leota
confirmed one and I confirmed the other the next day in sacrament
meeting. One was a child of record baptism and the other was an
investigators since she was nine. It was my first time confirming
someone. I was a little nervous beforehand, but it went really well
tho, got all of the wording right :)

We have interviews with Pres. on Friday, I think he is going to give
us some info on what is going to happen with transfers or at least
what he plans on doing. It is always fun to talk to Pres. he is so
awesome. Transfers are slowly sneaking up - still about two weeks
away, but it is just weird to think that this transfer is almost over.
Transfers are going to be on the 28th, so if on the 27th you do not
get an e-mail from me - I am driving down to Anchorage, just a heads
up.

The work in the area is still moving. We are mainly doing less-active
work right now. We were unable to meet with our other investigators
last week - both were no-shows. Hopefully we will meet with them this
week tho!

For pday today we are probably just going to be hanging out at the
church - playing sports and writing letters mainly, maybe play some
board games too :)

We had a good lesson with a former investigator the other day. Had it
outside, near the river on a bench, kinda fun for a change of scenery.
He met with the missionaries a while back, about last year sometime,
and has Jehovah's witness beliefs, very firm in the trinity belief -
all one God, not individual. That is always one that is hard to help
people see a different perspective on, there is only so much you can
do on your part to help them see, but in the end it is always up to
them. Hopefully we meet with him again.

We watched 17 Miracles with a less-active family the other day. Every
time I watch it, I always feel guilty because the trials that I go
thro are nothing compared to what they went thro. I always have to
strive to be grateful for what they did for us, the sacrifice they
performed in order to bring later generations the greatest blessings.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. I love you very much
and always strive to remember you and the things you do for me! Take
care!

Love,

Elder Hartman

____________________________________________________

1.  Tell us a little bit about your zone council conference you had last week.

It was good. We mainly just discussed how the work is going in the
zones, the new mission training plan and how to help disobedient
missionaries. Our zone is doing way good, everyone is working really
hard and a lot of people are going to be baptized this month :)

2.  Were all your pictures from your whole mission on your camera?
Did you ever download any of them?

Yes they were...I downloaded a few, but that was mainly the first six
months of my mission. I am so upset about that still, but will
continue to pray to find it!

3.  What was your favorite day of this week?  Why?

I am not sure....probably either Sunday or Saturday. Those were our
most productive days, we saw a lot of people and had good success.

4.  How do think you have changed since you left on your mission?

I like to think so - in a good way. I have learned so much and
continue to grow each and every day. The new challenges and trials
that come my way seem to get harder and harder, but every time
afterwards I am always grateful for them. I think I have matured a lot
these last 19 months, the Lord has broken me down and built me back up
to be the person He wants me to be.

Hello everyone,

Brief rundown on why you are getting this weekly letter today: We went
down to Anchorage for Zone Leader Council and were there until this
morning and drove back up and got back a few hours ago. That is why
you are just getting this :)

I got the package from Summer while I was there. I have not opened it
yet, I will probably wait until tonight to do that :) Thank you
Summer!

The trip to Anchorage was way good. It was fun seeing some old
companions and missionary friends. I don't know if y'all remember
Elder Meteer; he was my first companion in Whitehorse, and he just
went home yesterday - went home early for school. He is so awesome, I
am missing him so much right now, but I will see him when I get back.
We were both actually wondering if he could maybe stay at our house
during the middle of Dec. when I get home possibly....If not it is
totally fine, but he would stay until my homecoming. If you want his
e-mail I can give it to ya and you can talk to him then :)

Update on last week: it was the first time on my mission I taught
twenty lessons! 19 months and I hit the missionary standard. We saw a
ton of less actives last week, it was a bomb week. We put another one
of our investigators on date for the 25th of Aug. We are very excited.
We rode bikes all day Saturday, I felt like a real missionary because
that is how everyone kind of pictures missionarys, with the helmet and
backpacks. It was a lot of fun, it was actually our most productive
day too, we taught seven lessons and picked up a new investigator who
wants to be baptized! He (the new investigator) literally called us
last Wednesday (last week) and said he met with the missionarys before
in Alaska but had to go to Colorado for eleven months and is now back
and wants to meet with us again; we wants to know what he has to do to
be baptized. It was a great lesson we had with him, he already has a
testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, there is nothing we
need to do other than just commit him :) Our are is definitely picking
up, it is way cool.

While we were in Anchorage, I worked in the Sand Lake ward a little
bit during the evenings with E. Kvavle (pronounced quively, nothing
like how it looks). Since it was my last area, the people we visited
still remembered me pretty well. It was so nice being back there
again, I miss that area, it was a blast. It is also great to hear
about some of the people you were teaching who got baptized or less
actives that you worked with started coming back to church. I have
really enjoyed all of the areas I have served in on my mission and my
companions too, I have been very blessed :)

On a sad note: I lost my camera!!!!!! You have no idea how incredibly
upset I am over that....It is going to bother me forever. I looked and
looked and looked and could not find it. I lost it while in Anchorage.
We looked all over the apartment we stayed at and everything. I am so
frustrated. I was so excited to show everyone the pictures I had and
tell the stories behind them....ugh. Hopefully it turns up sometime! I
have been praying really hard to find it. I will let you know if I
do...

It is scary to see missionarys who have been out were out on their
mission just a little bit longer than me start going home. I have to
start thinking about school and life after the mission now. It does
scare me quite a lot - hopefully I am not awkward or anything. Next
time we go to the temple, I will probably start focusing and praying
on a career and school. I hope I have a smooth transition with it all!

That is all for this week! Thank you everyone for your consistent
prayers and support throughout my mission. You have no idea how much
it they have helped me endure thro it and make the most of it. I love
you all and thank you sincerely for it.

Love,
Elder Hartman 1

 

1.  What was your favorite thing that happened this week?

Going down to Anchorage for Zone Leader Council and seeing some old
companions and missionary friends :) we also visited the Sand Lake
ward - my last area - for a little bit, got to see some members, it
was way fun :)

2.  I'm so happy you finally got your meds.  How are you feeling overall?

Pretty good, a few pains in my side every now and then, but nothing
too big tho. Doing great :)

3.  What are you doing today for pday?

Well, it is Wednesday because we drove down to Anchorage early on
Monday morning and we were there until today - we just got back about
an hour and a half ago. Today tho, we are working in our area and
planning a baptism that we are going to have this weekend :)

4.  Did you meet Heather and her family yet?  I guess they are living
with Jill while they redo their house?

No I have not. I will let you know when I do.

6.  At his point in you mission what rule would you say is hardest for
you?  why?

Always staying within sight and sound of your companion. I like to
have some Peace every now and then ;) imagine that haha

7.  You said one of the issues you had in your current area was
getting the trust of your members - weren't your 2 companions in the
same area for the past 6 or so months?  Why is that still an issue?

I honestly am not sure. It is getting better tho, the bishop is really
taking a liking to us it seems like. We saw a ton of less actives last
week - twenty two to be exact - and some of them were ones that the
ward has not had contact with for almost a few years now :)

8.  Is their a gospel princiiple that is currently on your mind
lately?  If so what?

There are always a lot of them on my mind actually, but I would say
hope. That is still something I am trying to work on right now the
most. I try to find something to hope for in the future - especially
when times are hard.

9.  Any more thoughts on school when you get home?  What?  Where?
Living where?  Should we get Mikelle to get you registered - do you
want to pick your classes or should we get you signed up for some of
your basics?

I want to go back to UVU I am pretty sure. I am not sure where I will
live yet to be honest. If I can find some roommates then I will
probably live with them, but if not I hope it will be okay if I live
at home for a little bit. I am not sure about the classes yet. I think
I need some more time for that one - ask me again in the future tho
please :)

10. What kind of companion do you think you will be remembered as on
your mission?

I really have no idea. Probably the one who loves Unicorns :)
seriously, I have a ton of Unicorn stuff it is crazy, but I love it.