Thursday, March 31, 2011

3/31/11 A couple of new pics!

Elder Bergquist and his companion on bikes! Last I heard they had a car, so don't ask me! (I will be asking him in his next email!)

And, this one was taken on St. Patrick's day! (Notice the green ties!)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

3/30/11 VISA is Processing!!!!

I check the status on Dallin's visa every day. Yeah, call me anal.... but I just want him to get to Brasil ASAP!!! I prayed and prayed that he would get to go to the MTC there since his older brother did, but... that was not the Lord's plan. We have fasted and prayed... He spent 8.5 weeks in the MTC in Provo (entered 12/8/10 and flew to the Billings Montana Mission on 2/5/11) He has spent 7.5 weeks serving in Powell WY.

Anyway, as I was saying, I check his visa status every day! AND, today it has moved from "received" to "processing"!!! There are 4 stages it goes thru. Anyway, once it gets to the "processing" stage they say it goes FAST!!! I keep hearing that he will probably be flying to Brasil in less than 2 weeks!!!

WE ARE SUPER EXCITED FOR HIM!!!!

Monday, March 28, 2011

3/28/11 Visit to the ER

Elder Bergquist's mom here... not to worry, it was NOT Elder Bergquist that had to go to the ER! Here's his email for the week!

Ola Gente!!!
how is everyone?? mom, i wanna start of with a continuation from last week, about facebook, because i kinda rushed through it because i had hardly any time left, but this is what i was trying to say with what i wrote: First of all, i havent decided yet, but right now it feels like i should. BUT! i'm probably either going to block you and some others so i'm not even tempted to communicate with them through facebook. Elder Marchetti said that he wouldnt do it if it got approved in his mission because he doesnt think it would be a good idea for him, i also feel a little weird about it, and am definitely skeptical, but at our last zone conference we talked about how we are fulfilling prophecy by doing this. I cant remember who, but some general authority said, i think like 20 years ago or so, that we would be doing missionary work through ways we couldnt even imagine at that time and he talked about technology. (anyway, that was a terrible quote and citation hahahaha) but also we are told that the Gospel will go forth to every nation. i think just about every nation in on facebook, so we are doing missionary work all over the globe through facebook and these blogs. I have thought about how i can translate my blogs to portuguese too and so then i would be getting more language practice in. anyway, there are pros and cons to just about everything depending on how you look at it, i'm going to talk to president about it too and see what he thinks...but yeah, thats kinda whats going on in my head about the topic. (REMINDER: The Montana Billings Mission is doing a pilot program, where the missionaries do a blog and facebook... posting quotes, talks, church videos etc)

moving on, have you talked to uncle dirk about the mission much? do you know what areas he has served in? was he in wyoming at all? (his uncle - my brother served his mission in the Montana Billings Mission YEARS ago!)

sounds like a bunch of fun stuff going on at home! hope it all continues to go well! i definitely miss the beach, and dont want my little nephew to be born before im home! haha but its ok, i'm lovin it here, and most of the time those are the farthest thing from my mind. oh and that pic of lane and his little Brother? precious! haha now for your questions:


So, how did your week go? okay, i was stuck in the house for friday and saturday :/ my comp got sick. i think he had the stomach flu i had last year at school. hit at about midnight, same as with me, and was throwing up about every 15-20 minutes just like i was. Anyway, so we ended up going to the ER and he got a couple three IV's, (we didnt have a car so we called a member at about 3:30 am to take us!) so yeah, thats was an adventure, and the next two days were umm...interesting...

Did you get to teach any lessons? If so, who to and how did they go? yeah, kinda, well when i first got out and i said it wasnt what i expected, thats kinda what i meant. in the mtc they teach you how to teach these lessons in PMG. I think i have taught maybe 3 lessons like thats since ive been out. Maybe, we should try to do more like that, but usually its just one principle, such as Faith or baptism or importance of church, or scripture study, or a spiritual thought after getting to know them about relying on the hand of the Lord, or enduring, or things like that, and honestly all i remember from this week was being in the house for 2 days. but! i finished Jesus the Christ. That was a really good book. Probably reading about Christ, his atonement, the apostles, and the authority were some of the most spiritual moments of the week. Oh and with Sister Worthy, the less active thats we blessed her house, it was pretty cool. WE went over one night and talked to her for a little while and she asked us to share a scripture. both of us grabbed out books, so we decided to just both share. I ended up turning to John 16:33, and he turned to d&c 101, not sure what verse, but they were basically the exact same scripture. it was pretty cool. it made me feel like we were doing something right. I know that the spriit really does guide us as missionaries. and that a lot of times i think too much. i'm still learning how to do this and recognize it, but i think i'm getting better.

Did you have any investigators at church? no :(

How old is Xxxxxx? (funny what she told her hubby) children? Did you get to meet with her or was her hubby at work? i think she's like 30 or so...not sure. the girls are 7 and 5 we didnt meet with her, not sure if he gets back this week or next, we're going to call her and find out, and probably talk about conference.


How about the less active that had you come bless her house... did she go to church? yes she did. last week, and this week she walked in during gospel principles, so she was late, but she showed up, so thats good

How about Xxxxx?
:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
i almost cried. first of all, i met with her on tuesday, with elder rice, (elder trujillo was in billings for new dl training) and she said she promised sister white she would go to church with her this week, but then found out her sister needed help and she was moving! so i think she's gone, we're gonna go check for sure, but she said most likely she was leaving saturday. :(


How about the less active that went to Ricks (married several times) Did you meet with him again? we tried, he hasnt been home though, but i think we're gonna start him off with conference, because then he doesnt have to leave his house or anything but can feel the spirit through that.
anyway, i gotta go, i already wrote like a book ha. love you all! hope you enjoy conference, i know i'm excited!! Amo voces! ate a proxima semana!
Elder Bergquist


and, his email to his dad...

sorry, i wasted a lot of time on moms email, ha. but i wanna hear about the
ward. how is being a bishop?? did byu lose?? sounds like it since i havent
heard anything about it. thanks for the email though and the updates. sounds
like kobe's back! gotta get that 3peat. so weird the season is almost over
again. sounds like softball was fun ha. love you! tchau!
Elder Bergquist

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

3/21/11 i've been thinking about you a lot, well, not really a lot

ola gente!
how is everybody?? i'm doing great out here in wyoming! probably something to do with the "warm" weather we've been having. it has only snowed once in the past like 3 weeks. a couple days have been in the 50s and its been pretty steadily in the 40s, so thats always nice. Also, we actually had fun today, we played b ball for a little while, i taught the guys tip-it, dad haha. it was pretty fun, but not quite the same. and we played some futebol in the gym too, so that was fun.

anyway, this week, i've been thinking about you a lot, well, not really a lot, but in church yesterday we had a lesson in gospel principles on parenting, and it got me thinking how grateful i am for my parents, thanks mom, thanks dad, you guys are the greatest, i know i wasnt always the best kid, but with your help, i feel like i've done a couple three good things with my life. ha and without you guys, i know i wouldnt be who i am today, or have the testimony or drive that i have today, so i guess i just wanted to say thank you, and i'm sorry for not always obeying and being a better kid. and thanks to everyone else too and your help and influence in making me who i am today, i dont think any of it was a coincidence. Now Mom, wipe those tears off your face so you can read the answers to your questions! haha ;)


So, how are things going with Xxxxx? pretty good, her husband is at work this week, so we wont be meeting with her again for a little while. oh and i dont think i told you but she told her husband she wanted a divorce because she found her new husband last time we were there. k that sounds kinda bad, but its not, its just that she likes me so much hahaha it was funny

Did she come to church today? no :( we called and invited her, but she didnt answer and didnt call back. i think she wants to go with her husband.

Did any other investigators? no, but at least one of our less actives we've been working with did. she called us to bless her house the other night. it was interesting. she lives in a trailer park, and her husband was taken to jail about a month ago for trying to kill her daughters bf, anyway, so things havent been real good for her recently, but they're looking up. anyway, so things are a little crazy at her house, she said she had really bad dreams the night before along with the rest of the house. (this was when she called us a little after 9, a few minutes after we got home) and she wanted us to come bless the house, so we said we'd be there soon. My comp had already changed so he changed back and we headed over there. it wasnt anything crazy or like demonic or anything when we got there, but she just looked really scared, so we said a prayer, blessed the house, and she was crying, and seemed like some huge burden had been lifted, she started talking to us, even cracked a joke or two, and asked if we would share a thought, so my comp grabbed the book of mormon off the back of the couch and opened it to 2 nephi 31, focusing on "the perfect brightness of hope" and talked about that with her a little, you could definitely see a change in her from the time we got there until we left. The spirit was definitely there. she laid out her clothes for church and was having a friend call her to wake her up, she's trying so hard and its great.

When did you feel the Spirit this week? see above story^ haha

Did you give pass along cards to the kids you were talking to at the college? HA. mom, come on, lets get real.

Did you get to meet with Xxx? no! i'm getting really frustrated with him.

How about Xxxxx? she's doing well, we had a member call her to give her a ride, but she's on some new medicine :/ that was her excuse, but it does seem kinda legit, she just found out she had a few things and she got 4 new prescriptions, and i think saturday was her first day on them, but she's also calling her to invite her to the relief society dinner tomorrow, and she loved relief society when she went so hopefully that goes well

And her son? he switched jobs, ha he didnt like the smell of the chinese food, so he went next door to the cafe haha, but he walked out when we started reading with xxxxx, so i dont know, whats his deal, he's really really quiet, but we try to involve him...idk

Any one else you are working with? yeah a few others ha, but i cant be on that long haha, but this one less active, who has been married 5 times, he went to ricks i guess it was then, and his sister is trying to get him back to church too, we met him this week and he's a really nice guy, he started doing rock collecting slash polishing and photography to keep him away from the bars, so thats good, we'll see.

Did you guys do any tracting this week? not too much, a lot of the time instead of that we go visit less actives because the wads here give us lists they want us to visit, its crazy they probably have like 30% active members in one of the wards ha idk.

What are you doing for Pday today? see previous statements. ha

Anything fun/funny happen this past week? umm...not really that i can think of. But elder huntsman is actually a guys from byu that i used to play ball with and he kinda dated zoe, so that was kinda cool. he's the new elder thats comps with elder short. anyway so, now we'll probably do a little more active stuff hopefully on pday. anyway, i love you all! oh and facebook mom, i have been thinking about it a lot and i think i will, but i'm not retarded, i can block people or just tell them i wont be dumb ha but idk yet. amo voces! tchau!
Elder Bergquist

Bishop Bergquist

Hi, this is Elder Bergquist's mom again °Ü° Elder Bergquist's father was called to be the bishop of our ward. We obviously told Elder Bergquist a couple of weeks ago when we found out but since there are people in our ward who follow his blog I had to edit his emails.... so, for journaling purposes I am going to go back in time and put his comments on his father's new calling in this post.

March 7, 2011
ola gente!
wow. sounds like an exciting week! haha sounds like things are going great with everyone. thats good to hear! and dad, i'm not surprised in the least. haha okay maybe a little. just on the timing i guess...but i knew you would be some day. i'll keep you in my prayers, but i dont think you'll need too much help ha. you'll be a great bishop. i'm curious to see if slash how things will change in the ward and at home. i've always kinda wondered what a bishop was like in his free time hahahah.


March 14, 2011
i love you and i dont know how it is with bishop, but i'm sure you know, as a missionary, sometimes its better when you have no idea what you're doing, because i know depending on your trainer, you can fall into bad habits and stuff, so being new, i'm sure you'll do great because you can just get in there and work and just do it how it should be done, so just get in there and tear it up haha, not that i'm giving you advice, just trying to boost your confidence i guess, you'll be a great bishop! love you! tchau!
Elder Bergquist

Monday, March 14, 2011

3/14/11 She Referered Herself!

Hello. This is Elder Bergquist's mom. I just want to clarify something that Elder Bergquist mentions in his email today. The mission that he is currently serving in is involved in a pilot program. The let the missionaries set up a blog and post spiritual things... it can be a talk or something from their own life that they have learned, etc. For example here is the link to his companions blog. And another young man from our ward is also serving in the Billings Montana mission and here is his blog link. They are also allowed to go onto facebook and post links to their blog, etc. The church is trying to reach nonmembers through electronics. Anyway, Elder Bergquist mentions this at the end of his email and I just wanted you to know that it is OKAY for the missionaries in the Billings Montana mission to do this!



ola!!
how is everyone?? hope all is well. i hope the next earthquake isnt in california! we are praying for the people in japan. anyway, i'll answer the questions first.


I didn't know it was a rule for missionaries not to hold babies/children! Do you know why do you have that rule? (Elder Bergquist LOVES babies and little children so I know this is hard for him!) i dont know why, probably because a lot of missionaries dont know what they're doing or got in trouble with parents or something haha, its in the handbook, so i will obey ha


So, how was your week? pretty good, this new referral, that referred herself, is really cool ha, she's married to a less active member and has 2 little girls, 7 and 5. and she has investigated before, they want the 7 year old to get baptized i think.


When did you feel the Spirit this week? probably the cutest thing i ever heard, but it really got me thinking, when the little 7 year old said the prayer for dinner, at the end she said, "and i hope that you had a good day today too" anyway, i just thought how like innocent and loving children are, and i can definitely see why we must become as little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. And thats one thing i have been working on is charity and love, so that was just a real eye opener i guess.


Did you get to do a lot of teaching? not a ton, but we did decent, i think we can do more though, we're trying to do more every week.


Did you do any tracking this week? not like door to door, but its warming up a little so people are outside a little more and we talk to people on the street as we're walking between appoinments or houses or whatever, we taught this group that was standing in front of the college, well it was just 2 at first but they started asking questions and by the end i think there were like maybe 7 people all listening, but i dont know how interested he really was, he thought he was a prophet and he asked our names and then was like whats your first name, becasue he didnt want to call us "elder" and i really didnt want to tell him...anyway i dont think he'll do much with what we taught, but maybe one of the others that were listening in will. hopefully we planted some seeds....


I read from Elder Horspool on FB that this week is transfers, are you staying there with Elder Trijillo? yeah, our district leader left though and elder trujillo is the new one


How many towns do you cover? just powell, kinda haha its not really like cities at home where you know where the town ends though ha, like some dinners we go to are like 10 miles out of town and they're still in our boundaries, but we just stay in powell unless we get references out in the country, which we have gotten two, one we are still trying to contact and the other we have been over to twice, well the husband is a member, but the last time she met with missionaries, she was dating a different less active member, now she's married to him and she referered herself haha so thats cool


Do you work the town/ward that Xxxx is in now that he moved? no, he's in lovell, but i trust them to keep workin with him, theyve already met with him once, he'll be fine.


Do you still see him? havent this week, but i'm sure we will. he still goes to school at northwest (the college here) and has a lot of family and stuff in town


How are things going with his smoking? last i heard he was down to about 3 or 4 a week, from like a pack or two a day....


Has Xxx consented to meet with you yet? no :( we call him like every other day, we need to talk to the members he works with


Did Xxxxx go to church today? no :( her sister was in town visiting or some dumb excuse, and we're trying to get her to go to her own ward now.


How is she progressing? she's doing well. she has read the whole book of mormon, and started the doctrine and covenants to section 11 or something, but she's having a hard time with it, she might read the pearl of great price and then go back to the doctrine and covenants she hasnt decided, but her sister is moving out!!!! really good news! so i think once that happens, she'll be just about ready to get baptized, and her son sat in with us and talked to us the other day that was cool because he normally goes into his room as soon as we get there. and he got a job! so things are looking up for them, estou animado!


Did you have any other investigators at church? no :( its so frustrating trying to get people to go to church!


Do you go to institute every week? Is the teacher good? You need to challenge the YSA to give away a Book of Mormon! :) (if you are just reading Elder Bergquist's blog, he and his companion are over 4 wards, 1 is a young single adult ward) not every week, but most, he likes us to try to be there twice a week, but we usually only make it once, but yeah, he's a really good teacher, i like him.


What did you end up doing for Pday last week? last week...i think that was the week we went to devil's look out...? i cant remember haha, but it is like a mini grand canyon i guess is how they describe it, except not red and has a big river running through the whole thing (which is still frozen!!) haha


What are the plans for today? well its almost over ha, we went to umm...shoshone natl forest...? something like that, and went on a hike and stuff, it was pretty fun.


also i think i'm going to be getting on facebook this week, i havent decided yet. its optional, but we go everyday to the library anyway, so i might just get on, set it up, do some posts every once in a while, maybe do a blog, and then just kinda sign in and see if anyone has any questions while i'm doing my language study or something, i dont know yet, but we'll see.

Derek and Brit, para bens! espero que ele nao tenha cabelo vermelho! haha

Chad, keep workin, and work on your competitiveness too! (Chad is a freshman in high school, he is the 5th of 5 boys and the older ones are all VERY competative... and well... Chad isn't haha) haha other than that, i hope all is well with everyone! i love you all! thanks for everything you do! have a good week!

tchau!
Elder Bergquist

Friday, March 11, 2011

Call me blonde.

Okay, so. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY I go to the web site and check Dallin's visa status. AND, every. single. day. it says "no result". Elder Bergquist has had a good attitude, but I have been bummed and his father has been ummm.... stressed. Is that the right word? Last night he said to me, "I have tons of things to be worried about right now and yet I worry the most about Dallin's visa."

Dallin was called to teach the people of Brasil, Belo Horizonte to be exact . All of the missionaries going to Brasil have had a hard time getting their visas. So, Dallin was sent to the Billings Montana mission to serve and teach and wait. Anyway, like I said, he has had a great attitude and is working hard.

So. Today I get on the web site to check Elder Bergquist's visa and again, it said, "no result". I decided to check and make sure I spelled his name correctly when I typed it in.... it was. Then I looked to make sure his birth date was correct and it was. AND THEN I noticed that they wanted the DAY and THEN the month.... oops. I corrected that (never noticed that, call me blonde!) AND, guess what??!!!

It is received!!!

There are 4 stages it goes thru.
1) Received.
2) Processing
3) Authorized
4) Ready for collection

Dallin's says Received!!! Oh, my gosh, I wonder how long they have had it??!!! Good grief.

BUT, I am way happy and super excited to tell his dad!!! I know it doesn't mean he will be going soon, but.... they say that once it enters "processing" it goes REALLY fast! I am going to FAST again on Sunday! I would invite you all to join me in fasting that Elder Bergquist's visa gets processed quickly! THANK YOU!!! °Ü°

Monday, March 7, 2011

3/7/11 The Hardest Rule - I can't hold babies/children

ola gente!
wow. sounds like an exciting week! haha sounds like things are going great with everyone. thats good to hear! i'm excited for derek and brit! i cant wait to hear. i wont lie, one of the harder rules for me to obey is not holding the kids haha. (not sure if i already said that) sounds like dev and di are doing well too. new apartment and all. devin, have fun in Florida again. thats cool landon is up there with blake too, i hope they're doing good. and chad, nice job on the 8 feet! haha thats pretty good. i pray for you all everyday! i love you and thank you for all your support and love:)

On Friday we got a picture of you with your MP (Montana) and a letter telling us that you got there safely! oh i'm glad you clarified that haha i figured you meant my Brasileiro MP haha...

How often do you have zone conference? every other transfer i think ha not sure.

How did things go this week with Lee? Did he go to church this week? well, lee, umm, well....haha every time we call him, he's like i just want to do a little more research on my own...call me in a couple days and we can meet and stuff....but he works with like 3 members, so they talk to him too and we get updates from them, so hopefully he reads and is comfortable enough to have us back over...

How about Norma? Did she go to church again? How old is she? Does she live with her family? Norma did not go to church this weekend, she was at a baptism of her like nephew into the catholic church, we were like oh cool that will be fun and she gave us a look like, not really...haha and was like its not a real baptism though....haha it was funny. but she's probably in her 40's im not sure, she lives with her 18 year old son and her sister i guess, but her sister is way anti so we have to go visit while she's at work. and her son and her are both trying to find work and a place to move into and i figure once that happens she'll be ready to get wet haha, but right now her sister is helping with rent and whatnot so, she doesnt have much of a choice.

Did Kaiden's father get to baptize him? How old is he? Kaiden's father is not a member i dont think, and he lives in like tenessee i wanna say, he and the mom are split up. Kaiden is 8 or 9, i cant remember which haha

Did Jake come to church again? Jake told us he was coming to church, but we were helping him move on friday to lovell, so he didnt show up to church here, but he may have gone out there, he just moved out of his gf's place and has been living on like peoples' couches and looking for a place, so now that he's got a place and whatnot things should get better for him. we're trying to get him to stop smoking, and he wants to, he just doesnt want to quit "cold turkey" or whatever, but he has gone from like more than a pack a day to like 1 a day and i offer to take his cigarettes from him every time we see him haha and we told him we're gonna put up a no smoking sign on the door of his new apt haha.

Did you find anyone else to teach? umm, not really, but we've got a couple referrals we're trying to contact, one we have an appointment set up for tuesday and then we went to see a former investigator and set up an appointment with her for thursday, so we'll see...

Do you go out tracting every day? no! ha meu companheiro hates tracting and i'm scared of it, so we dont go often, but we've set it as a goal to go more this week.

Did you play racket ball again today? no we're going out to lovell to hang out with those elders after we take care of everything here.

How is your ankle? back to 100% i;m good, dont worry.

How about the family that left a note on their door, did you get to teach them? not yet, we're still trying to contact them again.

Do you still want that piano music you told me you wanted? yes, paul cardall, its on our itunes in the playlist i made

Let me know if there is ANYTHING else you would like me to send, I plan on sending you a package this week...nothing i can think of. i dont really need food though haha, seriously. dont send me a lot of junk. i'm trying to not get too fat out here haha. i've been gaining weight since i got to the mtc hahaa. but i'll have you know mom, i eat salad with like almost every meal now haha. i still dont like it, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. also i ate a burger for dinner on saturday night. that is all. i love you all! keep up the good work and keep the good news flowin! congrats dad! amo voces! ate a proxima!
tchau!
Elder Bergquist
ps i've been watching these videos on 6 billion others http://www.6milliardsdautres.org/index.php in portuguese for language study a little this week and this lady named silvia from brasil haha she's so tight and she's from minas gerais too. and i could understand her pretty well too, better than most of the rest, so i hope thats a good sign for my area and its not just her haha, but yeah, just thought you might like to look at those they're pretty cool. you can just search and go to language of contribution and hear all kinds of different stuff its pretty interesting. anyway, gotta go! love you! tchau!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Picture and Letter from his Mission Pres.


Dear Brother and Sister Bergquist,
This is just a quick note to let you know that Elder Bergquist has safely arrived in Billings. We have had our introductory meetings and instruction and can tell that he is a great young man. We are so grateful that the Lord has called him to serve in the Great Montana Billings Mission. We will watch over him as if he was our own and we will do all we can to insure that he has a wonderful experience while serving here.
I have met with Elder Bergquist and sought guidance from our Heavenly Father as to where he should begin labors. I am pleased to inform you that he has been assigned to serve with Elder Trujillo in Powell, WY. Your son's new address is:
1174 Rd. 9
Powell, WY 82435
I have told Elder Bergquist that there are no perfect companions, just companions trying to be perfect, and there are no perfect places, just perfect opportunities. We trust that he will do all that he can to have a successful beginning to his mission. We are excited for him.
Missionaries love mail, especially early on. Just as much as they should be writing to you on a weekly basis, we would hope that you would also write positive, encouraging letters to them every week. It does wonders for the work. Missionaries are only allowed 30-40 minutes to e-mail each week, so we suggest that a mass mailing or an email forwarding system be established for communicating with the extended family.
In case of emergency, please contact us, not your missionary. The office number is xxx-xxx-xxxx and my cell number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Thank you for preparing such a fine young man to serve the Lord. Please continue to pray with us for safety and success. We are enclosing a copy of a picture we took upon arrival at the mission home. You can already see growth and excitement.
May the Lord watch over you and bless you and your family members. We trust you will be richly blessed as you share in your son's service.
Much love,
President Larry H. Gardner
Montana Billings Mission

Friday, March 4, 2011

A couple of pics! Thanks Elder Trujillo!

Elder Trujillo says that sometimes Elder Berguist gets a little scared! Hahaha...
Don't ask me...

Elder Bergquist and Elder Trujillo!