Power of the Holy Ghost

Hello again family,

I am very sorry about the inconvenience last week about sending the letter to the wrong email address and everything. I promise you it will not happen again for future reference :)

This week was amazing. We had a lot of success and our teaching is climbing up too! This area is starting to boil and will soon explode I anticipate :) Yesterday was such an amazing day in particular. It was fast sunday, testimony meeting was outstanding. The spirit enlightened my mind so much during the meeting I could not stand it! I learned so much in that hour about the gospel then I have in a week! It is truly amazing what happens when you do your part, because Heavenly Father 'always' upholds His as well. When you put forth an effort to fast and really ponder things, the spirit magnifies the things you ponder astronomically. As you are aware, we skip 2 consecutive meals for fasting, we were skipping breakfast and lunch. When dinner comes around, we are ready to eat. We were meeting with our new investigators that we have been teaching for the last 2 weeks. Every missionary deserves at least one of these kind of investigators their mission. These are the best investigators I have had thus far on my mission, hands down. They ask inspired questions, keep commitments, and are just a delight to be around, we get along with them perfectly. They were the investigators I mentioned a while back if you remember at all. Anyways, back to the story, we went to their house for the lesson. Nothing has ever smelled to Heavenly when we walked inside. They had the whole thanksgiving dinner ready for us. I will not go into detail, due to excessive drooling that will occur if I do. Earlier that day, I was crazing cinnamon rolls for some strange reason. Well, guess what is for desert? It was so perfect, I almost did not want to eat it.

 

The lesson we had afterwards was indescribable. The spirit was so incredibly strong in the room, it would have been impossible not to feel it. We were teaching the 3rd lesson, The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I decided to open up the lesson with Faith. After a little bit of discussion about it, they both went really quiet, deep pondering mode. The wife started crying pretty hard, saying that this was a tough subject for her to talk about. Apparently they had had a discussion about this exact topic just the other night. It was just an amazing lesson all around. I hope every missionary who serves has the blessing of experience a lesson like that. I know I spent majority of this email on one particular experience, but it was an experience that had a real impact on me. The spirit was testifying to them throughout the lesson. We had a member there who was outstanding, perfect member to have their at the lesson. I am truly humbled by this experience and I was sure to thank my Father in Heaven for helping us find the elect and assisting us in teaching them as well.

 

I hope and pray that I will always be worthy for the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Without it, we missionarys are a lost cause. People will not believe what we are saying is true, unless the Holy Ghost testifies to them that it is. 

As I stated a few letters back. I want to say again to dad, as well to all of my family, that I am working hard. I am giving my mission the best effort I can. At times I have stumbled here and there and I have made mistakes. I always try to help improve myself and look for ways to better myself. I am loving my mission. I love it with all my heart and I am forever grateful for your continual support to me throughout my mission thus far. Thank you all so much again, I really appreciate everything you do. I will continue to give it the best I can and make the most of these 2 short years that I can as well. I love you all and pray for you often.

Love,

Elder Hartman1

We Are All in This Together

Hello again everyone!

I think I got the package that Summer said she sent to me last week, the one with the recovery drink and everything, I am going to the post office today with the slip to get it :) I also got a letter from Becky and Miranda, that was ever so wonderful :)

Our area is doing really good, things are looking most definitely up for us! We are increasing our teaching every week and we have found almost 2 new investigators every week for the last month! Some are stronger than others, but it is still so great to see the fruit of our labor :) I know that the Lord blessed us because of our obedience. Sometimes in the mornings, it can be difficult to fully dress in pros because it is much easier and more comfortable to study in your pajamas or sweats. I like proving myself to the Lord that I want to be obedient because I know that He recognizes that. He always blesses us for our efforts and diligence. We picked up 2 new investigators last week. They are pretty solid, we taught them the first lesson, with a member there too. I love bringing members to lessons, I cannot tell you how many times the member has saved me during lessons because they can always relate better to the investigator than we can. These investigators ask very good questions, really good questions actually. I do not like saying "I don't know" to a question, but I know that it is far better to legitimately say that then to try and answer a question you do not know and sound like an idiot. At the end of the first lesson, the husband commented how he liked how "human" we were. He explained why he used this term. He has had a lot of experience with other churches and faiths, and one thing he noticed that was common with a lot of them, not all, was how they go through the motions. They literally try to have an answer for every question and try to know everything. He said he liked how we did not know the answer to every question. We did know a lot of answers, but there were a lot of questions too during the lesson. It was really reassuring to hear him comment on that. It is not the end of the world if we do not know the answer to a question, all we have to do is simply find out the answer for ourselves if we do not know it.

I absolutely LOVED Conference. I never thought I would ever look forward to it as much as I did last weekend. I was so excited I could hardly see straight. My favorite apostle (we can have favorite apostles, Boyd K. Packer has a favorite prophet and he himself said it is ok if we have favorites, just to clarify) is D. Todd Christoffersen. I just love the way he speaks and presents himself when he talks. He is so clear and puts things in just a understanding perspective. I also like how easygoing he is too when he talks :) My favorite talk this conference was Uchtdorf's in the saturday morning session, about God's love and relating it to our understanding of the universe. Basically, we cannot comprehend just how much he loves us. Personally, I thought it was his best talk he has given. I absolutely loved it, such a great talk and one that I needed to hear. I was dreading conference ending, I really was. I did not want it to end, I loved it so much. I could tell Monson did not want it to end either. I loved his words as he was closing "we are all in this together". I felt such a brotherhood as he said that. I truly felt that we are all indeed family here on earth.

My love for the gospel has grown so immensely over the last few weeks. It was much needed growth, as I felt a big change in myself towards my outlook on just how important this gospel is to me and my life. My desire to serve the Lord has increased so much and I know that we can achieve no greater happiness than in following the Lords commandments and doing His will. I feel at home whenever I feel His love. I feel at peace and love the serenity the spirit brings when it comes. I hope that I will continue to be able to remain worthy for the companionship of the spirit and will always strive to be as well. I just want my family to know, that I am putting my shoulder to the wheel and working hard while I am on my mission. We are working hard here in Whitehorse, and I will do my very best to continue my diligence throughout my mission and even the rest of my life. Thank you everyone again for the support, it is because of you and your faith that I am able to press on diligently :) I love you and thank you again.

Love,
Elder Hartman1

Sunday Was a Great Day

Hi everybody!

Thank you all for the wonderful e-mails and letters. I got the little snacks Summer sent and Mormon Doctrine as well :) I was so happy to get my own copy! I am emailing early this week cuz we only have 2 computers and we decided we would email early and the other Elders wold email later.

We had a short week because of Zone Conference. We flew from Skagway in a small plane, not a bush plane, just a very small airplane. I loved it, right when the turbulence hits, it rocks me right to sleep every time :) we went their with the Skagway Elders, so there was 6 of us total. I don't think I mentioned this, but we stayed in the sisters apartment. The first and probably last Elders, as Pres. Beesley says, that will stay in the sisters apartment. How many missionaries can say that? They were super nice about letting us stay there and eating whatever we wanted. You could definitely tell that Elders had been thro there once we left :) I did leave them a thank you note on a little heart sticky note, however. So at least we were somewhat considerate in that aspect.

Sunday was such a great day. We had 3 investigators at church and Bro. Andre, a father of a less active family we have been working with a lot this transfer, came to church as well! I was so excited I could barely sit still! I am hoping we will have some baptisms next transfer, we have a lot of people who could be baptized. I, personally, do not consider myself having any baptisms right now, the one I had beginning of my mission I pretty much walked into, so I do not really count that one. After I left Chester Valley, they had a baptism and were teaching their neighbor, which Elder Ashby and I talked to I think 2 days before I left. I was very happy to hear about that and the success they are having in that area.

It is hard to think that I only have 6 more weeks here in Whitehorse. I have already been here 4 1/2 months. It will be so hard for me to leave this area, I love the people here so much, I do not think I will ever get enough of the people or Whitehorse itself! I hope to have a really successful transfer and bring souls to Christ. There is nothing I want more, than to give them the greatest gift they can experience and have them receive everlasting joy. It is so rewarding to be a part of these persons lives and help them out. Everyone in the branch is so unique in their own way and we are really starting to connect with the people here. They are getting more anxious to be engaged in missionary work. Every time we call a member to see if they can come to a lesson, they almost always say yes. When they cannot make it, it is usually due to things already planned or work.

I was looking back on some journal entries, and one I wrote really stood out to me. It was not all that long ago, on the 21st of this month. Near the end of it, I was talking about Alaska a little bit. "Every time I hear the word Alaska, or picture it on a map, my heart starts to pound. The spirit swells within me. That is always another confirmation the church is true!". And it is. I love Alaska so much. I never thought I would be sent here, but now that I am actually here, I cannot picture myself going anywhere else. I love this mission, I love Alaska and I love the gospel. Thank you all for your support and your continued dedication.

Love,
Elder Hartman1

Amazed

So this will be a little bit more of a detailed e-mail than last week.

This last week was really good. The missionary work in Whitehorse is picking up, slowly, but surely. We are plowing the fields and planting the seeds. We have 2 lessons set up with new investigators we found. I love finding people to teach, it is challenging, but so rewarding when you receive the fruit of your labor. We had a Zone Conference recently, and interviews as well, which I was promised to have 1 more transfer here in Whitehorse, I was so happy! Elder Walker of the 70 is taking a mission tour of Alaska and he came and spoke to us. It was so great to see this man, who has dedicated the last 9 years of his life to the Lord, come and speak to us and share some of his experiences he had while on his mission and during his current call in the church. His call involves the temples, whenever there is a new temple announced, built, or about to be dedicated, he is involved in the whole process. It strengthens my testimony whenever I hear others bear theirs. The spirit was so strong in the room when he was telling us about setting his son apart as a missionary. He was the Stake President when his son came back from his mission, so he was interviewing him to set him apart. "It was a very tender moment" he described "my son, near the end of the interview, looked at me and said 'dad, I just want you to know I worked hard. I gave it my best'". He was so proud of his son when he said that. I loved how I felt after he told that story. I am proud because if I were to see dad right now, I would be able to tell him "dad, I am working hard and I am doing my best as a missionary". There is a lot I can improve on, I constantly try to better myself everyday. 

Every time I try to improve myself, I always feel reassurance from Heavenly Father that he is proud of me for what I am doing and trying to do His will. In our last sacrament meeting, we sung "I Stand All Amazed". I love that hymn. To think that someone, who was perfect in every aspect, would willingly suffer for me, freely, it is truly wonderful that "he would care for me, enough to die for me". It truly is wonderful to think about. I love this gospel. I love our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is my brother and my best friend. Thank you all for your support, I love you very much :)

"No one was sent on this earth to fail"
"If you are focused on worldly possessions, everything will always fall short. You will never have enough. If you are focused on the gospel, you will have ALL of the blessings. Heavenly Father makes sure of that".

Love,
Elder Hartman

Chess Champion

Hello family,

So, I do not have a whole lot of time to e-mail this week. We are leaving for Skagway at 2, for Zone conference. I am so excited!! :) Pretty much, we picked up 2 new investigators this week. We have a lesson set up with them on Wednesday and Saturday. Things are looking good here in Whitehorse, we are slowly but surely progressing. Oh, and I also beat a member at chess who is way super good the other day. We were over at their houz to do service, and it has been a goal of mine to beat him, so I challenged him after and I won! So happy :) anyways. I will let you know how Zone conference goes next week. Again, sorry about the short e-mail. Spent a little too much time golfing ;) hahaha, love you all! Thank you again for your support!! :)

Elder Hartman 1

Dogs in Onesies

Hi again everybody!

Sounds like things are going just swell back in the blessed land of the States. I miss the states, I miss having a decent postal service, people who drive a little bit faster (the speed limit here is SOOOOOOOOO slow...) and grocery prices at decent amounts. I got the package from Summer that mom and dad had her send. Thank you very much for that! I really appreciate it!

A funny experience we had this week. We were tracting on the outskirts of town, just visiting some houses that are pretty far away that I am sure missionaries in the past have not visited. We were coming up to one and we see this dog in a pajama onesie. It had the butt flap and everything!  It was the koolest dog I have ever seen! I could not stand up cuz I was laughing so hard. I was sure to compliment the people on the outfit. Apparently the dog was their guard dog...I will send a picture and you tell me if it looks much like a guard dog, personally, I am not too threatened by a dog wearing pajamas, but that is just me tho :)

We went on splits last week. I went with Elder Johnson, our DL. It was really fun, the only downfall is that NO ONE was home that we planned to see, that was awkward. It is pretty difficult to find people. The hours from 1-4 are so hard to work during cuz that is when everyone is working. A lot of people have 2 full time jobs up here.

So, we are going to be receiving our District Callings soon. I am going to be the District: Complimentor, Activities Coordinator, Health Advisor (my personal favorite) and Scrapbook Committee Chairman. I know, the last one is a little odd, especially for me, but we are planning on making a District scrapbook while we are here. Don't have high expectations, I know NOTHING about scrapbook, but I can learn :) We gave ourselves the name "Whitehorse Warriors" pretty awesome name, I know. We came up with a scripture for us too, 2 Cor. 12:10, a bomb scripture if you ask me. It was between that and Alma 48:13, which I thought we should of had, but one of the Elders in our District thought it was too violent....for reputations sake, he will remain nameless :) not that it really matter anyways.

Oh my, so the other Elders stay at the family history center at the church for certain hours during the week. One of the days, they couldn't make it cuz they had something come up, so we went there for them. This lady came to do some history work too. She was very nice. Unfortunately, for the next 3 hours, all we could smell was cat urine. Man, that was just excruciating..

We started p90x today! I was so happy! The Thompsons are letting us come over in the mornings and do it. We get there at 6 and start, so not as early as Elder Meteer and I were doing it, thank goodness! Elder Bowes does not really like getting up in the mornings, so it is a trial for him to get up, but it is worth it!

I was thinking of a quote by President Monson. I read it in on the recent ensigns.
"Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It's so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they're gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of 'what if' and 'if only'.
Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is  most important".

It is true, how the people who make the biggest impact on our lives and have the best influence, are often the ones we tend to forget first and take for granted. There is that famous quote "you never know what you have 'till its gone". It is true, a lot of us do not realize what we do have. I always try to thank Heavenly Father for the wonderful, loving family that I am blessed with. Who have set the best examples for me and have always lent me a helping hand. For being patient with me and never ceasing to love me. I will always try to be grateful for what I do have and recognize it when I have it. I love you all, thank you again.

Love,
Elder Hartman1

I Have the Best Family Ever!

I just felt like expressing a portion of my gratitude on the subject line ;)

A man, this week was really good! I got a letter from Olex!!!! We have started writing each other once a week :) LOVE it!! :) I can hear his voice when I read his letters, we just reminisce a lot and just tell each other awesome stories :) mainly him cuz he always has a story to tell :) I also got Summers list of characteristics that my wife has to have. I really liked it!! It was a great list! So I think we can all agree that my wife has to for sure be a Yellow core at least, can we all agree on that? I know that we have quite the opinionated family, but I think we can start with that :) I also got the email where mom and dad were talking to Brad. I laughed when he said how he was probably getting more baptisms then us hahaha, but hey, in my defense, we do not get investigators that fall in our lap and whenever we go tracting, we NEVER pick up 15 new ones either, but he is living in poverty and I am not, so props to him for that :)

This week was really good! Did not have as much tracting hours as I would have liked, but that is just fine. I absolutely love tracting!! It is so much fun to talk to people and teach them at the door about the gospel. No mean to boast, but I can tell that Elder Bowes and I are getting better at it. I have seen a lot of improvement and we are getting so many potential investigators! I do not think that I will be fortunate to see this area have a lot of success yet, but I think pretty soon, it is going to blow up! We are just toiling the ground and planting the seeds right now. I have started writing in my journal every day now! I would usually write in it on occasion, but now I realize that I would have regretted that years from now, it is always fun to have something to look back on too :) Our district is awesome, last tuesday, after district meeting, we recorded Elder Johnson rapping and me playing the guitar, it was so much fun, our district is awesome! He is way good at coming up with lyrics on the spot and a super hard worker too! He has set a great example for me and helps me strive to work harder too :)

Man, so we were helping a lady move the other night. No offense to them, but they were totally unprepared to move. They procrastinated at were rushing it. They only had us Elders to help them move. We got there at 8, did not leave until 11. I know, we were out way past curfew, but they really needed the help. It was just very aggravating at times cuz the lady was being a little controlling at times, and you know how I do NOT like being controlled at all. It was just another experience to learn patience. I will send pictures of the truck after we had finished packing. It looked like they were transporting an elephant or something haha :)

Ok, so story time. On Friday, we were having a fast for some of the Elders in our mission who are opening up a new area. Well, the same day we were going on a bus trip for the old folks home in Copper Ridge (we usually go on fridays for service). The bus trip was lunch at a place called "Earls". We were fasting for breakfast and lunch, and we are pretty hungry, but we know we can go for one more meal. Well, when we get to the restaurant, the girl greeting us was not really dressed modestly. Very tight, revealing clothing, really short skirt, very fair daughter of God pretty much. We sit down, and I notice that every waitress in the restaurant is dressed like that! They have the girls dress like that for bigger tips. Elder Bowes and I had no idea about this place. We tell them we cannot order anything because we are on a special fast and they were understanding about that. Throughout the whole dinner, the people at our table are describing what is in their food and keep on offering us some, even tho we told them we can't. So the lunch involved a delicious meal that we could not partake of, while having tons of Bathshebas walking around. We were literally in a world of temptation in there! I pretty much just stared at the ceiling the whole time. I counted how many wine bottles they had on the wall, to keep me entertained. They had 107, a lot from the 1990s too actually.

I love each and everyone of you! I have been pretty bad with not responding to a lot of your e-mails, but I do read them and I will put forth a better effort to respond. Thank you for supporting me! I love you!! Oh and Briar happy birthday!!!! Sorry, I am awful with birthday wishing! :( haha

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also - 3 Nephi 13:21

 

Love, Elder Hartman 1