6/27/12 i love the opportunity to feel the spirit everyday like this! and the great part is we all can! just do your part and seek to do the right things!!

hey pops. how are things with you?  i wont even comment about bball. trash. the angels are lookin good.... are they looking world series worthy? thats probably not a good question because they always look worthy until the playoffs come haha. i dont even wanna hear about american pizza haha especially in dutch ovens... (Brad was telling him about the family reunion that is coming up) are you trying to make me trunky?! haha and fiji. (a couple in our ward was called to serve at the Fiji temple) that was where i secretly wanted to go on my mish haha. but id never trade brasil belo horizonte. the best mission in the world! in may the Lord helped us to baptize more than any other mission in brasil. maybe in the world. im not sure. probably some mission in mexico baptized more hhaha. anyway i love the mish love you guys too. tell kaitlin not to interfere with chad making new friends hahaha. but thats cool she can pull some strings for that. (Chad is going to EFY and Kaitlin is there as a counselor and he is teasing her)  im excited for the new pres too but i dont think im gonna realize its changed until we have a meeting with him. i think it will be weird...but im excited to learn more stuff with a different pres called of God! big things in store! até a semana que vem! tchau! (until next week! bye!)




i dont know chads email! so this is for him. tell him to get the ladies at efy! and to get some for me too bacause i cant here! hahaha and to learn a lot about the gospel too of course!  seek the spirit and take notes of what HE teaches you!

hey mommy. how you doin? ha well things here are great as always. ha i cant believe its summer there...its all cold here haha...im wearing a sweater today haha. thanks for the pics! i love seeing those guys grow ha. (his 2 little nephews) chads going to efy again. good stuff. EFY was super good. as for the questions....

So, tell us about the city you are in...  its conselheiro lafaiete...its really catholic....kind of old i think, like kind of historic...sei lá

is it a big city? yeah, mais ou menos (more or less) ...i think its a little smaller than mo val...

Is it far from the mission home? its like 2 hours or so...

Are you the only missionaries in the town? no theres two branches here...the other one has sisters...youll see in the pics...we had a baptism together on sat...there not wards just becasue its not a stake yet. but it looks like next month its going to made into a stake...for now its a district...

how long has your comp been on the mish? hes been out longer than me. hes got like a month and a half more than me on the mish...he was a secretary too when i got here...

what kind of person is he?  Really serious or funny or what? hes pretty serious...kind of impatient haha he expects a lot of himself...like me ha so its good but kinda hard somtimes too. but hes a really good guy. hes the only member in his family but it looks like his parents and sister are going to church and getting ready to be baptized jus that they all have to get married before they can get baptized...

Tell us about the people you are teaching... is anyone ready for baptism? ainda não... (not yet) sandras boyfriend went to church on sunday but i dont know what his problem is, he doesnt want to get baptized "yet" as he says.....

Did the Sandra get baptized on Saturday?  yeah 

Did her son do it? no, hes kinda mole (weak), he goes to church most of the time but hasnt recieved the priesthood yet.....

Were there any investigators there?at the baptism? just sandras mom...

Tell us about the branch, do they give you referrals?  Do they feed you? they give some referrals but not a whole lot...they feed us sim (yes)

Were you just sick that one day? yeah...

Have you been sick a lot? not really

Was it the food you are eating? i dont know haha i dont think so...

When did you feel the Spirit the strongest? we had one lesson that was ridiculously spiritual... with a daughter and her mom...both old ladies...and her brother but both of them cried multiple times because the spirit was so strong...its hard to telll...i dont know how to describe it...the spirit doesnt have an easy description...i guess you had to be there haha. but the sad part is this: they didnt accept. its really sad when that happens. we tried and tried to resolve their doubts, but they just didnt want to change....kind of disappointing i know. but everyones got theyre arbitrio...but i love the opportunity to feel the spirit everyday like this! and the great part is we all can! just do your part and seek to do the right things!!

I am putting a package together for you, I need to know what you want/need... (I will send an SD card for the camera) do you need socks or anything???  peanut butter?  WHAT???  ;) send the sd card...and put some pics on there too...put the video of when i opened my call on there please!!! a couple of pairs of socks would be good...just like 4... peanut butter! reeses. i like those individual juices you sent last time too...hair glue...i think thats it...all i can remember...

anyway thats all i got for this week! love ya!
Élder Bergquist

sandra and cleosa that were baptized the same day!

6/20/12 He loves us, and we dont learn like that

haha good stuff about the angels and the game and batting practice. did you guys go with brother oconnor? looks like his seats haha from the pic that mom sent. i still havent really gotten used to the fact that they have pujols...hes good eh? and this trout kid does sound good. and im happy about the thunder. you guys dont like them? who do they have? i dont even remember? thats sweet about the brambilas all at the temple too. good stuff. i didnt even know there was witnesses for weddings ha. ive never seen a wedding in the temple... thats cool. im excited too! well i love ya pops. thanks for the sports update!! ive never heard of this guy that won the us open...? and i will keep working harder and jollyfullerly everyday! i cant let a day get by me now! ha not that i could before but you know what i mean haha. atemais!!

 mom, well, heres my email from last week, or at least part of it.....what happened was this....i wrote dad and sent the pics then i was writing you and the internet went out...so i told the guy here that id just leave it open and for him to just send it to you when the internet came back....because we had to do other stuff and i didnt know how long it would take...but i guess he didnt send it....sorry!

hey. yeah i was tranferred. you guessed it haha. im now here in counselheiro lafaiete. Im here with elder Carneiro. he was my ld when i was in progresso a little before christmasd time. muito gente boa (very good people). hes a hard worker too. like pretty much everyone in the mission except a select few haha. marinalva's reference is still excited she just wants to go to church before committing to a date for baptism. but shes already in mosiah in the book of mormon. shes got a super strong testimony of it because the other night she was going through some rough stuff. we had marked a family night with some mebers and we called her to see if she was ok on our way and she was crying so we gave her some parts of the book of mormon to read and she did and it really helped her then after the family night i was inspired to ask if anyoone had any parts of the book of mormon that helped them in rough times and marinalva talked about 2 nefi 4 and i told her to call her friend (joyce) and share her experience and she did and joyce loved it. Its strengthening them both a lot. The Book of Mormon is true! and it has POWER! It comforts us in times of hardships and guides us to better roads in good times. That couple that called us from the pamphlet are loving the lessons and eating up the bom too. theyre finishing 1st nefi. they read every night by flashlight because they dont have the money to pay their elcrticity bill. thats sacrifice!!! if we could just remember how it was to know the gospel for the first time and keep that fire inside us! ha

 hey mom. sorry about last week. i had a feeling he wasnt gonna send the email. and i dont even know if all of it saved...it probably kicked him out of my email when the internet came back...sei la...anyway here we go!!

So, tell us where you are... im in QUELUZ! here in the city of conselheiro lafaiete!

Are you still a zl? yes ma'am

And did you guys have a baptism your last week in your last area? It seems you had a couple of golden contacts!! I bet it was hard to leave, you were having so much success!! we did not...it was kind of hard to because it was the temple dedication. i forgot to tell you guys about that. there was no sacrament meeting in all of Brasil because the Manaus temple was being dedicated. so we couldnt take anyone to church. it was a week for baptisms from the area book and eternal investigators...haha but we left some good people from the other elders there. its good to hear that elder hendrickson liked me haha. hes a good guy. sings really well. and is really humble which is one of the most important thing in missionary growth. the missionaries that help the most people are those that are humble and confiam no Senhor! (trust in the Lord)

How is the work going where you are?? Do you guys have anyone serious about the gospel? its going well. we have one lady thats firm for this saturday. shes been to church a lot, her sons a member. 17 years old. and she didnt get baptized before because she was living with a guy, but he renting the house next door and shes super excited to be baptized. her name is Sandra and she told us about some of her questions of her soul...she said that the only place that they were answered were with members of the church, the sisters, or at church when she went...haha she knows its true.! and weve got some other people too, but not as excited as her...were trying to set it up so her son can baptize er...but we'll see...hes not a priest yet, hes still a teacher....? :/

Anyone ready for baptism? vide pergunta de cima (see question above)

How is your new comp? hes cool. i like him. he kinda reminds me of devin haha i dont know why. but hes from Bahia...he talks super fast, half the time i dont understand him, but im getting used to it haha

Is he a hard worker? yeah, demais! its good. its was different from my last area. there it was really flat and we took a lot of buses because its a huge area. but here its smaller and way more hills! haha so its going good. losing weight again! haha

How are your new living conditions? the house is pretty good. its really big. theres 3 rooms, a big like living room, a huge kitchen and two balconies in the front and back haha. and its just us two here. its just kinda empty because missionaries dont have furniture, but its a nice house/apt...

How is your ward? its a branch here. the district is about to be made into a stake and it will be a ward. theres like 115 that go regularly to church...its just not a stake yet...ha

When did you feel the spirit the strongest this past week? many times....well i got sick on thursday night. it was like 7 oclock and i started feeling really bad. i ran to the bathroom in the house we were at thinking i was gonna throw up, but didnt... yet. then we went to our next appointment, i did the same thing and nothing... then one more time, in the same house, and this time it went haha. i was praying the whole lesson to just be able to help the family! my comp taught almost the whole lesson with me in the bathroom, but i came out and was able to teach the restoration after i threw up haha. anyway, so we went home....i made it all the way without throwing up...but ran to the bathroom when we got there and was in and out the whole night like every half hour...until about 4 am i got to sleep....my comp gave me a blessing that i would sleep well that night...i thought it didnt work at first, but when i woke up the next day i wasnt even that tired....with like 3 hours of sleep....miracle! of course my body was weak and hurting,but i worked the whole day and ate lunch and everything..your probably asking, what does this have to do with the spirit....and no its not just a story to worry you...but theres a moral haha. i prayed and was asking the lord to help me not get sick at first, thinking hed do that for me because im doing his work...well our ways arent his ways...he saw that i needed to pass through that, so i did. and when i saw that i had to pass through it, my prayers changed....i started asking for strength to get through it well and to learn from it...and i did. it didnt stop the work....i didnt get well at the snap of a finger, but i got through it and learned from it.  moral of the story for life: God doesnt just take our problems away when we pray and give us a feild of flowers as our lives, becasue he loves us, and we dont learn like that...so he gives us the hard times, and if we pray, have faith and a good attitude, and want to learn, He'll strengthen us and teach us! everyday! especially the hard ones...and we come out much stronger in the end. in other words more prepared for eternal life and exaltation, beings more like those we need to be to abide the celetial glory! love you all! preparem-se pela vida eterna!!! (get ready for eternal life!!!)
Elder Bergquist


oh and the pic i sent is more for the guys....i dont know if you heard but ronaldinho is on my team now!! GALO!! hahaa  (missionaries tend to pick a favorite team, as you can see Dallin did too, he loves soccer and played all through high school)

6/13/12 No email :(

I was really bummed last week when my email didn't come through!  I have no idea if it is lost out in internet space somewhere or if Dallin just missed hitting the send button, nevertheless, I didn't get an email from him last week...

Here is the short email he sent his dad...

good stuff. im glad okc won...and cool that the kings won the stanley cup too, one of the guys in my zone told me, hes a hockey player from idaho. he knows chase (Dallin's cousin), elder cox....he said he doesnt know him that well but he knows who he is... good stuff with the angels too... chad got a letter (Dalllin's younger brother lettered in track!) then parabens...thats crazy about president kerr. (Pres.Kerr was Dallin's seminary teacher and he was just called to be our new Temple President!!) super exciting! the prophet said in the last conference thats how its done. he said bishops and stake president sit on the stand and pray for inspiration for who should serve a couples mission.... (Brad had told Dallin a couple of months ago that he thought Pres. and Sister Kerr should be mission pres) you did well haha. im glad to hear it. anyway love ya pops youll hear more about me from mom!

Well, that, "You'll hear more about me from mom" didn't come!!  :(
BUT, I did get these 2 pictures!

eu e meu novo comp (me and my new comp), Elder Carneiro na conferencia de natal. (revelation) (he is saying it was revelation since they took a pic together BEFORE they were companions at the Christmas party) i took one with him and with elder canepa too, my last comp....

two models that showed up in our house last night....? it was weird...... (you know they are bored when they think they are models, haha... although, I could agree, very handsome boys!!!)

AND, I was blessed to hear from a mom of one of the missionaries that was in his zone in this last area... here is what she told me... 

Scott said that he and Elder Morais are staying in Contagem together, but "basically" all other Elders in the district are transferring out of Contagem today. But he also told me "if you´d also like to tell Elder Bergquist's mom about him, he really is a great teacher. At our District Meetings when we do practices, he´ll say `Pause.. Now, ask an inspired question to the investigator´. He´s really experienced, and really in-tune with the spirit. "

So, we now know he was transferred out of this area... and he told me in the email with the 2 pictures, that he has a new companion...  That is all we know for now!  I am excited to hear from him tomorrow!!!

AND, that was very sweet of Sister Hendrickson to tell me!!!  THANK YOU!!

6/6/12 Take distractions out of our lives and take time for Christ

hey pops!
how are things?? im doing great thanks haha. good to hear about the underdogs in the NBA. im good with OKC winning! and ricky fowler won one. legal. with tiger back on top...things are looking normal again haha. good to hear about the baptism and that theyre taking him in and to the activities....good stuff... rickys already home. nossa mãe...ta louco! tell him to write me! love ya pops. good bishoping to you! tchau!
Elder Bergquist

 Mom!
noooo! what a crappy email. (for the 1st time I didn't send him questions, haha) first thing! tel devin, i sent that email before anything else. i didnt just send it because he was sad. haha in the package.... i dunno ill think about it this week ha. you told me about grandmas house, but i dont even know what plantation shutters are haha... crazy that mike and ricky are home and hayden...mikes working with brother hemphill....good stuff...our ward is so good! i love it. everyones doing big stuff...

personal revelation...(I asked him about this because I am teaching Relief Society on Sunday on this topic) something i learned in the mtc that i was reading about today is how to establish a relationship with the holy ghost is first with search/study and then he will give us inspiration and we have to recognize it which will lead us to follow it which will lead us to search more because we'll see the good results and its a cycle that goes on and on....and read that talk! that i told you about! by elder Bednar. learn by faith. its super good and all about that! i learned a ton from it! 

sunday we had a stake conference here, but it wasnt a normal stake conf. you know who spoke?? elder gonzales a 70. elder Anderson, elaine dalton, and PRESIDENT MONSON!! nossa it was super good. almost all of them talked about taking distractions out of our lives and taking more time for Christ and the family. that we have 2 registers (histories) that are most important...the book of mormon (obvious) but guess what elder Gonzales said was the other....youll never guess....our personal registers (history) ....journal, letters, emails...crazy! so thats why i was reading my notes from the MTC today...and i learned a ton....Pres Monson talked about following Christs example in everything. that we have  to show more love for everyone, especially our family...it was really good. elder anderson talked about 3 responsibilities that parents have to their children... to strengthen their education, teach them to work while their young, and teach them to love Heavenly Father...it was really good and three things that my parents really did for me and im really thankful for that. Thank you mom! and dad! 

we are working with one lady that threw away her cigarettes yesterday! she cried all through the first lesson. she is really happy now... and another that is a reference from marinalva (the sister in law of val that we baptized) that we reactivated... her friend is super excited, she already read like half the book of mormon and is reading D&C too. shes super excited! my faith is growing everyday! i love the mission! i know its the work of the lord and when we do our part He does His! ive seen that just this week, we made goals and were doing them and Hes trusting His children to us! we got a call this morning too from a family that we just left a pamphlet with and she had read it 4 times and loves it and wants the book of mormon so she can find the answers  to the questions at the end of the pamphlet! she said i couldnt respond well because i dont have the book of mormon and marked Saturday for us to go by and then called back and remarked for tomorrow because shes so excited! i love this work! sorry i cant share everything with you guys, but ive got a journal you can read after i get home! ta bom! love ya!
Elder Bergquist

Here is a picture he sent us that his Mission Pres. sent him...
fotos de conferencia de zona (zone conference photos)
haha, my son, Devin just called me and told me this picture is like a "Where's Waldo?" picture!!!  It's true!  Can you find Elder Bergquist??

6/3/12 Weston giving Uncle Dallin a high five!

Sunday Derek was down by the bishop's office, Brittany was being set apart for her new calling... by the bishop's office are the missionary plaques.  Derek was showing Weston his uncle and Weston gave him a high five... Derek showed me this picture when he got home and I, of course, cried... I just love it!!!!!!!