Arrived in Charleston

When I last left off I went off to see shellie to see why see didn't come to church and it turns out that there was some miscommunication between the member that was giving her a ride and her. So it was for a good reason I guess, then we just spent a long time talking since I was leaving soon.

Tuesday we spent more time just saying goodbye to different members and such. We also went to see some office staff and while we were there our driving coordinator elder shumate spilled the beans and told me that I would be going down to Charleston, which released a lot of stress for me. Plus I packed all that day too. 

Wednesday we have to figure out some apartment missionary stuff in the morning because people were switching apartments then we went and did some service pushing old people around Walmart and then I hung out with some missionaries that I would be leaving for lunch. Then we went to say goodbye to the careto family with the Hermanas and had a good day there. Then we went to say goodbye to shellie one more time.

Thursday we woke up and went off to transfer meetings, and the transfer this time was the biggest in history. 85% of the mission was being transfered and almost all of them were white washes. There I was reaffirmed that I would be going to Charleston with my companion elder Powell. I also learned that one of the hermanas in my district would be going down with me as well with a trainee too. So we went down to Charleston with one other elder and a member driving us down. Then we got to north Charleston where I am stationed where we cover the east side of north Charleston. Met my new companion who is super cool. I can already tell I will get along with him. His name is elder Powell by the way. Then he went over the area with me. Apparently half of our members and investigators speak Portuguese, so I have to learn Portuguese now. We went around and I met a couple of members including our group leader, then we had English class. Then that was that.

Friday we weekly planned then studied and such. Then we visited a member, then we taught a lesson to an elect family that has already watched the Joseph Smith movie without us telling them about it and loved it. So we're pretty sure they'll be ready to be baptized in 2 weeks. Then we had soccer night after that which is a good time with members missionaries and investigators.

Saturday we had another flea market activity that we helped set up and then passed some stuff out to people and made friends there. Then we studied some more and left for the day. We went over to some members houses to invite them to a Christmas party and such. Then at the Christmas party the missionaries were judges for the desserts so that was nice and we met a lot more members both English and Spanish.

Sunday we have church at 11.30 so we went there and had a Christmas program which was really fun and cool. We are joined with an English ward so we had to translate which was a fun time. Then we had Sunday school and priesthood which were cool as well. Then we went home had dinner then started biking🚲🚲. We had to bike because we had no gas and couldn't get more because of Sunday. So we biked over to a less active but she didn't answer her door. So we went over to a Portuguese investigator who just had a baby instead. I just introduced myself to him and stuff. Then we went over to a light the world missionary fireside for a couple of the wards. Where we had musical numbers and testimonies and such. Then we had food and went home. 

Today we are playing soccer and volleyball. And that's all. 

Elder Bertoch 

A baptism and a transfer

This week has by far been the most eventful week with the biggest ups and downs yet.

Monday after pday I'm not sure what happened all that much - I can't remember. Must not have been anything eventful. 

Tuesday we had an appointment with shellie where we just made sure she was extremely ready to be baptized and then we just answered some of her questions and concerns for a while after that. Its always a good time when we go over there. That night we also had English classes where we had the most attendance we've had so that was cool, plus we went on exchanges with the zone leaders and I stayed in this area again.

Wednesday I was with the zone leader so I was in charge again, I went door knocking in the morning but struck out on all of them. Then in the afternoon we went to see some people and got in at all of them plus we went to see a new member family that moved into the apartment complex a couple doors down from us.

Thursday we exchanged back for about an hour while we had a Spanish meeting with the Columbia Spanish missionaries and the new Spanish senior couple. Then we exchanged with the Columbia Spanish zls where I was finally moving areas. We went over to a family that was getting baptized Saturday and did some finding at a real Mexican restaurant but no one was there. We also made cookies to give to their neighbors in order to light the world.

Friday we finished making the cookies then exchanged back. Then in the evening we went to visit some members and made the baptismal program. This was also the day that I found out that I was getting transferred.

Saturday was by far the best day so far on the mission. We woke up early in the morning to set up a stand in the flea market where we would give out free hot chocolate, had a kids crafts table, and had cards for people to write a nice note to someone. Unfortunately it was 35 degrees out, and with the humidity it feels so much colder, so we were freezing the entire time, but we did give out 5 gallons of hot chocolate and had a lot of people write notes so it was a good time that was spent with all our district. Then after that we went home and chilled there for a while until we remembered that we forgot to fill up the baptismal font, so we had to rush to the church and start filling it, and we were super stressed because the water was freezing cold and not filling fast enough, but then we said a lot of prayers and decided to let it be for a while, then once we came back it was full and nice and warm, which was an absolute miracle, and we thanked and praised Jesus after that. After the people had shown up late (typical Hispanic culture) and I first laid my eyes on shellie I had felt more excited and at peace then I have in a long time. She looked so excited to be getting baptized and taking a step in the right direction. After we all sat down to start, we had the first prayer by Presidente Acosta, then we sang el bautismo, then we heard a talk by hermana eillien which was super good. Then we had the baptismal service where the spirit was felt so strongly, then I gave a talk on the holy ghost which I thought went okay. Then we heard a musical number by yesseni caretto a little primary girl who sang I like to look for rainbows. Which was really awesome. Then we heard some last words from presidente Acosta about how today was shellie's day and how everything from this point on will be feeling better as you strive to be more like christ. During this talk I felt the spirit more so then I ever have in my entire life ever. It was as if the air was thick because of how prominent the spirit was in that room. Then we had a closing prayer from Hermana lizhet who nearly fainted from saying it but did a really good job. Then that was all with the baptism. That night we went over to their house to have a bunch of tamales that they cooked for celebration. We were their with the hermanas (Daniels and Jones) and the Irmo elders (Smith and Michaelis) plus Pedro a recent convert where we had some of the best times that I have ever had in my entire life. We laughed all night super hard and played some games and we all were ourselves that night which felt super good, it was a great de-stresser since I had a lot of stress since I am being transferred this week. Out of anyone that I am going gracias to miss on my mission I am positive that I am going to miss shellie and lizhet more than anyone one else. Which is why I am so sad that I will be leaving so soon.

Sunday was not so good of a day. We went to church and waited for shellie to show up, but she never did. So she was unable to get confirmed, which made us feel terrible and everything because the baptism is now incomplete. So we have to wait until next Sunday to complete it when I won't be here. But it's all right, as long as it gets done is all I care about. Then after church we had a good lesson with someone that I found while I was on exchanges another time, then we went to a members home with the hermanas in our ward and had a blast there, which made me feel a lot better. Sunday night we found out where all the Spanish elders were going except for two, me and another. So now it's up in the air that I could be going to Charleston (most likely option) or up in Greenville in a zebra (a Spanish and an English missionary). So we'll see what happens. 

Today we finished our Christmas skit video with our district which was super fun and funny. Then we played basketball up until around now. 

That is all, my address will change so if you send me Christmas packages make sure you send them to the mission office. 

Love y all 

Elder Bertoch 

Here are a couple of pictures of Shellie:

Here's another photo he sent

Speaking Spanish on His Own

After pday on Monday last week not much happened I think that we saw shellie and had a lesson there where we just read out of the Book of mormon but that was all.

Tuesday we had a lesson with a member family with the daughter who is about to turn 8 to get baptized. We had her less active brothers help teach the lesson as well and it was really good. We also had English classes again that day where we had a turnout of 3. Which was pretty good and we shared a really good message of light the world with them.

Wednesday we had service with the English elders near us where we helped this sweet old lady organize her storage room, not much could be done because it was an unbelievable mess so we just ended up looking for some things that she wanted in some random boxes, never found anything though. That day we also started using light the world when we would knock doors. Knocking the doors with sharing the Christmas video is super effective.  That day we knocked on 2 doors of former investigators and we shared the video and had an awesome lesson with one and got a return appt with both of them. So that was super cool

Thursday not much happened, we did service again with the English elders where we helped organize some guys backyard. And then we drove around trying to see some former investigators but we struck out on all of them.

Friday we went to the library with the hermana missionaries so we could plan out a light the world activity that we will be doing with them. Then after that we went to exchange with the other elders in our district. I was staying and doing Spanish alone with another guy who doesn't know Spanish at all. I was super nervous about it and 95% of the day before the exchanges I was just praying that I would be all right and that my Spanish would be okay all alone. I had decided to go see some former investigators in a trailer park where we saw a family that we had been trying to see ever since I first got here but hadn't been able to get into the house. Well that day I was able to get into the house and share the Christmas video with them and set up a return appt. So that got me a lot more confident for the rest of the day. Then we saw three Spanish families that we had never taught before but just kinda knew that they were there. I was able to share the video with all three of them and set a return appt with 2 of those three. So I felt really good about that entire night.

Saturday we weren't exchanging back until 12 so I tried to contact two people that we could share the video with and one rejected me and the other wasn't home. So Elder Michaelis suggested the taco truck and we went and got tacos to feel better. Then we exchanged back and went to go try to see some people but struck out on all of them, then we went to the tri-ward Christmas party for a little bit, then we visited a member and that was that night.

Sunday we went to church where shellie came and even bore her testimony on how the book of mormon and God has changed her life for the better. So that was definitely a highlight of my mission right there. That night we also went over with her and a member where we had a good dinner and watched the Christmas devotional which was really good.

Today we haven't done much, we got our haircuts and tried to film our Christmas skit that each district in the mission does but it didn't turn out very good so we stopped and am now writing emails.

That is all, I love you all so very much.

Elder Bertoch 

More Photos

Thanksgiving Stuffing; Illness; Queen of the South; and Creepy Driving

I've been out of town for 2 weeks, so I am just now posting Jackson's last two e-mails.  I have some photos I can add as well.

This week has been a lot shorter and felt like it kinda didn't even happen.

Thanksgiving went by really fast and it was super fun and tasty. We first played a turkey bowl where there were four teams, 3 of which were wards and the other was a team of just missionaries. Of course the odds were in our favor to win, but we didn't but we atlas came in second so there's that. After the turkey bowl we were super tired and our first appt didn't start until 2 so we took a nice long nap until then. Then we drove over to where they were having a nice big party with a bunch of members and non members alike. The food there was great and I also stuffed myself and regretted it after elder Gerardo reminded me we have another dinner we have to eat at. We then went over to our other appt where I ate an even larger meal there. So I was quite full the rest of the night. Then we visited a member just to say hey, didn't eat anything over there thankfully.

Friday I woke up super sick. But I didn't really say anything and kinda kept on keeping on with the day. We had a lesson with a less active where we found out her crazy past. I'm not sure how much I can say, because of confidenciality plus I'll probably get on some FBI lists but it just has to do something with one of her family members being the biggest drug dealer/cartel leader in the south, so much so to be nicknamed the Queen of the South. So that was pretty mind blowing, especially since we go and see them quite a bit. We also made up a plan for light the world that day where we can use it for a new non threatening finding tactic. By the night I was really weak and just not doing well at all though so elder Gerardo kinda figured out that I was pretty dang sick

Saturday I woke up sicker than the day before. But I had to drive elder Gerardo to a district leader meeting so I did that and then that went on for a long time and by the time they were done I wasn't doing well at all. We then went to lunch where I tried to have conversations but I couldn't string words together very well. So we went back home and I took a nap from 2 to 9. Then woke up took some nyquil and went back to sleep.

Sunday I woke up and was doing a bit better but still was feeling pretty down. But we still went to church you know since we basically run everything. Plus Shellie came to church this week. So that made me feel a bit better. Then we spoke in primary about how to prepare to be a missionary. Then after that was the rest of church. Then we had dinner. And we visited a member and some former investigators to show them the light the world video. And then we came home and I fell asleep again. 

Today we can't do much since we only have 60 miles left for the week and we average about 60 miles a day, so we are staying put for today. 

Driving in south Carolina is pretty nerve-wracking.  Drivers down here just don't care and will cut you off at any given moment. Especially the big pickup trucks with confederate flags waving on the back. Besides the drivers driving at night is the creepiest thing in the entire world, since I have yet to see one street besides the city of Columbia that has streetlights. So you are surrounded by forests on both sides in the pitch black. Your mind can only wonder about what is lurking in the forests and what you should do if we round a corner on a dirt road and a clown is standing there in the middle of the road. Both me and my companion decided that we would just mow him down. But besides that driving is really fun down here. 

Chapter 4, 8, and 9 is being changed in preaching my gospel and I'm not exactly sure what is changing in the white handbook.

That is pretty much it, I didn't really spend a whole lot of time this week being homesick since I was actually sick but maybe that is better, I don't know. 

Thank you all and love y all 

Elder Bertoch 

Monday Zone Conference - Wednesday P-day

I thought it was pretty cool that his Spanish is coming along better and that he even gave a talk in the Spanish branch.

Okay this week has been really long since we had to stretch out the whole pday thing so I don't remember much from the beginning of last week but I'll try my best.

Monday we had a ward noche do hogar or family home evening, where there was a lot of food and a really good spiritual thought shared by our second counselor. After all of the spiritual stuff was done we played soccer with the youth where my team was brutally murdered. And I was absolutely no help so there's that too.

Tuesday I had my first really good lesson where my Spanish was super understandable and the teaching flow was pretty good. So I was pretty hyped the rest of the day and then we also taught a less active and got them really hyped to coming back to church and getting their kids back on the right path. I know that the lord has really blessed me with learning the Spanish and that with my work and faith in him I can nail down this language. 

Wednesday we had a meeting in the morning so they could put in a new driving safety box where we got absolutely rebuked for driving terribly and everything, especially my companion, since he gets quite a bit of aggressive drivings. We also had another lesson with Shellie where I had the best meal I have had on my mission yet, it was so good that I completely neglected to take a picture of it. Plus we got an invite for Thanksgiving from them. 

Thursday we went out home teaching with a member and was unable to see a single member so the member just made fun of the fact that I couldn't roll my rs the entire time.

Friday not much happened.

Saturday not much happened

Sunday I gave a talk in church about Thanksgiving giving that seemed to go alright. Everyone was smiling and such so that's good I guess. Everything else went well and then we saw two less Actives, got a Thanksgiving invite from one of them. Plus Shellie didn't come to church since she was bailing someone out of jail. 

Monday was zone conference which was all about being yourself and talking about all the pilot programs that we are starting. There are changes coming to preach my gospel, the white handbook, and the mission presidents handbook.  So that zone conference was really good. We saw Shellie again, really committed her to coming to church this time. 

Tuesday we helped out this sweet old lady that is super deaf. We organized a bunch of her pinata making stuff and fixed her door. Then later in the day she fed us some super good dinner. 

Today I have started driving since my companions license expired today. We did our district light the world video, and now we are playing basketball. 

That is all love you guys. 

Elder Bertoch 

Ups and Downs

Monday our team won at bowling twice so that was cool, I at least broke 100 once so that's cool too.

Tuesday not much happened we went out to lunch with the new elders in the district where some members paid for us so that was super cool. We also got a new investigator, but didn't really teach her much since she just went on and on about her immigration story. We also had English classes where we had people turn out for the first time since I've been here. And that was that day.

Wednesday we had another lesson with shellie where not much happened and we also had a lesson with someone that we were just about to drop since we hadn't been able to teach them for awhile. We were even debating not going that day but we felt as if we should so we did. And we were able to teach them and it was a really good lesson that put them back on track to being able to be baptized.

Thursday we saw a recent convert and had a good lesson with him, plus we had a lesson with a member family and got them all hyped about missionary work.

Friday we had apartment inspections which we passed with flying colors, we also had another lesson with shellie which we really pushed the importance of going to church this Sunday since she had to in order to be baptized. We had English classes again this day where we also had people come so that was cool again.

Saturday was the worst day since I've been here, we went to see 7 different people and everyone that we saw wasn't home or didn't let us in, so we went about 100 miles that day without teaching a single lesson so that was just great.

Sunday then topped Saturday for the worst day of my mission. Shellie didn't come to church which means her baptism is going to be pushed back to December 9th since she's out of town the next two weeks. But saying that the rest of church went well, it was our branch presidents birthday so we had a party after church which was super fun. Then we tried the exact same people from Saturday night and we got in with one and had a good lesson with them.

Today we started our insanity workout since last week was the last of our eating out and everything. Insanity is literally Satan. And to top it off after insanity we went and played basketball for 3 hours, which I got the winning 3 on one of the games thank you very much. Now we are bowling again since it is the cheapest thing to do around here.

I also saw my first cotton field. So that was cool. 

Down to two

Okay so another week has passed by with one less person tagging along with me. Life without elder hill has been weird but it feels more normal to be with just one person now.

On to the week. Monday went as normal, we had a lesson with Shellie again which went well as always, and we also had a family home evening with one of the members and her investigator brother. That was really fun, the member is really sweet and funny and may try to contact mom at some point and be best friends with her, don't worry though she speaks perfect English.

Tuesday was elder hills last day in West Columbia and also Halloween. To wish elder hill goodbye our branch president took us and the hermanas in the branch out to lunch. We had a good time there laughing and talking about all sorts of stuff. Then we taught one lesson then went back to the apartment for lockdown. Lockdown was fun since we had the other elders in the complex over and did a bunch of stuff with them.

Wednesday was the day of transfers. In the morning we went to the transfer spot and waited for it to start. I met a bunch of other missionaries in the mission there, as well as said goodbye to a couple that I had known at least a little. Then when transfers started we learned that elder hill would be going up to Spartanburg with an elder who just barely got out of training. So that was a fun time. Later that day we had another lesson and a lot of cancellations.

Thursday was filled with a lot of knocking and the most walking I have done since I have been here. We just parked the car and started walking up and down a street filled with trailer parks and found a lot of different potential families. So that was cool, we didn't teach anyone that day though.

Friday, I taught a lesson by myself to máximo which went really well.  I talked so he could understand me and I understood him a lot better. We also had a lesson with our investigator on date as well.

Saturday we had service in the morning and had a lot of finding in the afternoon.

Sunday was a normal church day. A lot of people shared some really good testimonies about the book of mormon and a had a lot more conversations with the members than normal. My Spanish is finally getting a lot better. We also had another lesson with our person on date since she didn't come to church, but it was for a good reason.  We also move her baptismal date up since the family she lives with was planning to be gone over Thanksgiving. So she is now getting baptized on the 18th. Which is cool.

Today we are planning to go bowling so that will be a lot of fun.

Anyway I think that does it

Love you all,

Elder Bertoch 

Facebook Photos

These pictures were copied from Jackson's Facebook page:

Transfers this week

So Elder Hill and Jackson have been companions since the MTC as you may recall.  Also, really exciting that they have a baptism date for Shelly.

¿Que tranza? 

This week has been one of the longest weeks of the mission since the looming day of transfers was coming upon us quite quickly (but also not really). 

Monday was not all that eventful, for pday we went and played basketball with some other missionaries. Which was fun, just made me realize that I suck at basketball, but I will get better. Then we taught a lesson with our extremely solid investigator and it went extremely well and we were able to extend a baptismal invitation for the 25th of November and she accepted it. So she is going to get splashed!

Tuesday not much happened.

Wednesday we had a really weird lesson with a Bible loving Mexican who was just talking straight gibberish. He started saying that he knew everything about our church because of a show he watched on Discovery Channel, so it got just a little bit frustrating, but his Spanish is really easy to understand so there was at least that. President Innes also called late at night that night and talked to Elder Gerardo for about an hour. Elder Gerardo then informed us that one for us was transferring next week, although he didn't know which one, so to say the least, it was hard to sleep every night after that.

Thursday was a busy day, we had a couple of lessons, and 3 dinners as well. We ate dinner at our place and then the two places we went after that also fed us unexpectedly, so that was cool, but the lessons went good after that.

Friday was a normal day filled with more lessons. We taught Honduran Máximo again and that went well.  I can kinda understand his Spanish now so that's cool too. We also taught Shelly again which went well.  She is super excited to get baptized and also commited to follow the law of chastity and word of wisdom which was super awesome too. Friday night we were all super anxious since we would find out which one was leaving the next day

Saturday we woke up and not so patiently waited for the transfer text to come in. At 10:00am it finally came in, and drum roll please🥁🥁🥁 Elder Hill is transferring 😭😭. We don't know where though, but we are speculating that he will be going to Spartanburg. One of the APs is going home this transfer as well so that has been some mission wide speculation too. After all that excitement was over we taught the neighbor of one of our members, in which I got absolutely roasted. In the middle of while I was teaching him, he interrupted me and asked Elder Gerardo why I was talking to him in English - just to let y'all know, I was not talking to him in English but it was indeed in Spanish. So that was a confidence booster for my Spanish 😓. We also helped a family that is moving, by helping them make their house look a lot more presentable. So that was fun too. And in the night we also had a fun altercation with a drunk guy🍺🍺🤢😆.

Sunday not a whole lot happened, we had a stake wide priesthood meeting which was super awesome. And all the stake presidency gave super good talks.

That is all, probably going to play some more basketball today. 

Have fun all, and make sure to rely on the Lord. 

Elder Bertoch

18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God. 

19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.- Jacob 2:18-19 

Also, here is a reply to his dad's e-mail which I think is worth sharing.  His dad asked for a faith promoting experience.

One thing that we did this week is that we went to give a little baby a blessing since she was in the hospital with a high fever and pneumonia. So we gave her a blessing which was really good and the spirit was so strong and everything. Then we left and hadn't heard from them since, this was like on Tuesday. Then we show up to church and there they are, with a healthy baby being all happy and crawling around and everything. So that was super cool to see.

Something else that happened was during 3rd hour with everybody gathered, Presidente Acosta straight roasted the branch because of our home teaching and visiting teaching percents. If you ever think your numbers are bad, they aren't. Last October the branch had 95% VT and 12% HT. This October we had 0% VT and 0% HT. So that is no bueno. But presidente did a really good job pumping people up about getting it started again so that was super good. 

Last week we had 13 lessons so we teach quite a bit. Any other time is spent knocking doors usually. We do all our service in the morning and visit members during meal times usually. 

I think that is all, love you. 

Elder Bertoch 

101 Fever. Yikes!

I believe dm is district meeting.  Unfortunately Jackson got sick this week, but it sounds like he got over it pretty quick.   As he says, great show of faith :)  I asked him to clarify a couple of things:  he said the zone leader fell asleep because they were speaking Spanish and he didn’t understand anything; and the car they are using overheats unless they put coolant in it every morning.  I also checked to be sure all the fried food (really - fried Snickers) he was eating wasn’t causing him to grow out of his clothes, but he says he is still skinny.

Highlights of this week.

Tuesday I woke up and felt like death. I had a 101 fever and was feeling pretty dang sick. But I still went to dm where everyone made sure to comment on how I looked like I was going to keel over at any point in time. It also just so happened to be the day that we had exchanges. So instead of going with Elder Hill with one of the zone leaders I just stayed at our place instead. Once we got back I took a 3 hour nap with a lot of meds in my body, and woke up and felt a whole lot better. So we started knocking doors and ran into to this one super humble guy named Pedro. We had a great lesson with him where the English speaking zone leader fell asleep, but besides that we were able to put Pedro on date for the 25th of November. So great show of faith on my part to go out and work even though I felt like death.

Wednesday was uneventful a lot of knocking doors and uninterested people.

Thursday we had service at the state fair where we were supposed to push old people around, but by the time we got up there there were no more old people. So we just walked around and ate a lot of fried food like fried snickers. So that was a good time.

Friday we dropped our car off at the dealership to fix something and got a replacement car that also doesn't work so...  We also had a great lesson with a progressing investigator where she opened up to us about her awful past that is just so bad that we all still can't wrap our minds around it. So we are now seeing her 3 times a week. But we are extremely confident she is getting baptized in November.

Saturday nothing happened. 

Sunday was not all that eventful either, we had one investigator at sacrament and had a good time at church. 

That is all.  Have a good week. I love you all. Since Thanksgiving is coming up next month here is a good scripture about being thankful. "Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day." Alma 37:37

Elder Bertoch 

Paint Fight!!!

Results after a paint fight.  Jackson definitely got the worst of it like he says in his e-mail.

Pasoli dinner at a member's home

Highlights of the week:

Our first Skype lesson was on Tuesday. We were able to get one of our investigators to open up a lot more through a screen so that was awesome.  We can really help her out now. We saw a less active husband of a member family on Wednesday and that was awesome, big miracle that he was super open with us and receptive to our message because he apparently wasn't like that before. 

Me and Elder Gerardo and Peitau had a paint war at a service painting thing. I got teamed up on and got got. Spanish is ok. I feel as if I can talk and get my point across and be understood but I just cannot understand most people's Spanish at all. I ate lunch with Máximo the Honduran and had the worst thing I will ever eat on my mission with him, some type of like pure fat to the point of it almost being whale blubber.  But I ate some awesome food with the 2nd counselor and an investigator after we taught a lesson with them. One of our strongest members of the branch is moving to Utah though so that's a bummer.  We'll be losing a Young Men's president and a Relief Society president. So our branch will be weakened a bunch by that. Hopefully we can baptize a lot before they move. 

Yesterday was the primary program and if you ever feel as if your program will be bad or is bad just go to a Spanish branch and see theirs, you'll feel a lot better about it. But it was still the cutest thing ever and was really entertaining. We also had dinner with a less active family and had the biggest dinner I will ever eat. Pasoli in a salad bowl. It was ridiculous. But I ate it because it was so good. Then me and Elder Hill taught the parents in Spanish while Elder Gerardo went off with the kids, and the lesson went really well. Elder Gerardo usually takes control of lessons so it was pretty exhilarating to teach a lesson by ourselves this time. Transfers are in 2 weeks, every 6-7 weeks. We also didn't get any investigators to church this week either even though we commited about 12 again so that blows. 

That's all for now. I love you all have fun and be strong.

Elder Bertoch 

Now on Facebook

I'll just be giving a short summary of this super amazing week. This week was full of new investigators and new changes.

One thing I'll say about Monday is that we went to the in and out or iceberg type place of South Carolina called cookout. Very good but also very unhealthy. I got a bacon cheeseburger with a quesadilla and a lot of fries. And it was all so good.

Tuesday we had our first appointment with a new investigator which was so awesome. It's was such a humble meeting since we all just sat on the floor while teaching him, plus we scheduled a date for baptism on November 4th.

Wednesday we had the big zone conference where the new changes with Facebook and smartphones were made. On Facebook we are not able to post anything really but we really only use it to get to know our members and investigators better and to contact them through Facebook messenger. So we're not really using Facebook as a social media tool, but more as a tool to receive information. And smartphones are one for a Companionship and I'm not sure what to say about them.  Another thing that happened that day is we had an appointment with one of our progressing investigators and had an amazing lesson with them on the Book of Mormon and committed them to come to church as well.

Thursday we had three different lessons one with Maximo the Honduran that is impossible to understand, a less active named Gustavo who is a super nice grandpa type of guy, and with one of our investigators who is getting baptized as soon as she has her passport to get married. We also committed her to come to church, so all in all it was a good day.

Friday we had two lessons with a less active and an investigator who my trainer had thought had moved to Kentucky but ended up not. We were there for like 2 hours talking and teaching and learning all about them. Their lesson was cool though because it was acquired over Facebook where we had realized they did not actually move and we could keep seeing them. We also had a lesson with Jesus again where he had a friend and all his kids over as well, and they all participated in the lesson, and we committed Jesús and his kids to come to church.

On Saturday it was a lot more finding, we had a lesson with a member in the morning and also did service at the lawn mower guys place, unfortunately it was raining a ton so I didn't bring my tablet with me to take a picture. Next week though I'll get a picture. Then we just started knocking doors and getting return appointments with some former investigators all over the place. We also visited a former investigator and committed her to come to church.

Sunday we were all very excited if everything played out perfectly we would have 9 baptismal age investigators at church. But only one family of the 4 that we had committed showed up. But it was okay because she brought friends. So we had 5 investigators at church. Plus we got texts beforehand from one family that let us know why they weren't going to be able to go. So at least we know that they wanted to go. So we'll have to see Jesus about why he didn't come. But then we had dinner at a members with an investigator as well as taught a lesson to an awesome less active couple. So that was alright.

Alright well I said that I'd make the email short but it just didn't happen. Probably because this week was so jam-packed.

Adiós,

Elder Bertoch 

New photos!

Got a couple more photos.  I'm guessing the first one is a group picture of the Spanish speaking missionaries in Jackson's mission.

Not sure who all is in the second photo.  I believe the missionary to the right of Jackson is his trainer Elder Gerado.  His other companion, Elder Hill is on the far right.  Update:  The other three are the musical group Gentri that Jackson talks about in his e-mail.  His companion translated for them.

Second Week in the Field

After I left off on Monday last week we went and played basketball at the church with some other missionaries and then we came home took a p-day nap and went out to do some appointments. Unfortunately 2 of the 3 appointments fell through. But we had a very good lesson with a member about teaching and introducing his friends to the church. The member is super solid and has a very strong testimony with a lot of desire to share the gospel, so basically a missionary's dream right there. Then we knocked some doors to fill in the holes of our schedule.

Tuesday was our first district meeting where we had good lessons by our Elder Gerardo (the district leader) and a sister who had just gotten here last transfer. We then roleplayed and that was that. Then we had lunch and 3 hours of study and then we went to knock some doors until an appointment we had with another member where only there 17 year old son was there so we just taught him the importance of serving a mission. Luckily most of the kids around here speak English so we are able to speak some English when we go to teach some times. Then we had English class where no one showed up again and that was that.

Wednesday we taught a lesson with our investigator that is the hardest to understand again, but we usually just read a chapter of the book of mormon with him so we don't have to understand him all that well. Then we had lunch and more study. Then we had dinner and had 3 more appointments but 2 of them fell through yet again. But the lesson we did teach was with an investigator and we taught our first restoration, which went really well and they seemed really open and receptive. Then later we knocked doors yet again and that was that.

Thursday was the very anticipated day of Spanish conference where all of the Spanish missionaries in the mission gathered in the same place for a conference for the first time ever. There we learned of the Spanish conference, learned how to have effective language study, and went through some possible changes that could happen just to the Spanish missionaries. It was really cool and really good, definitely met all of the expectations with it. Then we had another appointment that fell through, but then Elder Gerardo had to translate for a devotional concert that was going on, so we got to listen to some good music by the Gentri Brothers and have a good time there.

Friday we had more service with Joe, the lawn mower guy who says he collects the lawnmowers but really he just hoards them. When we help him out we just clear out some leaves and stumps and organize the lawn mowers and other random things that he has all out in the forest. These lawnmowers also aren't small either (although some are) they are like the big ones that you ride on and everything. I'll take pictures on Friday once we go again. Then we had lunch and an appointment where we taught another investigator the importance of Jesus and the book of mormon. That went really well, she seemed interested. Then we had the long haul of weekly planning again. Then we went to knock doors again where we found some new potential investigators and then we had coordination with the ward mission leader and the hermanas in our ward as well, and then that was that. 

Saturday was general conference day where we went to the church to watch it. And that's all we really did that day.

Sunday was also conference day where we watched at the church yet again and then we knocked doors and had the spirit tell us not to knock a specific door so that was pretty cool and then that was that day as well. 

Question time:

In the 3 pack we always just take turns when knocking doors. We are only in Spanish companionships. Teaching is really easy with a three pack as well. There are 7 people in our district, us, two hermanas, and two other sisters. 

When we knock doors we have to knock in an area where another member or investigator lives. But we are pushing member referrals a lot more this month. We won't know what we are doing with facebook and smart phones until zone conference on Wednesday. We aren't allowed to go eat at a members house unless there is a less active or investigator there, so we usually only eat with them at large gatherings like at conference yesterday.  I usually eat quesadillas or eggs or cereal when I eat here. Scripture study is going great. It's easy to read when you have an hour just for reading the scriptures. 

Okay,

Love you all,

Elder Bertoch

Here's some pictures of Jackson's first apartment:

First E-mail from South Carolina

This is Jackson's first e-mail from South Carolina.  I've also included a picture of Jackson and the missionaries he traveled with:

Here is a critter in his apartment

Familia,

Hola de South Carolina. I've now been here about 5 days and I have loved every single one. In this email I am only writing my week starting on Tuesday since I can't remember anything past then. So Tuesday we started the long trek to South Carolina. We went from shuttle to train to train until we were at the airport. Then at the airport we were informed that our plane had engine problems and was delayed an hour. So I called that church travel office and they told us to get on as long as it isn't delayed for more than 2 hours. So we got on and when we arrive in Atlanta we were informed that we were already booked on a new flight. So we were at the airport for 1.5 hours and then we set off to South Carolina. Once there we were greeted by the mission president and the APs. We then went to the mission home which is super nice, had orientation, and interviews with the president. Then we went to bed and that was that.

Wednesday was transfer day so we woke up and ate breakfast and started the day. We went to the transfer church where we met the people that run the mission and had some meetings with them then we started transfers and met our trainers. I am still weirdly in a companionship with Elder Hill and with our new trainer Elder Gerado. Elder Gerado is super awesome. He has spoken Spanish all his life but also English. So he has the potential to help us quite a bit. He is super chill as well really funny and everything. Really nice. Then we went to our apartment which is apparently the nicest apartment in the entire mission, especially since it's the only one with wifi. We also drive around in a 2017 Chevy Malibu so that's super nice as well. Oh we are also becoming a Facebook mission and getting smart phones in the next 2 weeks. So that's all really nice. Then work started at 6. We went and knocked some doors, sharing a message about Jesus. Everyone around here is super nice. They all talk to us and listen and such and when we do get rejected it's is all really nice. So that was really fun and that was that day.

Thursday we started service in the morning by serving this man named Maximo and his Spanish is the hardest thing to understand in the entire world. But luckily Elder Gerado is amazing. We cut down part of his ceiling that had black mold growing in it since he couldn't do it because his ankle is broken. We then read the bom (Book of Mormon) with him and that was all with that. We studied and we went to teach some kids a lesson with some members. Then that was that day. 

Friday we did more service with an investigator where we cleaned her backyard for a party she was having on Saturday. Then later we had the dreaded 4 hour weekly planning. Then we visited a Venezuelan member who is a Spanish teacher at a high school so he also speaks English which is good because his Spanish is crazy. Then we teach an English class but it didn't happen because no one showed up. And that was that day. 

Saturday started with more service where we ran into some Jehovahs Witnesses and they taught us a short little message and then they commended us on how we were so nice to listen and so we then wanted to share a message with them and they made all these excuses why they couldn't, but we still tried, but it only turned out to be some good old fashioned Bible bashing. So we got nowhere with that. But we started service which was eye opening because he had 400 lawnmowers just out in the woods and we have to organize some of them each week. It's crazy. But then we went to that party we helped set up. Ate some good food there. Then we had a long night trying to set up for general conference which didn't really happen. And that was that day. 

Then on Sunday we went to church and I was very confused for the next three hours (Spanish branch). Then we went to an investigator's house for a party had some good food and he had the Packers, Bengals game on. Sunday consisted of me being confused the entire time. But great food was had, so it all turned out okay. 

That's been the week so far. Now we are at a members house doing some ceramics and such. Nice pday activity. Not sure what else we'll do today. 

That was basically all for this week. Spanish is a struggle and it looks like we'll do most teaching in Spanish. So that is quite the struggle but it's okay. I'm only 5 days in. The weather here is nice in the fall. Not super humid but still pretty hot. The bugs are the worst here though. We are serving in west Columbia in a giant area. Elder Gerardo has been out for 18 months and is from Vegas. 

All right I gotta go. Have fun. Love you. 

Elder Bertoch 

First E-mail from the MTC

This is Jackson's first detailed e-mail from the MTC, other than the short one he sent on the day he arrived.  His others were very similar so I am justing posting one from the MTC:

Hey all,

Okay so I am up really early to do some laundry today so forgive my spelling and grammar mistakes. After I left you with my last email the day really started to pick up. I went back into my classroom to continue to wait for the rest of my district and my companion to show up. During that time I was still trying to wrap my head around all of the Spanish that everyone was speaking to me. The rest of my district including my companion showed up. My companion is from Littleton, Colorado (Elder Hill) and he is also going to the South Carolina Columbia Spanish speaking mission (what are the chances). My district is all going to places like, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Mexico, and Washington. I was blessed with my companion, he is pretty dang good at Spanish (even if he says he's not), very patient with me trying to learn Spanish, and very supportive. Everyone in my district are really good guys, there is not one person in it that I do not like. Most days are filled with laughs and the spirit. 

Next category is the food, the food here really isn't bad. There hasn't been a meal yet that I haven't liked, and they have many different food options (although I usually go to the shortest line). On Monday we even had Taco Bell for dinner.

I've been sleeping pretty dang well. The first night was rough because one of my roomates alarms went off at 2:30. So I was up pretty long after that. And I was pretty physically and mentally exhausted the first days. I was very overwhelmed with everything that was happening. So I started going to bed an hour earlier each night and that has seemed to help.

Classes are really fun and seem to go by pretty quickly. My main teacher is Hermana Hadfield and she is great. She is always upbeat and uplifting. She is very patient with our Spanish and a very good teacher. We also have help from some other teachers Hermana Salvord and Hermana Barlow (who knows cousin Austin somehow). My Spanish I would like to think is coming along great. I am the only one in my district that didn't take 3+ years of Spanish so I knew the least coming in, but I don't really care about that. All that I see is that I knew about 6 words in Spanish coming in and now I know 100+. So far in Spanish I can pray, bear my testimony, share a scripture, extend an invitation, and share some information about me, plus a bunch of random vocab words that I have come to learn over the past week. I know that I really couldn't of done it without the Holy Ghost and the gift of tongues that it brings. I forgot to mention that on Friday we started to teach our first investigator all in Spanish. The first lesson was pretty dang rough but every lesson after that has been going much better. Carlos seems to be able to understand me but I still have a very hard time understanding him, luckily my companion can understand him pretty easily. While teaching the lessons I have been able to feel a strong spirit as well, so thats pretty cool.

So my day starts off with waking up and getting out of bed by 6:30. So far I have been doing a good job of doing that. Then we get ready and get to breakfast by about 7:15. After breakfast we get to our classroom to start planning out the day and then class starts at 8:30 and goes until 11:30. Then the study time starts up until lunch. Then after lunch there is more study time, then exercise time where we have been going to the iron chapel to lift weights since my companion is a big strong man. Then more study time up until dinner. Then we teach Carlos for the remaining time. Then we go back to our residence and go to bed. I believe that I am feeling the spirit very strong each day. My head feels more clear then it ever has before and I am feeling very relaxed. 

Sunday morning I was feeling the most sad out of all the other days and I think its because it was the most different out of any other day. I had to wake up at 6:30 and do most of the same routine. Then we had a district meeting, then priesthood, then sacrament. I am so used to going to our ward and having Brother Wright give us treats and everything. Then going home and taking a nap. But I can't take naps here. But Sunday quickly went from the saddest day to the greatest day with one simple decision to go to choir practice. Choir practice was just about the greatest thing ever. The spirit was so strong in that room it made me feel so at peace. Plus the choir director had great stories and was very funny. And we had a guaranteed spot in the devotional room. Which turned out to be awesome because we had Elder Ballard come and speak to us that night. So I have had the opportunity to sing to an apostle, what have you done?  His talk can be summed up in 4 words. Thou shalt not flirt. Then we had the amazing opportunity to watch the MTC exclusive video Character of Christ. Which might be the best talk that I have ever listened to. I have some notes about that on my tablet so I will send those to you later today. Same goes with Elder Ballard's talk. Tuesday we also had a devotional which we sang in the choir again and this time Elder Anderson came. I will also send my notes about his talk later. So for me to see two apostles talk in a week is pretty cool. 

All I can see your emails any time during the week so feel free to send as many emails as you want. I just cant send you e-mails until Wednesdays.  Food is always good to send me, feel free to send me candy or cookies or whatever at any time. Since we can only eat during scheduled meal times I can get pretty hungry at night.

Today will be spent going to the temple, exercising, and napping since we are all very exhausted. 

If I think of anything else to tell you guys I will be sure to send it to you in another email.

The book you sent me with has helped me a lot when I have felt down at night so thanks for that. 

Alright well, Yo se que Jesucristo es son el salvador, y que sus el expacion es un grande bendicion. Yo se que el espiritu santo pedime con la paz y con la del de tongues. Yo se que soy un missionerjo de jesucristo y que ese es trobjar de dios. En el nombre de Jesucristo, Amen. (I didn't have any thing to refer to with that so theres probably a lot of spelling and grammar mistakes). 

Yo amo ustedes,

Elder Bertoch