6/29/11 100 people in Sacrament Meeting!!!

Bishop Bergquist,
well im glad you finally answered my question about what its like being the bishop. sounds exciting slash stressful. but i know how great it is being in the service of the Lord...i found it interesting that in my patriarchal blessing and in my blessing when i was set apart as a missionary the scripture was quoted "when you are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God"...so ive been thinking about that lately... and how i really do need to find joy in my service...which i do most days but as with any work this demanding, there are hard days...but i just remember that im in His service and im doing the right thing and its really a privilege slash opportunity that only comes once. And im loving it. We're moving today! finally haha i know you were kind of worried about that...but im kinda sad to be moving out of (branch) presidents house. its nice having a brasileiro around to ask questions and talk to at home. and someone that cooks for you like 3 or 4 nights a week and not just cooks but makes good brasilian food and teaches us how to make it ha. he taught us how to make pão de queijo and wow it was so good fresh out of the oven. and he showed us how to make tápioca (i think thats how its spelled??) like tapíoca as in tapioca pudding. but its nothing like that haha. its more like a pancake...kinda...anyway he said its a thing they eat a lot in the northeast because i guess its more poor there and all... it is this flour stuff that comes from manioc (its a root of a tree and they eat them kinda like potatoes sometimes too) but anyway its just that flour stuff and water and a little salt and they are really filling...not very flavorful but you can put like leite condensado (condensed milk) on them or like eggs and cheese ha its not bad...but i think thats it for today. im excited to move into our new house. its so clean and the sister that lives in the house in front is really nice and she said she has a surprise for us. i feel kinda bad because i dont really know how to say no to her... (I quickly emailed him back and asked him NO??? about what? And, here is his response) no because she cleaned all our furniture that was all dusty, was trying to buy us mattress covers because our mattresses are dirty. bought a new washing machine so we could have her old one, redid the whole house for us, is going to pay electricity and water for us and said she has "a surprise" for us for when we move in and i wont know what it is for another hour or so so youll have to wait to find out haha but i have a feeling she got mattresses for us....but thats all.. byt now! :) tchau
haha but anyway i love you dad. thanks for always
being such a great example and teaching me and raising me so well.
até o próximo! tchau!
um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

E aí! beleza! (And then! beauty!)
First of all, i told you i cant email anyone...i asked for their addresses! haha like endereço mesmo...the street and number and city...like of the mission home...so i can write them on paper and put it in an envelope with an address on the outside of where the letter will be going so they can receive and do the same thing in return...entendeu? tá bom...next. you are a little retarded sometimes but i can see how you would get those two missions mixed up i guess... haha and you guys went to the movies together but went to different movies?? haha and you went and watched one by yourself?? haha weird... thats crazy weston will be arriving that soon. im way excited to see pics of him and stuff. and im excited for them. ha. thats chads eagle project??? really? wow... haha and im freaking exciting for jake! hes the man. tell him congrats for me! (His cousin is waiting on his mission call, should arrive THIS week!)

Well.... How are you? ótimo! (Great)

How is the work going? Did you have a baptism this week? did Livaldo get baptized? its going pretty good. yea Livaldo got baptised. it was kind of a mess though. the ward council told us to do it at 4 instead of right after the meeting and more people would be able to go...and there was 10 people there...max...and that was after waiting til 445 and having one of the members go out and pick up like 4 more people to come...so we wont do that again...but its all good. it was my first male baptism on the mish...the first one that will be getting the priesthood...so thats exciting...hes a really cool guy.



How is his brother doing? we havent seen him in a while...he doesnt have the will to quit smoking and drinking...he lost his wife and his house and started drinking...and got addicted...

Which one is Adreyenne's boy friend? Will they get married? How old are they? adreyenne doesnt have a boyfriend at least not that i know of...shes friends with Livaldo though...and i could see them getting married but they arent even dating now ha. but they both want a family and to go to the temple haha

Any set up for next week? Luciano? How is his wife coming along? How old are their children? they didnt come to church. cairam (fell) but they know where and when it is...so maybe one day...

Any investigators at church? ha! 10! but just angelita of ours...the rest were friends slash family of members that they invited...

How is Angelita doing? shes still coming to church...we havent met with her this week yet so nothing new except that...

How many people are in attendance at church each week? in sacrament meeting, normally we have about 60 mais ou menos...this week we had...........drum roll....100 people. 100 people in sacrament meeting. it was legit. we had to bring in like 40 extra chairs to fit everyone.

Do you guys ever go teach by the universities? no. thats the dangerous areas...youve heard about the snakes here mom haha. and most of them go home for the weekends anyway so they wouldnt be able to come to church here...

Do you get referrals or do you go tracting? we get referrals...but mostly tracting. they did like referral lists when my old comp opened the area..so we have those but only like 25 of them have addresses and most are already contacted. but this week in church we got a few. and we went and taught one guy at his gold store he was a referral...he definitely like the fact that we were americans but i hope thats not why he accepted what we taught ha

How is the weather? the weather has been cold and overcast the last couple days but today the sun is out and its probably like almost 70...

Did you guys get moved? we are moving at 3. ha in like an hour...im excited but kinda sad to be leaving presidents house...

How many missionaries in your district? What are their names? there are 8. 6 elders and 2 sisters. me, my comp, elder bezerra LD (has the same amount of time on the mission as me),his comp elder ray, elder hilton, elder sloan, sister brooks and sister ribeiro. 2 brasilians out of 8 ha we have a white District.

Do you guys ever do anything fun on Pday? ha why do you always ask this. we dont have time or anything to do haha. if we have any extra time after washing clothes and cleaning the house we sleep or write letters haha

Do you feel like your language is good yet? Do you feel comfortable speaking on the streets? good...no i wouldnt say that. comfortable...speaking, yes, understanding is a little harder sometimes depending on the person and their accent and how fast they talk...but when it comes to gospel stuff i feel pretty comfortable speaking and understanding...

How are you liking the food? i like it a lot...i will admit...i get tired of the arroz e feijão at every meal, but they mix up the meats and stuff or like some pasta or something so its good.

When did you feel the Spirit the strongest this week? either in sacrament meeting when we had all those people there. that was really good and seeing all those people that hadnt come in so long and having 25 people in priesthood or maybe last night. i wasnt feeling well at all and we got to this house and it was like 830 and i really just wanted to go home and sleep but they let us in so we got in and honestly i dont remember anything i said...the spirit was speaking through me. and they both accepted to be baptised...it was cool. its crazy how much the Lord helps us when we need it most, or when His other children need it most...theres a saying that goes around in the mission: "sai da frente do Espírito" get out of the way of the spirit. and thats really what you gotta do, forget yourself, forget what you know or have learned and let the spirit work, just be a instrument in the hands of the Lord. the only problem is that the arent married...but we'll take care of that hopefully ha

Thats it for this week since i wrote a book! love you all! até mais! (even more) oh and about the pics...i want to...im trying but this computer isnt cooperating, so youll have to wait til next week! :P haha tchau!
Te amo!
um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

6/22/11 It's the Middle of Winter

Bishop Bergquist!
how are things as a bishop? staying busy?? at least you still have time for golf. haha thats funny they all are still going herping. (a couple of Dallin's friends came by the house and borrowed the snake hook) Do you know if they hang out with Sam still? Those are some huge tadpoles you saw haha ive never seen one that big. i was thinking why are they going herping right now? its winter....then i realized its not winter there haha. so weird. im kinda messed up.

Thats ridiculous about rory mcelroy. hes a beast. why was the open so easy
this year?? dumb. ha also really funny about lebron. i guess every good
athlete goes through his stages. kobe definitely had his time when he was
the most hated...but im sure people will get over it and lebron will be mvp
again next year. ha i hope not but as soon as they win the ship he´ll be
right back up there. anyway, we're getting our furniture stuff moved out
here today and moving possibly today or possibly next week. not sure yet.
but i love you dad. até a próxima semana! tchau!
Elder Bergquist

welp, how are things back on the other side of the equator?
Its weird being in "winter" (if you can call it that) in june haha. Dad wrote about kyle and bryce going herping and i thought why? its the middle of winter? haha then realized its not there. but its not really like WINTER here haha its like in the 70s most days i think. but thats crazy about ariel!! (his cousin, Ariel got her mission call to Toyko Japan!!!) and jake! (another cousin, Jake, has his mission papers in! We are just waiting to hear where he will be serving!!) parabens!! Jake better be learning potuguese on his mish. haha jk but that would be cool. tell him to get on chase and layton too! oh and if possible could you send me a few addresses? Elders Marchetti and Brambila por favor. Tell chad thats sweet him and aimee will be at efy the same week i didnt know she was doing that. or maybe i just forgot haha but thats sweet i wanna do that when i go home. Diana is comedy! arching her back to make her belly stick out haha. (I sent him a pic of his sister in law that is prego!) but im really excited for that baby too. haha and Weston. really??! already? nossa. thats ridiculous. is derek still thinking about speaking portuguese with him?? I hope blake is doing well too. i pray for him all the time. i pray for all of you all the time. but especially him. and the pregos haha and new sobrinhos.

How is your Portuguese coming along? ridiculous. i've had a couple people ask my comp where hes from and then say you're brasilian right? but then i still get like 90 percent that ask what country im from (within the first few seconds) haha so i dont know what the deal is with that but its definitely improving a lot.

How is your comps Portuguese? pretty good. hes improving a lot. like a lot a lot. im trying to make him talk more, at the beginning i just talked a lot, but im trying to stop that a little

How is the work going? pretty good. things are looking up, but we definitely still have a lot to work on. theres still something missing. but theres still elects to find so we're doing alright anyway :)

How many people do you have progressing/teaching? umm...lets see we have i think just 2. idk i lose track because it changes like everyday ha

Any baptism dates set? How about the 2 that were set for the 26th, still happening? progressing and baptismal dates are the same thing in this mish haha so...yeah. but Livaldo is still super animado for his baptism but his brother isnt really progressing, but he'll be baptized sooner or later after seeing the example of his brother. oh and we found Luciano the other day, he accepted a date for the 3rd very excitedly, but his wife didnt, but he has 4 kids too, and i think we'll change his wifes mind hopefully and we can baptize todo mundo!

Are you teaching Adreyenne's house mate? that would be Livaldo and Leandro his brother

Any others come to church Sunday? umm...no just Angelita again. shes frustrating but we went to teach her and she still doesnt want to accept a date so we made her pick a date and she said in one month...so the 20th...idk shes kinda mole

When did you feel the Spirit this past week? every day of my life are you kidding me?? haha i dunno we had a branch council meeting and were focusing a lot on getting people to church because if they get 2 weeks of 85 or more people in sac mtg then the get to start the chapel here.i really feel like we can do it. and im really really excited for them

How often do you have district meetings? every week. on tuesday

Zone meetings? every three months. except i think in our district our district and our zone are the same thing haha we dont have a lz...? idk ha

Did you do anything fun this week? just when we went and taught Livaldo one night and got out at like 9:05 and had to run like 15 minutes to the bus stop to not be late and the bus was pulling away so we ran up and hit the window to make them stop hahah that was pretty fun slash funny slash a good adventure.

Any thing funny happen? see previous question haha

but other than that, i think thats all i have for you guys this week. i love you all! Tchau!
Um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

6/15/11 forced to speak. a lot a lot.

well. great to hear about miami getting beat haha great to hear. and about lebron. all good stuff haha. lovin it. i hope youre not just making it up to make me happier while im out here hahaha. and yeah right after i wrote the email last week i was like dang it i forgot to say happy bday to devin. so even though its late. tell him i didnt forget completely. and feliz anniversário! feliz cumpliaños haha or however it is in spanish! sounds like a pretty good present to me haha my comp was like geeze thats a lot of money for golf balls haha but, theyre pentas haha. that was some good times at the us open. thanks for that. preshiachya. haha freakin chad man. seriously?? scout camp high adventure and efy?? is he going to provo? when? thats really cool that Brittney got baptized. good to hear. and we have a place to live now. its in like a "guest house" type thing of one of the members, the papers are being finalized and we have to get our stuff from the sisters house in varginha then we'll be moving in. and its going pretty good with the two of us. we know enough to get around and to teach the lessons haha. ive learned a lot though in this last week because im kinda forced to speak. because i dont have a native speaker that takes over when i freeze haha. so its interesting, but its good for both of us to learn and grow together. but thanks for the letter dad. Eu te amo!! muito! até mais!
Um abração!
Elder Bergquist

olá gente! como tá??
sounds like things are going pretty well at home. nothing to report is usually a good thing, that means nothing crazy or bad is going on haha. how are things at work for you? you are still working there right? how did chad finish out in school? i cant believe you guys are sending him to all those camps without even knowing how he did in school. haha hes gotta earn that kinda stuff neh? but i'll answer your questions and yeah i took some other pics, but you can use the others too because i think i might have liked them better idk, you can pick. and crop them. my legs dont really need to be on my plaque haha.

Elder Vasquez has not added me on FB... do you know his 1st name? nicholas, but he didnt have one yet, he was going to make one....i dont know if he has yet.

Tell me about your companion... is he a hard worker? yeah, but its a little different because we have to work together to figure out what to do rather than just relying on my comp and following him everywhere haha. but we're working hard dont you worry

Tell me about his personality... haha idk what you want to know or what to tell you. hes a white boy from illinois....he plays trumpet, and is studying music in school so he hates my singing because we all know im terrible at it haha.

Did you and Elder I find some new people to teach? we have found some new ones yes....but the work is kinda rough right now, but we have an appt tonight to teach adreyenne's....house mate? haha friend....idk what to call him. but adreyenne was the one girl we baptized a few weeks ago and she brought him to church this sunday. he seems really interested and it should be good. we found another new one too that accepted the date for the 26th, so we'll see where that goes. he seems like a pretty cool guy.

You said you had a baptism set up, but when you went by his house he wasnt home... what is happening with him? dont remember...hahah cant remember who that is so he must been dropped...

Any investigators at church this week? yeah we had a few, one that just showed up on an invite...pretty rare haha and one that adreyenne brought and one other

Did you get me another pic for your plaque??? ....já era

What are you studying now? i study different stuff everyday. i have been studying about recognizing the spirit in preach my gospel a lot. thats what we need right now because we cant do this on our own. and im in 3 nefi in the book of mormon right now and i usually study a talk from conference too.

What have you learned? Bastante! a lot of stuff i learn stuff everyday. a lot about how to invite the spirit and help our investigators more effectively and in the liahona ive learned a lot of things but a lot of them are things i want to put in practice when i get home or when i get a family because as a missionary we already do pretty much all of that stuff i just want to continue....

How is the language coming along? really well. it has picked up a lot now that i have an american comp and i have to speak. a lot a lot. im speaking like 10 times more now than i was with my last comp

What is the most spiritual thing that has happened this week? just seeing how much i have been helped by the spirit in the language, because i know i didnt know all this stuff until i started relying on him more, and now i can speak to just about anyone

Are you writings in your journal? yup :) i think ive missed like 4 days my whole mish so far, but i always catch up the next day if i miss it.

How are your clothes holding up? clothes are doing just fine. G's...im a little low. thats something you could put in the package too maybe, just like a couple pairs...idk if possible...the swoop neck and the 50/50 favor...

shoes? alright haha ive almost killed one pair already. i probably should have gotten one pair of really good ones, but im good for now...i'll let you know if i need new ones

Are you exercising every day? What do you do? yeah...some days i get lazy and just do like stretches but i got the p90x ab work out from an investigator in WY and ive been doing that. but if derek has it still (i thought he did) tell him to refresh my memory on it please :) haha and then of course like pushups and whatnot...i really want an ab wheel. i dont know why i didnt bring one haha but i'm gonna look and see if they have one here because im sure it will be cheaper.

but i think thats all...i sent some pics....the one of my comp with the little comic thing, a members brother drew that at our lunch one day while we were conversing haha. and then the one of me with some cigs that we took from a less active member when we taught the palavra de sabedoria. and then one of maria at her baptizm and so on haha...but i think thats it! i love you all! wait...ariel is going on a MISH??? where?? haha wanna hear about that... but até o próximo! tchau!
Um abraço!
Elder Bergquist
ps love you mom!

I don't know what is wrong, but Blogger is not letting me upload any of the pics right now... I will try again later...

6/8/11 Transfers!

Thanks for all the updates and whatnot. good to hear about that stuff. but how are things with you?? hows being a bishop? is the glamour wearing off yet? hahaha thats funny that bro oconnor is playing words with friends with you. (Dallin LOVED playing that before the mission) well my comp baptized one there. thats good to hear! really good. the work was tough. but its rewarding nonetheless. well, elder vasquez flies home today. im here in BH with my new comp waiting for our bus back to alfenas that leaves at noon. his name is elder ison. hes from illinois and has 9 months on the mission and about 2 here in brasil ha. so two americans with less than three months in a town of brasilians and two colleges. haha will be fun and interesting. love you pops! keep up the good work! love you!
Elder Bergquist

Olá gente! como vai??
First off all, the news. haha my companion elder vasquez flies home today. today is transfers i dont think i ever said anything about it haha but i am now. and he should be making a facebook and inviting you. he wants to keep practicing his english. i told him he had to haha. and im here in BH waiting for our bus that leaves at noon back to alfenas. waiting with my new comp elder ison. hes from illinios and has 9 months on the mission and just a little more time than i do in brasil. he served for about 5 months in idaho pocatello mission.
and now the perguntas:

Well, I think you were supposed to have a baptism this week, Maria... did it happen? yes it did. she is very....solemn... doesnt show much emotion. but she was happy that day for sure. she had a huge smile on her face and between every class at church she went to the baptismal font and just looked at it haha. and she would ask should i go change now? haha it was great.

and its interesting. we baptized nathaly my first week here, her mom is getting reactivated and her uncle (moms brother) moved here from são paulo and he is getting reactivated too. he talked to the branch president last week and got a blessing and stuff. and maria is the mom of danielle (nathaly's mom) so that family has improved a lot. its cool to see all these changes that i helped with. mostly the spirit, but ya know... :) haha

How about the other 4 you guys set up? (The family of 5 and the mom and daughter) pretty much todo mundo caiu. (everyone fell) so were kinda starting fresh, elder ison and i.

How is the work coming along? How many are you teaching? Tell us about them... Any baptisms set up? we have one date set, but he wasnt there last night when we went by. idk. other than that, will be all fresh haha

Did you guys go back and see Roberta? no. we called, she said she would let us know when she had time....shes in the area book though, one day she'll be baptized

Are you cold at night? Should I send you a blanket or sleeping bag? (that is what Devin used) not really. its not bad. and my comp gave me his blanket ha so no worries. i'll be good.

Are you cold in the day? Should I send you another sweater? no haha im good. thanks though. and if i need one i can buy it here. but i dont. i only use it at night and thats a couple three times a week

Are you eating enough? YES!!! i'm still gaining weight haha dont you worry about that.

Are you taking your vitamins? yes i am. haha, oh mom.

Do you have your sweatshirt that you left at the MTC? Do you need another one? no. haha how would i have it if i left it there? haha but no. i think i'm gonna buy one here. a little lembrança neh. haha but i dont know yet. i dont really need one but like for around the house at night...we'll see

Are you being transferred? im staying. but my comps mission is over haha. he served his two years. but elder ison and i will continue the work. dont you worry about that haha

When does he go home? Is it July? today haha

Will you please send me another pic of you walking the streets? (The last pic was taken at a weird angle and it looked like you have really short legs... was your comp up on some steps looking down at you or something? Are there any trees or anything pretty around on the streets? hahaha) i'll see what i can do....theres not much thats too pretty in the city haha and we cant really leave it. idk i'll figure something out.

Is there only one branch in the whole town of Alfenas? yes

What is your favorite thing about the mission so far? ha what the heck. idk. i guess just seeing peoples lives change and brighten up when they accept the gospel or feel the spirit

What is the most spiritual thing that happened this week? sacrament meeting was really spiritual. one thing i liked is they actually bore their testimonies,like sometimes you get those meetings where its just thankamonies hha but it was good. and so many miracles still occur everyday. its amazing.

When did you recognize the Spirit leading you? every day when i try to speak the language haha. if i didnt have the guidance of the spirit i wouldnt be able to communicate at all.

Where is the closest temple to ya'll? Is there one in your mission boundaries? there is not one in the boundaries. i think campinas is the closest one.

Is your mission pres. really friendly or is he more reserved? he's really animado sempre! thats like his motto: estamos animados!! haha hes great i like him a lot

How about his wife? his wife is a little more reserved i think, but i think partly because she doesnt speak english as well as him and hes the president so she kinda stays out of his way, but shes really really nice and really spiritual

I will be putting together a package for you soon, what would you like for me to put in it? peanut butter haha. we forgot to pack that dry peanut butter sister oconnor found in my bags. but its all good. i dont want to have to mix it with water anyway. and i dunno maybe some chocolate chip cookies haha or some reeses or like thin mints...i dunno. im pretty chill haha i dont need much. but i love you mom. thanks for everything! and the rest of you too! who did elder trujillo baptize?? ela tá doida. ha but i love you all! até a próxima semana! tchau!
Um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

6/1/11 Throwin' in English Words

Elder Bergquist's email to his dad..

Thanks for the letter once again pops. Im really grateful that you and mom both write me every week. i consider myself lucky. i know i was blessed with a great family and great parents for sure. so thank you. but yeah i got a little taste of that in wyoming. not nearly as bad, but we taught like 17 lessons a week. now its like 45. its crazy. we tract a lot here too, as you did in austria but its kinda the opposite. well not opposite, but we get in to like half the houses we knock, you guys it wasnt so easy im sure haha. but yes, the Lord is definitely helping me to learn. But my comp probably speaks more english with me than portuguese haha but still its really good that hes native because i can ask him about any word or phrase and he can answer it. its really nice. sounds like a great weekend. i definitely miss those times. but there will be plenty more of those memorial weekends for me to enjoy in the states, i only have one more here hah. but i should get going! my comp gets mad when i take more than like 40 minutes ha i love you dad! até mais!
um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

And, now his email to me...

Olá gente! Amo vocês!
primera, perguntas:

What did you have to do at the police station to get the ID? not much, they just checked my papers to makes sure everything lined up, tthe only thing that didnt was your name haha they had it as maesles on one of them haha but it worked out, and then just my fingerprints and sign a couple papers.

How is the work going? How many are you teaching/progressing? How about the mom with the 2 sons... the one that he hid her cigarros? well they didnt go to church. so they got dropped ha. we drop a lot of people here. but we found another to be baptized this week. her name is maria (like everyone else around here haha). kinda cool how we found her though. all of our appts dropped one night and we were looking for a street to tract. we went to one street and started and then my comp said me needed to go to another, so we did. we got there and one of our less actives boyfriend was there and started talking to us. we asked for refs and he said to go teach his mom so we did. needless to say, shes being baptized this sunday :) cool stuff the spirit can do. he definitely guides us

Any more baptisms set up? we set up 4 more for the next week but we'll see. one is a family of 5 with two under age. the other is a mom and a daughter.

How is Roberta doing? roberta ta na moleza demais!! haha her mom put some doubts into her mind and she forgot about the respostas she received. its really sad because shell make a great member slash rs president one day. one day though....

Have you had all the yummy fruit down there that everyone says is so good? Acai? not all of it but ive had a few new ones. i havent had the açai yet though...they have little shops all over i will at some point. but most of them i dont know what theyre called haha. nothing has stood out that much yet, but i havent had that many yet.

Do you guys ever do anything fun on Pday? no haha not really. theres nothing fun we really can do...if you can think of anything let me know. we cant play sports, or games...and we cant leave our area or visit any zoos or parks or anything haha.....

When are transfers? next week. i think i find our monday who my new comp will be

How often do you meet with the MP? umm this transfer we had a leadership conf, and zone conf. and then last week i went for the id thing and saw and talked to him each time but not like interviews or anything. i think thats every other trans

Did you get a pic of you "walking the streets of Brasil tracting/teaching" on a typical day for you plaque? I am sending a couple of pics that you can crop or whatever and play with for my plaque.

Did you pick your fav. scripture for the plaque? oh my gosh its so hard to pick. but i have a couple. I think i want alma 18:34-35 but maybe mosiah 15:14-17...or 3 nephi 5:13 haha or maybe just d the same one that derek and devin put on theres because i'm pretty sure they used the same one haha. but idk help me out here!! haha its way to hard to pick. i also like moses 6:32-34 and d&c 35:13-15 hahahaha idk mom!! but here you go!

What was the most spiritual thing that happened this week? that experience i told you with maria or possibly when i was reading the liahona. i read the talk by pres monson about temples and almost stared crying because of how much i took for granted how close the temples are there. we have 4 within like 70 minutes. here. they just had a trip to the temple in campinas last week and traveled for like 4 hours in a van to get there and had to pay like 60 reais each. we're very lucky we dont have to do that, or like the people in the talk, travel for 7 days there and 7 back to go for one day. made me really think about how blessed i have been in my life. thank you for being such a great mom, such a great family, such a great ward, great teachers and great friends. i love you all!

oh and tambem this week i have started throwin in english words with my portuguese. its terrible haha but kinda funny. like i said to one guy "vocês estavam lá last night" haha it was ridiculous. but kinda funny and i dont think he even realized. but thats it for this week love you all! have a great week! Até a proxima! tchau tchau! te amo!
Um abraço!
Elder Bergquist

Here are the pics he sent! The 1st one is the one he sent for his plaque... I'm not going to use it... it is all washed out... just not a very good pic :(

Here is their last baptisms

Elder Vasquez, Aparecida, Sandra, Elder Bergquist