Elder Josh Terry--October 24, 2011

I would like to thank all of you who have had Josh in your prayers as he has valiantly struggled with this illness. This has been a challenging time for our family as we wrestled with the best way to handle Josh's situation. I can only say that a sense of peace came for me last week as I recognized and admitted my own limited ability to "solve" this problem and finally just put it in the hands of the Lord.


Josh was given permission to call us yesterday to discuss his options. Clark and I both feel strongly that it is time to bring him home for needed medical attention and, of course, some rest and TLC. As you can imagine, it was difficult for Josh to "give up". He has tried so hard to hang in there and work through the pain. However, once the decision was made I think we all felt better.


We look forward to seeing him again and to finding the source of and solution to his illness. We pray that it is something that can be taken care of quickly so that he can return to the missionary service in Minnesota that he has come to love. I know that is what Josh desires and we pray that the Lord wants that for him as well.


Thank you again for your love and support. I know that Josh appreciates it so very much..,as do I! Following is his email from today.


Love,


Stephanie




Hey!

So it looks like I will be coming home tomorrow or Wednesday. It really is so hard to think that I have to be home for a little bit. I wouldn't change this experience for anything though, I know it has really helped me grow. Besides that, I just checked my sent messages from the first day I got here within the first hour and I said I had headaches and dizziness. Hmm. so I don't know that it is MN related after all.


It will be nice just to come and get everything figured out so I can serve with full strength in 6 weeks or so. I just hope it only will take 1 transfer until I'm back out. Well, I am so grateful for you all. Thank you all for the letters and the support that you have given me. I know that we didn't plan on me having to come home and I've used just about every excuse to not get sent home, but the lord may indeed have bigger plans.

As I was pondering this morning I had the impression come to me that I should try and see Alex Tamayo, the one that Tanner Williams said he had that experience about in the temple - that he was ready for the gospel. Well, Matt and I were supposed to do that and we never really got around to it. I am going to go talk with him when I get home. I'm not saying that's the reason for me having to come home but it definitely helps and will keep me productive. I look forward to going on splits and studying with everyone back home. Tell Tyler we are going to have to go out to do missionary work a lot. That would be a lot of fun.


So we went and visited the Will's family last night. That great family who helped us with everything. I am so grateful for them. I got their info and we will keep in touch. Also, there is a less active lady in our ward who started crying when I told her I was leaving. I felt bad but I think I'm going to go have one more lesson with her early tomorrow and also a lesson with Lynch and the Kolbes tonight. It will be my opportunity to leave my final testimony with them until I come back! Hopefully when I come back it will be to Andover sometime.


It's comforting to know that I will be back. It's weird how you get attached to places that you serve like this. I can't even imagine how much more I would love my mission if I was in full health!!! I really love just talking to people now. I love that we have the knowledge that can bring so much happiness. However, it has made it that much harder when people push you away.


I love you all so much and look forward to our time together to grow closer as a family, especially on our spiritual side! It truly is amazing what the gospel can do for us in our lives. Have a great day and it looks like I will be seeing you soon.


Josh

Elder Matthew Whittle-- October 17, 2011

Hola mi madre bonita!

Yo he tenido muchas experiencias bueno en la CCM pero estoy listo por el campo. Estoy muy animado. I did get the package from the Andersons. Tell them thank you for me and that I love them all. Tell Danny and Mary thanks so much and I love them. They're great. Thanks for setting up the whole thing with the bike. I already have a referal for my mission. A father who has a daughter in the MTC right now who is inactive who lives in Escondido! I can't wait to get down there and knock my first door! It's going to be such a great experience. My companion left this morning at 4 and that was sad. Elder Prince is one of the greatest Elders I have ever met. He's very obedient, fun, and humble. We have had some very good lessons filled with the spirit. I feel like I have worked my hardest in the MTC and feel like I'm as ready as I can be. I'm not too nervous, more so just excited.
I'm glad Elder Terry wasn't sent home yet. I pray for him everyday. He's a great Elder and I think the Lord will get him through this according to his faith. I took some pictures yesterday at the Temple. I'll try and send you some when I get a chance. I leave the MTC tomorrow at 5 in the morning and hopefully will have time to call at the airport. I'm pretty sure I will. I bought a time card here in the MTC bookstore so I should be good to go. Thanks for everything madre. I love you. Keep smiling. Everyone in my district said you have the nicest smile, and as a missionary I understand why that is so important. Keep making peoples days around you with that smile. Elder Wirthlin once said, "The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try and laugh instead. Come what may and love it." I love all of you. Tell everone hi for me. I will talk to you tomorrow!

Love Elder Whittle

Hope you and mom have a good UEA weekend. I'm not in the field yet, but I will be tomorrow around 12 in the afternoon. I'm really excited. I can't wait to knock on my first door. I have a referal for a family in Escondido already so that will be great. I'm glad you had a good time camping. Thanks for helping Trude. He's going to be a great missionary. Estoy listo por el campo. yo he trabajando duro en la CCM y siento que estoy listo. Ofcourse I will work my guts out because I know who I'm serving and why. no tengo muchas tiempo pero te amo, y yo oro para usted cada noche tambien. hablare con usted en la maniana. Vaya con Dios! Nos vemos.

Elder Whittle

Elder Josh Terry--October 17, 2011

Message body
Thank you to all who have been praying for Josh. The latest word from the Mission President is that after the apartment cleanup was complete he would give Josh a few days to show signs of improvement (It has been a day and a half - nothing yet. Clark's employee has a son who suffered from a mold allergy who exhibited the exact same symptoms as Josh...it took a week before he showed signs of improvement after being completely removed from the source of the mold). If he does not improve quickly he will be transferred to a new area and given a few more days to improve. At that point, if he is not on the road to recovery, President Clements plans to send him home for testing and treatment.


Please pray for a miracle. This week will be critical in determining the course that is taken. As you know, Josh has such a desire to stay and serve. We want to see him restored to health - no matter what it takes!


Thanks again,


Stephanie


Family
How are we all doing this week?? I love to read all of your letters and emails. it is what gets me through the hard times and the trials.. So, about the mold... they mainly found the black mold on the shower curtain which was nasty. So i chucked that as soon as i could. I was shocked that people had let it get that bad in there. You would be so shocked at all of the stuff we did to that apartment..


Before i get carried away i should probably tell you that I am not feeling much better. But I am not coming home either. I am determined that I will work through this, no matter the trial. . I've heard more times this week through sacrament and other meetings as well as letters that our god is a fourth watch God. There is someone that the adversary doesn't want me to find. I know that eventually everything will be ok, so try not to worry too much on my behalf. And if they end up making me go home i will try to make it a quick recovery. This has all been a huge learning experience and though it really has been probably the biggest challenge, I wouldn't change a thing. I've grown so much from this. I've learned that you have to bear all you can and give the rest to the lord. So even if they force me to come home for a while I will never forget that.


So there is this family (the Wills) that has us over for dinner about once a week. they are such a nice family. Anyway, i told him that i may have to go home and he didn't like that at all. He gave me a lot of compliments on the work getting done here. He is so nice. Anyway he came over and inspected the apartment. I was shocked at how much he did for us. He said his main focus right now is keeping me on my mission and in Andover. So he came and had the carpet professionally cleaned, threw away all the cloth furniture, donated us his couch, bought us new mattresses, painted the entire apartment, bought us new lamps, bought us a new shower curtain and had like 10 people come over and lysol the whole place. Also, he put a dehumidifier and an air purifier in our apartment for the next little while. Now all we have to do is get that tilex stuff and finish the bathroom. but he is such an amazing person for doing that. I am so grateful. We should be good in that apartment.


So, one thing Elder Watkins said the week before last, when I was trying to get more rest, was that as long as the Lord sees that we are doing our best he will still provide us with investigators. I found that hard to believe seeing as we wouldn't be out hardly at all. But, one day as we were taking out our garbage this lady stopped us and asked what we were all about. We got talking and she told us (without us asking) to stop by sometime and talk to her about religion because she needed all the help that she could get. It really goes to show that the Lord works in mysterious ways and he is always aware of the situation of everyone. That was a real testimony builder for me that the Lord is preparing people for us as well as preparing us to find them.


It's really cool to see all the little miracles that happen each day as a missionary. I keep running into surprises as I'm reading, that talk about being patient with faith and the Lord will lighten your burden and give you success. I feel like he is talking directly to me sometimes. It really is crazy how the scriptures can talk to you when you go in with the intent to learn.


Well, thank you for all you guys do for me. I love you all so much. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be out here spreading the word of God. Thank you for everything. I always look forward to Mondays when I can hear from you. Love you! Talk to you next week.

Sister Alex Hartvigsen--October 17, 2011

Message body
Dear family, I hope that you all have had a really good week. I heard that it snowed in Utah. I am starting to love the weather down here again. We fluctuate between 70-100 now. Its really nice. I'm half way tempted to become a snowbird once the mission is over. ;) My week has been really good. We were able to teach several people. On Wednesday we received a referral from the visitors center and decided to contact her. This referral is amazing She was a referral from her dentist with whom she had an appointment earlier Wednesday morning. She was really receptive. She told us that God has blessed her in many parts of her life and that she wants to learn more. She has never smoked, drank or used drugs. We are really excited to be able to teach her. We invited her to come to church this last Sunday but she was unable to because of a previous work commitment. We went to the Visitors Center with a less active women and her 2 teenagers. We talked about the Plan of Salvation and how Heavenly Father wants us to have joy in our lives. We invited the kids to be baptized when they have received an answer from Heavenly Father that this message is true.. We met with a women and her daughter and talked about the importance of knowledge. Her daughter is a member and was able to complete part of her personal progress during the lesson. We met with the a less active family. We talked to them about some ways that we can make our homes a refuge from the world and put the Savior as the center and then everything else will either fall into place or fall out of our lives. We also challenged them to pray together and invite someone to meet with us in their home. They agreed and we will be following up with them during our next appointment. On Saturday we were able to contact a referral from a member. On Sunday we met with a recent convert family and talked about the Word of Wisdom and how we can have more liberty as we keep the commandments. That lesson was a little bit harder because I am still learning some vocabulary about the word of wisdom and they kept asking what kind of teas they could have. I didn't know the word for chamomile tea which they drink sometimes. but, i think I got it cleared up. On Saturday I went on exchanges with Sister Vause for a dinner appointment. We ended up eating with an English family. While we were talking it came out that one of the men there knew Uncle Dale Hartvigsen from High School and also grew up in Downey. His name is Dean Morris. If anyone talks to Uncle Dale, I'm supposed to say Hi from Dean Morris. Its a small world ;)
I hope that you all have a wonderful week!

Thank you for all you do
Hermana Hartvigsen

Elder Corbin Moore--October 13, 2011

Well this week has been basically the same as any other week here in the MTC, jajaja. But its been so crazy in the mtc in the past week,because they are shutting down like two buildings so everyone in those buildings have to stay in other buildings, and so they have been putting more bunk beds in our room. So we should be getting more missionaries in our room today, or possibly tomorrow. This week we had Sister Julie B. Beck come and talk to us. She is a really good speaker, and talked to us about when she lived in Brazil as a little girl. I couldn't help but think that i have a brother that is down there also. The language is getting a lot better we are almost to the end of our language book, and then they will have taught us all that we will learn in the MTC. Its crazy to think that I can communicate in a different language, but awesome at the same time. Well I only have a week and a half left here in the MTC. Its crazy to think that I got dropped off 8 weeks ago. Every wednesday new missionaries come in, and I look out my classroom window and watch them get out of their cars, i seems like just the week before I was getting dropped off. Time goes by so fast when you are constantly busy in the Lord's work. Later tonight I should be recieving my flight plans, so I will know the exact date that im actually leaving the MTC. Im so excited to be able to get out into the field and begin talking to people. Even though im not a pro in the language, Yet. What better way to learn in than by language immersion. Its going to be a little more difficult to learn ive been told. Because im not leaving the country and so there will still be a lot of people who will be speaking English to us, but none the less a lot of spanish speakers also.

Well thats all i have for this week. Dad, yeah I am able to lift weights here in the MTC, the food is getting old, but im loving the drinks. Mom, the language is coming good, and i just want to get out of here, jajaja. Sess, our investigators are both our teachers, and people who come into the MTC to be taught, its called the TRC.

Con Amor Elder Moore

Everything.Happens.For.A.Reason
There.Is.No.Such.Thing.As.Coincidence

Sister Alex Hartivgsen-- Oct. 11, 2011

Dear Family, I hope all is well for you this week. This last week has been really good. It is really cooling down. I have even have had to wear a sweater last week a few days when the temperature fell below 80 (brr....) On Tuesday we met with a less active that the English elders had contacted. She loves the church and wants to come back but faces stong opposition from her husband who sees no point in organized religion. She has asked us to come by and teach her because she has forgotten a lot about the gospel in the time that she has been away. We met a women and taught her about virtue and the importance of standing up for whats right even when we face opposition. Later this week she came to the VC and took a tour. We had a meeting with a family It started off a little bit rocky whenthe wife told us that she feels guilty that she is meeting with the Jehovah's witnesses and us at the same time. She did open up throughout the lesson as we taught about the plan of salvation and the Savior's role in the plan. All we can really do is testify of the truth and then invite people to pray and have Heavenly Father tell them if it is true. We met with a less active women and her sons this week. It has been a real challenge to teach them because her sons are all under the age of 9 and one of them has downs syndrome so its been really hard to get them to participate in the lessons. After carefully praying we were inspired to try teaching the restoration lesson using primary songs and giving the boys the challenge to memorize them. It was a huge success. We got a call 2 days later from the women saying that her sons had memorized 3 of the songs and were working on the others and that they have been happier ever since we gave them this challenge. We used the songs I know my father lives, Families can be together forever, follow the prophet, He sent his Son,Joseph Smiths first prayer, book of Mormon Stories and a Childs prayer. We put them on a cd in both English and where it was available in Spanish. When we went over last night there was definately a better feeling in the home that hasn't ever been there before. This has also been a great motivator forthe mom . She has been inactive for about 4 years but seems to really feel the Spirit through song and music. (DyC 25). We are really trying to focus on teaching to the needs of people and I feel like we were definately inspired to do this for this family. We are excited to continue to see them grow. We met with a man and his wife for the first time together this week. We challenged them to pray together this week and ask Heavenly Father to guide them in the challenges that face their family. We met with another women and taught her and her daughters about the eternal nature of families. I think this has really struck home with them becausesheis going to give birth this Friday and her husband was able to make it back from Mexico to be with her and her daughters. We are going to keep teaching their family and try to get her husband interested in meeting with us as well. We met with a women . We taught her the Restoration and then invited her to church. She has a few doubts about organized church because she thinks all churches are just after money. We met with a recent convert family at the VC and talked about Sacrifice and overcoming challenges with them. It was a really cool lesson because for the first time, the wife really opened up and participated. Normally she is content to let her husband do all the talking. It was really powerful to hear her testimony. I love you all and I hope that you have a great week.
Love
Hermana Hartvigsen

Elder Garrett Allen

CONGRATULATIONS Garrett!!! Garret received his mission call last week and will be serving in the Argentina, Salta Mission. He leaves December 21, 2011. We are excited for you.