4/4/12 Our Faith Does Miracles!

Pops,

wow. i liked that email. good stuff. all good stuff haha. how was priesthood meeting? its kinda tough for the translators sometimes that was the only problem. especially with president monson because he doesnt follow his written talk very much it looks like hah.

but kobe is still the black mamba. i love him. i want to baptize him haha. i think ive said hes the man in like over half my emails to you haha. good stuff. tiger is the favorite?? wow i dont remember the last time that happened. i remember now that you said the angels have pujols. but i had forgotten. sounds like it should be a good season, although it is baseball hahaha. anyway, love ya pops. do you as bishop have to go to the church to watch conference now?? hows that whole bishopping thing going anyway? haha i got a letter from your counselors son the other day (brennen) i was happy about that. im excited to write him back. love ya dad. tchau! um abraço!

Elder Bergquist

hey mom! well. short email eh? thanks for the notes, sometimes things have a bit of a different sense in english. good to hear. well on to the questions!

How are you? wonderfulllll!

Hey, just wondering if you know any of these Elders.... Elder Baker, Elder Bond, Elder Bowerbank, Elder Hamilton, Elder Hendrickson, Elder Kendrick, Elder Matson, Elder McKell, Elder Munson, Elder Pray, Elder Randall, Elder Sloan, Elder Wharton, or Elder Wensel???? the ones i underlined i know. some better than others. i was elder bonds lz and right now im elder bowerbanks....elder hamilton was in my district a while back when he was getting trained by elder gagon.... (the underlining doesn't show up on here so, the Elders he has met are Elder Bond, Elder Bowerbank, Elder Hamilton, and Elder McKell)

So, how is the new area? its good. im liking it. its super flat! and really pretty. 7 lagoas. and we live right next to one., the church is right on the waterfront. its really cool.

What is your new companions name? elder da cunha!! ha

How is he? hes a really good guy. he is one of three members in his family. him and two brothers. hes got 2 years as a member and him and his older brother are both serving missions right now. hes learning real fast. good guy. ill send pics.

Is this the 1st time you have lived with 3 other elders instead of just your companion? yeah. president doesnt like to do this. he only does it with elders he trusts i think, generally só zone leaders

Is it more fun living with 3 instead of just one? a little, but its not that different, were only at home on pday and from 930 to 1030 we have to acompanhar (keep up with) all the zone and in the morning we study, so its not that different. just that i dont have a bed. haha ill send pics of that too haha. good times! only on the mission!!
What are the 2 other elders names that you live with? elder jara and he is training too elder lima

How far is 7 lagoas from Belo? like an hour. without traffic. we went to a meeting monday morning and its took like 2 hours! ha

Did you get to go to conference? yeah, except saturday morning and priesthood.

How is the work going there? pretty good. almost everybody knows us, and its love or hate haha. but were working a lot with references because if you know their name, its way easier to get in and teach! hha

How many people are you guys working with/teaching? we have 4 people right now...

Any one ready for baptism? we have one thats almost there, he just has to stop smoking! ha but he smoked one yesterday, he'll stop today

Did you buy new shoes yet? no i will today! i need them! haha

Tell us about your area.... and the guys you live with... elder jara gopt here the same day as me (in the mission) but i dont know either of them very well...i dont even know where theyre from hah were always so busy its doesnt leave time to talk or play haha

When did you feel the Spirit the strongest? well i have one really good story to tell you guys. but not much time. were teaching a guy named everaldo. the one that has to stop smoking. he went to conference and loved it! but let me start from the beginning. we were walking down his street and he was sitting at his front door on a wheelchair. we went and talked to him and he invited us in, so we wheeled him into his house on his old rusty wheelchair that has no back or padding on the seat and the front wheels dont roll....we got into his house. he lives alone and it is just one room and a bathroom. it was super messy and hes got old food all over. we taught him. (he can barely talk too) why? because he drank so much in his life. thats why hes in a wheelchair too. he has no more muscles in his legs....he drank so much that he didnt eat and got worse and worse....anyway, he accepted a baptismal date and then we gave him a health blessing. we told him he would start to walk again in the blessing. from the first day everything about him changed. when we ask him how his day is going he tells us everyday "maravilhoso, melhor que ontem!" (wonderful, better than yesterday!) we helped him clean his house a little too. when we taught him the word of wisdom we promised him again that if he stopped drinking he would start walking. well he said alright and he got up of the bed, grabbed his bottle of alcohol, and went to the street (WALKING) and dumped it out on the ground! Que BÊNÇÃO!! (What a BLESSING!!) our faith does miracles! but we have to act too! i know we can do anything with Gods Help!
Love you all! Tchau!
Elder Bergquist!!
p.s. the first pic is of jo and her daughters that we were teaching in my last area!