The Temple Approaches

Dearest Friends and Family,

For those of you who were unaware, I was able to attend the San Antonio Temple and the baptism of Sister Rubio. It was a wonderful experience. I am hoping their family is well. My only wish is that we could have attended her confirmation. More on this experience later.

The Wonderful Rubio Family

Elder Hansen and I at the San Antonio Temple

A pretty good Christmas week. Hearts were softened and people were the most part receptive. We're still looking to find some committed people who will progress in the gospel. The sad news of this week is that R's baptism will have to be postponed. We don't completely understand the circumstances following the interview, but we'll work closely with him and hopefully he'll be ready later.

As for Christmas gifts, I got a new watch. This watch is able to count steps and monitor my sleep.

It was kind of interesting, we found a lady that pulled into her driveway and loaded her kids out. We asked her if we could show the Christmas video to her, and she accepted. With some technical difficulties, we had a slight delay. About a quarter or so through the video, her husband approached and called her into the home. So when we reported to our leaders that night that we had shown the video 1 and a half times, we got to explain that situation again.

We had wonderful meals at member's homes. We ate breakfast and dinner on Christmas day with members, and a shepherd's dinner on Christmas eve, which basically consisted of a variety of different foods, not gathered in any particular way.

Questions and Answers

Please tell us about your Saturday experiences.

Because I misplaced my journal in the Huebner Creek apartment, I decided to type my journal entries to keep up:

JOURNAL ENTRIES TO RULE

The Book of Hall, Chapter one

Approximately 26 Dec, 2015 AD

Today was a marvelous faith boost to me. We got up a little earlier than normal and met with Brother Coleman at about 7:15 to get in the car and head for the 9:30 endowment session. His name is Peter Shueuerman. If I spelled it correctly, it looks like it could have been a German name. The session was beautiful. I loved the architecture of this temple, and especially the feeling I got in the Celestial room. A few questions I had were answered, some of which I already knew the answers, but need confirmation of one type or another.

While there I met a member from the Huebner Creek ward. I forget his name, but he was kind. There he expressed his happiness to be in the temple. I agree, there is a peace that can never be replicated outside of that hollowed, holy to the Lord, Temple.

Afterwards we headed off to Teka Molino. I felt it appropriate to go there, as it was probably the most impactful restaurant that I ate at in the Windcrest Ward area. I love that place, and especially order #13, Nona's special, whoever Nona is, anyway. Good food and conversation with Brother Coleman. Even better, I saw Brother Farnsworth and his sister and son there with him. I could not for the life of me remember his last name. The 'f,' was the only thing that came to me. He was pretty kind however, and he said, "most people can't remember the first letter." He let me get off clean in that one.

Now a moment of grace. Sister Aurora Rubio was baptized today, and it was definitely a moment that I could have been waiting for at least fifteen months. I can't remember how long it has been. Maybe around that. Anyway, Because Elder Hodasek could not speak a lick of Spanish, or his companion, Elder Duford, I was allowed to conduct.  Hopefully I didn't botch too much. Obispo Vandenburg presided and gave a talk, and Jorge was given the privilege of baptizing his wife. It was a pure moment indeed. I was tempted to take a picture, but that didn't seem quite right. It wouldn't have been, of course. The Rubio daughters seemed pretty happy to see me, which told me that the work that I did still touched them.  So precious a day. I won't forget.

 What more have you learned about the people in the Lake Travis Ward? 

The people here are "muy amable." There are a fair amount of recent converts and converts that live in this ward, but I haven't quite yet learned what occupations are most common in this ward.

How is R doing?

We hope that he has been doing ok. We're going to follow up with him later this week. Or next year. Tee hee.

Have you had any awesome songs in your heart this week? 

Can I hear songs in my heart? I didn't hear any. I'll pay better attention this week and tell you next week.

Have you been able to get Elder Hansen's bike fixed? 

Well, not exactly. He's thinking of getting a new bike, since this one is quite old, and in bad shape. It's a little hard to work on since you need tools to do it.

What has the Spirit taught you this week?

Every missionary has a place and has an impact. And no matter what the impact looks  like in the beginning, it is always significant if we are faithful as we serve.

A couple of fun Pictures

TSAM Christmas 2015 Mission Conference

 

Elder Hansen and a fun apron when we made our own Pizza at a dinner appointment.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Swim

Dear family and others,

Great news to start out with, A member from the ward here will be taking us to see the Rubio family baptism back in Windcrest -- That means we will be able to see Sister Rubio get baptized. Better than presents is to be present at such an event. Pray that we travel safely! I might even attend the temple as we will be in the area. That would also be exciting, as I haven't entered a temple since about 18 months ago. Fewf.

Not even five weeks and I'm whisked away to a new area.  Lake Travis. We can go swimming every day. Just kidding. Water can wait. Essential, with Cedar Park covering Lago Vista, the north side of the Lake Travis, I'm on the other side of this body of water. We share the apartment with the Elders of Bee Cave/Barton Creek: Elder Aguila and Elder Blackhurst. First time that I've ever shared an apartment with other elders, and this is the 8th apartment that I've been in. Elder Hansen, the trainee of Elder Hart, is my companion. I'm serving as the junior companion. Funny, seeing as he only has 7 months in his mission. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned in this uncommon situation. There really is a lesson to be learned in all situations.     

Christmas is coming up. No snow, no chill, basically I could close my eyes and pretend that I was in California. Or inside. It'll also be fun to spend the season in a ward almost completely foreign to me. I met, perhaps five families. Or rather, I learned the names of five families on Sunday. The Christmas decorations at some houses were hysterically deep. There was one house that had more decorations that a theme park. Then, on Sunday, we went to a lesson that we had set up earlier, and this house also had a mean set up. We talked to the people there, and found out that in the community, they had a massive festival of parties set up. For 18 days straight, a different residence would volunteer to host a party each night. It seemed like a very Hispanic tradition, with many Hispanics participating later that night.

Luckily, we cover only one ward. There was a ward split not too recently, so the ward is a little bit smaller than the average size that I've seen around here. The attendance was about the same as Huebner creek. A little more quiet in Sacrament meeting because of the size. I'm excited to spend 7 weeks here instead of the normal  6 -- to compensate for the 5 week transfer that just occurred.

There are a few pocketed communities of Spanish people that we sometimes visit. It's a little sad that we aren't able to teach and baptize them, but we have our focus. Another blessing is that Elder Hansen is a Spanish speaker. We will be able to practice together throughout the day. He has already demonstrated a hardy desire to speak Spanish every day. Sometimes it shames me the amount he speaks in comparison to me. I need to pick it up.

I'll need to develop an exercise plan and pace myself if I plan to return home as a super-hunk. Just kidding. Just a healthy body is reward enough for the effort you put into it. It doesn't help that our apartment has an entire drawer devoted to candies and treats sent from home to the missionaries here. There are quite a few in there. I need to pace myself. Did I mention that I need to pace myself? I need to pace myself.

Lots of good news ahead of us; our most progressing investigator is R. He is set to be baptized on the Saturday after the 26th. He seems to already be well acquainted with the members and fits right in. I will inherit the opportunity to see his baptism without really have done much, if any, of the work that required him to get to this point. I'm excited for him though. He's married to a member that was really pushing to help him progress in the gospel.

Questions and Answers

Your new address indicates that you are more rural in your present ward?

Well, I suppose to a degree. The houses here are large like the houses of Cedar Park and Carriage Hills. Many places that we go to are residential. From the looks of it, however, the areas that we cover are more of suburbs.

I know you will tell us about your new area, so do tell, please?  

It's a mid-sized area. I told you a little about the members. It'll take a little more getting to know before I can give y'all a proper description.

What are your thoughts related to this last months of opportunities and challenges serving?

 Time goes so fast. If life continues at this pace at home, which it likely will, my kids will grow up and serve missions before I can lay grasp on the idea. Time is short. I've yet to hate a single area that I've served in, and I've had so many different areas to serve in. Life will likely send plenty of more variety.

I've been impacted by every single companion that I've served with. Directing this to future missionaries, it makes me wonder what impact have I had on others? Will they remember me as the companion that helped them grow, or impeded their growth? What opportunities will I have, even as I approach the end of my mission? (A cat just fell into a Jacuzzi.  Oh wait, false alarm, it was empty of water.   My mind is scrambled.

I'm eager to find as many people as I possibly can. TOUCH as many people as I can.

What tender mercies has the Lord sent you this week of change?

Well, being able to attend the Rubio baptism is a tender mercy. I had in my mind the moment I discovered I would head to Austin that I wouldn't be able to attend it. But, I talked to President Slaughter, and he said that as long as a member took us, it would be appropriate. *Dances*

The frog I caught the other week.

Bluebell ice cream came back to San Antonio, just in time for me to leave.

Merry Christmas y'all. Enjoy the journey. Even if it is filled with snow. Or no snow at all.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Songfilled Six Months

Dearest family and friends!

It's the middle of December and our companionship is still sporting short sleeve shirts. Last year to do the same, especially with one's back exposed to the chilly wind would have been fairly foolish. While I was guessing the weather this year would be the same or similar, I was pretty much incorrect.

How in the world is it fairing back home, and elsewhere?

Cats, lizards, snails, and frogs. This Wednesday we did service for a member of one of the local English wards. While my two companions helped to fell trees and the other missionaries Elder Hanks and Elder Carter dug a trench in the front yard, I enjoyed cleaning out their pool using this handy little device. It has a net attached to it and it launches jets of water to create a simple vacuum that when attached to the end of a pole can suck up leaves that have fallen to the bottom. I surprisingly enjoyed myself while doing this job. After a while, I found that a frog had been chilling at the bottom and I challenged myself to snag it into the device. It got away the first few times, but eventually I must have tired it out and it disappeared as I approached it. I had no idea if I had actually had caught it, so I continued to clean. Eventually as we emptied the net bag, we found that it had actually been caught. I easily picked it up, as the little fella was exhausted. I showed it to everyone to prove that I had caught it, (the cat episode from a few weeks ago was met with unbelief and criticism) and then released him, lovingly dubbed as Felix, into the wild.

Later that week we found a lizard as we traveled to the club house of our apartment for use of the Wifi. We took a few pictures with it, played around with it, and then let it go as well.

We found a snail at the doorstep of someone we were visiting, and took pictures. Those were not as exciting. And of course, the local cat, Luna, roamed around throughout the week. If I hadn't mentioned, we live in the same complex as our zone leaders do, so we frequently visit them after nightly planning and chill out. Apparently they got into a few scuffles with Luna, and are at war with her.

Elder Pino of the Seventy visited our mission this week, and he told President Slaughter many times of how proud he was of the mission. He taught us in the language of Spanish, and a native speaker translated him for the English speakers. I found it pretty entertaining that when Elder Pino told a joke, there would be two groups of laughs, one from the Spanish speakers, and then one from everyone else. Almost like there was a laugh track installed. He told of the importance of sharpening our axe, or other words, of studying hard every day to sharpen or resolve. He also gave the parable of the melons:

A group of laborers decided to get together and sell melons. They put their money together and bought a reasonable sized truck, filled it with melons that the purchased for a dollar, and set out to sell them and make a profit. They sold the melons each for a dollar, and by the end of the day, they found that they had lost money. They were dumbfounded! The got together and pondered the situation. At last, one of them came up with a solution: we need to buy a bigger truck!

Many of our efforts can be lost and wasted if we do not approach the work in the correct way. An unsharpened axe can take several days to cut down a healthy tree, but a sharpened one, which takes about an hour to sharpen, can cut down the same tree in about two hours. Are we approaching things of a spiritual value with the wrong mindset?

I've had to think the same thing. There have been times in which I have pondered my effort and where it is going.

I've come to realize, that starting on the 15th, I will have exactly six months before I leave this mission in Texas. I learned from my leaders that with the MTC change of two weeks to three, anyone going home after march will have a week extension. My family may disagree, but I'm happy to serve more than a full two years, rather than the earlier anticipated less than two years. I can't remember, Dad, how long did you serve? I'll have six months to also ensure that I come back home in awesome good physical shape.

BIG NEWS to finish off: There was a meeting for the Spanish Speakers of San Antonio on Tuesday night, where many members attended. I saw Brother and Sister Rubio for the first time in a while, and she announced that she will likely be baptized on the 26th of this month. Boy, I was elated to learn of that news. I hope they noticed that my Spanish was better. I want to stay in contact with the missionaries serving there now and hopefully I can attend the baptism. WOOT WOOT WOOT WOO!

Questions and Answers

Have you seen any uniquely San Antonio style Christmas decorations? 

Hmm. Other than the apparent lack of snow down here, I haven't really noticed anything uniquely San Antonian. There's also blow up decorations too, but that isn't terribly unique either. Recently I've notice that some people take a different approach and use the spot light light set of lights that casts an avid array of different lights on a house, rather than the lights being on the house itself. Cool, but maybe not unique either. I have no idea.

All of the people you found to teach last week seems really good - can you give us an update those happenings?

 We haven't met with Diana and her family. Last night we endured a long conversation with Joel, someone that we found around the same time. I'm not sure if I talked about him last week. He had a lot of concerns on his mind, and we listened, and listened, and listened. Finally we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he committed to read it. He seems to have some struggles in his family and his recovery from sins of his past. He's going in the right direction though.

Do you feel that people's hearts are softened because of the season?

I'd say so. We've managed to share the recent Christmas video with a fair amount of people, and President Slaughter wants us to know that we should take advantage of the season. "The time to act is now" as he said.

How has the Lord blessed you with His comforting Spirit this week?

Earlier in the week Elder Bartier and I got into a fight. He was angry at me, and I wasn't quite sure why. That night I walked into the empty room that houses my closet, laid on the ground and cried for a little bit. The next day we talked things out and I found out what his concerns with me were. I knew that things would get better even as I was sad that night.

Fun Pics:

The only spicy thing you'll really find in Puerto Rico, as a member told us at dinner. Translated, it says "My Mom Bites."

  

Tostones, a native treat in Puerto Rico. Usually dipped in "Mayoketchup,"

 which is usually named "fry sauce" by those of a more American background.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Let's tie it all together

Good day to you all,

Have you all seen the new Christmas video, #ASaviorIsBorn? If you haven't, I would urge you to do in soon. If you don't, I will urge you to do it again. If you repeatedly fail to watch it, I will shun you for a while to show you how serious I am about it. There is always a spirit that is hard to replicate that come from the yearly church videos we get. Better yet, how in the world can you reject children? "And they shall call his name, EMMANUEL *head shake*."

I am quite surprised by the lack of cold weather thus far. Only a sweater has been required at the worst of it, and only barely. I haven't yet needed to break out the coat yet. I remember last year in Universal City, the cold snapped at you. Biking down through cold wind didn't really help I suppose.

We had an exchange with Elder Fish. He's an area leader that came out just a transfer after me. He humbly taught and had a pretty spanking-good vocabulary.

Elder Fish in Our Apartment

This last week we found plenty of people to teach. Two families were interested in seeing the new video, and we are set to go by them again. A teenager, D, and her family, and a younger father, J, and his. I will refrain from listing all the names for cause of my laziness. I do not encourage you to follow this example I suppose. It will be exciting to see where the two families go, and if they make it as far as the temple soon. We had the opportunity to share the video with many other people, as it has been a great advantage to carry the video with us, instead of hoping that those we meet have smart phones and internet connection. It's several times easier to share the video this year than it was last year.

The food highlight this week was "Promised Land Eggnog."  It even had a scripture printed on the carton. Does this stuff exist back home? Anybody know? It's probably the best eggnog I have ever tasted. All three of us bought a half gallon jug of it last week. BEST. BEBIDA (drink). EVER. Who needs alcohol when you have eggnog (the problem being that people occasionally put alcohol in the eggnog (grrr.)). Otherwise we had spaghetti for the first time this transfer yesterday. The family that fed us was bilingual, making it a bunch easier for them to consider spaghetti.

The other day the child-lock got engaged on the backseat door. None of us know how it happened. As a result, I had to wait for my companion to let me out of the car. Finally I was fed up enough that I opened the window and reached over to let myself out. Funny thing being, the next day the child-lock disengaged. Elder Bartier and I switch off who gets the front seat every day. With my luck, the child-lock will re-engage when I take the back seat again.

I drove the other day. Our zone leaders needed an extra missionary to go to a dinner appointment of theirs with single sisters in their ward, so I drove that day. We found a few interested people. No crashes (especially into house pillars (I actually think it was better for the house that I hit those pillars. They didn’t have cement set into the pillars, so getting them replaced increased the integrity of them (I only hit one pillar though.))).

I'm hoping that I receive another chance to train a missionary. It makes me glad to invest a little into the future of future missionaries. Who knows what will happen.

Questions and Answers

Is your next transfer date the week before Christmas or after? 

The transfer date is happening a week earlier than normal (on the 17th). I might stay, I might go.

How are J and J?   

J got sick again. We're hoping they get well enough for the Tuesday night event. Elder Pino of the seventy is coming to address the Spanish speakers here in San Antonio. What's better, the event is happening in our zone. We're trying to invite a bunch of people to attend so that they can feel the spirit coming from a Special Witness of Christ. Hopefully those two will be there.

How has the Spirit guided you this week in your service? 

I'm beginning to realize that I'm not as respectful of my companions as I could be. I tend to take their help for granted. The Spirit helped me to realize that by increasing in love for my companions, I can increase in love for those we teach as well.

How is the speaking of Espan~ol going?

Diariamente (daily)! It's great to teach in Spanish, write in Spanish, study in Spanish, and practically think in Spanish. We make it a goal to speak nothing but Spanish after dinner time each day (6pm on). I want to go an entire day without speaking English.

Have a good Christmas season! Don't get too caught up with the commercial aspect.

We went to a restaurant courtesy of a member and bough big smothered burritos. Elder Bartier said he was still hungry after eating it. ???

Still Hungry??

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

I Got A ñack For This Area ñow

Greetings oh ye fair peoples!

Pretty good week. Elder Lawrence has been coughing like crazy, and Elder Bartier finally convinced him to call someone about it. And because I caught a little of what he was sparing with, I got dragged to the doctors too. I'm getting better and I sure do enjoy not coughing up disgusting phlegm. Even the word looks awful.

Thanksgiving in a Spanish ward wasn't at all what I had supposed it would be like. A member and her two daughters took us and the missionaries from the singles ward (Alamo 2nd ward. Does it ring any bells for y'all?) to Cracker Barrel. I had never been there before. We went around the table and said what we were grateful for. I have been grateful for God's gift of air. I bet that air thinks we take it for granted for every day. I declare the awesome authenticity of air. Anyways, I ordered the Thanksgiving plate. I couldn't find myself not eating classic Thanksgiving foodlums. It had turkey, ham, a sweet potato casserole, cranberry something-or-rather, and I order dumplings on the side. Pretty good food! They bought us these pretty cool Texas coasters that I will definitely make good use out of.

We as a companionship were pretty surprised by the amount of English we heard at church yesterday. The youth speaker spoke English. That wasn't too much of a surprise, but then her mother also decided to speak English. Then in third hour, we had a tutorial about the apps the church has made available, and the family history resources we have available. The family history person spoke mostly English as well. Pretty interesting.

Had a weird dream last night where I dreamt that I finished my mission, and I got sent to New York for some reason. I got lost there until I found Elder Scroggs, and then I woke up. Elder Scroggs really needs to email me. I haven't heard from him in forever.

We made some epic fajitas as a companionship. But really, because our kitchen isn't the largest, Elder Lawrence and Bartier made them and I watched form the couch. They were delicious and we called them the Sweet Mango Jamaican Fajitas. We had this hot sauce from Jamaica that we found. Pretty good. By the end of the week we had used the entire bottle.

Some people that we finally ran into were J and J. They had been meeting with missionaries for quite a long time. Because of sickness, however, we barely were able to meet them on Saturday evening. We talked about how they came to know the missionaries, and afterwards they gave us a bunch of pineapple, cereal, bread, butter, and table. They said they wanted to get rid of table, so we somewhat reluctantly said yes. They also gave us ties. Apparently it is a regular thing to come out with many more goods than you enter their house with.

Sweater weather has finally arrived. On Friday we found ourselves dashing from house to car, then to house and back to car. We wised up the next day and geared up with sweaters, coats and such. Because of all the moisture, it cuts right through you. I'm surprised it has taken so long for the weather to drop. Hey, no complaints here!

I found my wallet this week. It's a little bit embarrassing how I found it. It was on the banister of the bed in my room, but it was on the corner that is usually obstructed by the door of my closet. Oh my butterscotch! Thou fool Elder Hall! I was glad, however, that I didn't lose my eagle card from doing my eagle scout, and it came in handy to have my license for the doctor’s visit I had. Please forgive me mom and dad.

Otherwise, things are quite good around here.

Questions and Answers

Did you receive your new wallet?   

Yes. (it was meant to be a replacement, but you know the story.)

Have you seen or had another visit from your stray cat?  

Nope. There is a "neighborhood cat" that we see often. Luna, as it is dubbed, often approaches us as we go to our neighbor's home, the other missionaries, to visit every night. Elder Bartier lovingly pets it, and we wait him to finish so we can get back inside.

Is there really such a thing as dandelion candy?

You could invent it if you wanted.

What tender mercies has the Lord brought to you this week?

I suppose I am mighty grateful for my quick recovery from sickness this last week. Still working at it, but I'll be done soon. I'm grateful for my understanding companions, and their desire to work with me, rather than without, against, or in spite of me.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Dandy as Dandelion Candy

Dear loved ones, etc.,

I'm growing to love Spanish. No offense, but the gospel sounds way better in Spanish that it does in English. It's more hopeful. The word, "esperar," which means to wait, also means to hope for, to wish for, and to expect. In English we search for "potential investigators" and hope that they accept the invitation to listen. In Spanish they are "futuros investigadores," or literally future investigators. The faith oozes from every phrase, practically.

So the other night I wake up in the middle of the night. Next thing I know, I hear a cat loudly meowing. Elder Lawrence sleeps like a rock. Elder Bartier learned the proper mode of avoiding my snoring, earplugs. I was the only one awake to hear it, and the cat got louder practically each time it sounded. Irked, I got off the top bunk and tried to get the cat to follow me. It dashed the opposite direction. Finally, I give up and open the back door to let the cat leave. It darts for the opening and leaves. When we all woke up the next morning, neither of my companions believed that I heard and saw the cat. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it. How on earth it ever got in, I'll forever be puzzled.

We had a great Zone Conference. President Slaughter showed us some statistics about the mission -- how many of us considered ourselves exactly obedient, how much we used certain materials to study, and so on. It was interesting to note that a large percentage of the mission did not consider themselves exactly obedient, while President Slaughter disagreed. He said that we have a tendency to second guess ourselves, to believe that by marking ourselves obedient, we are not humble and therefore are not obedient. It was interesting. We saw the upcoming video for the Christmas campaign. I'm pretty excited to get to use the pass along cards and bring Christmas back to the person it was founded for, well, you know who.

Our trio has often labeled itself as very odd. I would often agree. Elder Lawrence has said that he is a complete opposite to me. I've yet to see that come to fruition, but he can believe it if he wants to. One day this week our zone leaders took Elder Bartier from us so that they could teach a single lady. (A rule we have is that we cannot enter the house with a member of the opposite sex present without having at least 3 of our own.)  Being in a trio has its advantages because the rule does not negate us in a tripanionship)

When we exchanged with the zone leaders I fully expected the need to translate for Elder Godfrey, who came to our area. All of our lessons were in complete English, and oddly enough he was able to contribute to the lesson. We taught S, an older mother who was hit by a car some weeks ago, and is still recovering. She asks deep questions, and was extremely interested in the plan of salvation.

We also have been trying to keep tabs on J and J. They are a couple that has been meeting with the missionaries for a while. They both got sick just as we began the transfer, so we haven't been able to meet with the just yet. They seem to be a down to earth couple. José wants to know for sure if baptism is right for him, as he has been baptized a few times before. He doesn't want lukewarm commitment.

There are still plenty of people to find in our area. Just before I arrived, the area had been through a lengthy finding dearth, and hadn't found anyone new to teach for a long time. We are hoping to change that.

This is Elder Bertelsen's last transfer. He'll be leaving fairly soon. Ugh.  Running out of mission time…

Maybe the last ever photo with Elder Bertelsen. Woah is me!

Questions and Answers

In your sparkling new area hablando Español, are your ward meetings in Spanish?

Yes. I would find it very strange if they were not. The meetings are Spanish, the speaking in Spanish, everything is just Spanish-tasic I suppose.

What is your ward like?    

Not too large. It seems like it became a ward just in the recent few years. A fair amount of Puerto Ricans, Chileans, Mexicans, a few from the Dominican Republic, and I'm sure there are others too. The bishop is a gringo though.

Are Elder Lawrence and Elder Bartier rock climbers too? 

Nope.

Is it nice having two companions to talk with, pray with, and work with?    

Of course. As previously stated, it's handy to have three to enter all homes. They are fun.

How has the Spirit guided you this week in your teaching or other insights?  

I've come to realize that I'm sometimes not behaving the best. I'm not swearing, or hurting others, or anything extremely mal-natured, but I realized that I should probably act more mature. A nice spiritual-rebuke I suppose.

Are you in a car always or biking sometimes? 

Huebner Creek covers the whole entire San Antonio West Stake. Biking might be possible, but only in the very closest wards. We mostly use the  car.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Magnifico

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Hello vosotros,

So there was a double out. That means that both Elder Brough and I both left Cedar Park/ Carriage Hills. It was a short lived experience there. But now the exciting news:

I'm serving in HUEBNER CREEK! Guess what? It's a Spanish area! After all this time and after arriving in my seventh area, I get to proselyte among the speakers of the angelic language of Spanish. I'm quite happy. It's kind of funny, because we cover the area of Uvalde. But, because I believe a Spanish missionary is there, and because we don't really have the miles to last going over there, we usually stay within San Antonio boundaries. Oh boy oh boy oh boy.

Even better, I scored two companions. Elder Lawrence is our district leader, and Elder Bartier (Pronounced, Bar-tea-ay) is with us as well. Elder Lawrence is from Kuna (Q- nuh), Idaho and Elder Bartier from Lehi. It's a kind of funny trio that we have.

My New Companions In Huebner Creek, Elders Bartier, Lawrence and Me

So I had this really strange dream the other night. I dreamed that Elder Black and I were running through this interesting half steam-punk half normal city trying to get to a meeting on the other side of the City. He was running quite fast, and I asked him to slow down so that I could keep up, and if I fell behind he could leave me behind. Later during the run, he found a car and got in and drove away. So to catch him, I got a running start and flew after him, and dropped into his car from the air.

We got to the meeting late, and somehow the meeting changed to a play rehearsal. I did not realize that I was supposed to memorize the script before the rehearsal, and I panicked. Then later somehow someone kidnaps me and bakes me into a pastry, and these Indian guys are about to eat me, when I start teaching them the restoration in Spanish to them. Unfortunately, my words don't mean the same thing to me as they do to them, and they are about to eat me, when I start speaking English and they understand that somehow. There was more to the dream I had but I have forgotten it. It was quite strange.

We're looking to find some people to build the kingdom in the area. We have some people that we are working with already, and on Friday we found a four generation family living together. The Grandmother listened to us, and we're set to go by them again.

One of the members from the ward who moved from Puerto Rico fed us the other day. He was quite amusing to listen to and he taught us about a native dessert there called flan de queso, which is basically a cheese cake tasting dessert. It was funny to hear him drop 's' sounds all over the place, especially when he said "pescado" (fish) which then turned into "pecado" (sin). He's going to make us cheese flan the next time we come by.

It's really cool to be in a trio working in this ward. Elder Bertelsen worked in this area once, and when I came from Austin to San Antonio, he saw me and we hugged for a good thirty seconds. I love that Elder, he really helped me when I struggled. He was excited to learn that he worked in Huebner Creek. In fact, some of his recent converts live there. I'll have to go pay them a visit.

Oh, and a bonus, some time ago Johnny and Christina got baptized in the Uvalde ward. Elder Downer sent me some pictures. Boy oh boy, things are going great.

Questions and Answers

What's new this week?  

Well, transfers and the new area. For those of you who do not know, my parents have a map of Texas at home, where they use pins and string to label the different places I go. It probably has a very interesting path now.

Are recent events in the world and the Church affecting your interactions with people?

Not terribly

What really did Elder Robbins say about simplicity?

He listed many ways that complication can weaken our spirituality. 

What has the Spirit taught you especially this week and how has it helped you?

I was so worried when I lost my wallet a few days ago. (Oh yes, this happened). When I prayed to ask for help to find it, I felt distinctly that I was not going to find it. I didn't what to believe that, so I searched and searched. Finally when I realized that that was indeed a prompting, I felt comfort that things would result ok.

How is Texas weather treating you?

Very mild. We're in for some smashing weather soon, I'd bet. It was funny, because my ipad said it would have a 95% chance of raining, and it didn't. I laughed with because of the chance that that would happen, but then I realized my app was still calibrated to Cedar Park. Then I realized again.

My new address:

6298 Lockhill Rd #704

San Antonio, TX

78240

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Tappity Tappity

How's it?

Pretty good week this week. It didn't rain nearly as much as I thought it would. It was funny, we got internet connection this one time and my weather app said it had a 95% chance of raining on us in the next ten minutes. Nothing at all happened. The anticlimax was so thick you could cut it with a knife and spread it on toast.

At dinner we got some time-turners from members. Finally, now I can squeeze three years of work into the two years I'm called to serve. I also am waiting on a member to make me a few tie-dye shirts. I'm pretty excited for this, especially since the person who makes them is really good at what she does. Oddly enough, you pick up more trinkets than you think you will on a mission. No wonder it becomes so difficult to fit everything at the end of the two years.

So this last Sunday we had something called a regional conference. I had never heard of one before, and I don’t remember attending one. Perhaps my parents can fill in where I can't.  Elder Robbins, Sister Reeves, Elder Corbridge, and Elder Oaks spoke to us along with our stake president. Elder Robbins added to the insights given by President Uchtdorf in the latest conference about simplicity. His words were too complicated to understand. Just kidding. With that, we had a few hours extra to proselyte, with our regular 5+ hours toppling only into the 2 required for the conference. Definitely less church stress as a result.

I've begun to realize that the sister missionaries that came out with me are now beginning to enter the last months of their mission life. Dad gum, I'm old! Not just old, but more like ye-olde. And when I finish my service, President and Sister Slaughter will be on the ending cusp of theirs. Ouch, time goes by too quickly.

None of our investigators made it to church however. I was sad, but I'll get over it eventually.

Questions and Answers

How is your heart?

Pumping, healthy, likely isn't gunked with too much cholesterol.

And how do you observe your good companion's, Elder Brough's, heart to be doing?

Similar? He's pretty good. He, like Elder Black, is not prone to show too much emotion on the surface, even when he is happy.

 Has your test shirt been useful?

FANCYTASTIC  (For those who don’t know, my Mom sent me a new shirt and asked if it was the right size.)

Could you still use a more tailored at the waist fit?     (From Mom again.)

Nar. (No)

How are the people you serve doing?  

K's fine. He's had some concerns about recent church doctrine that we will likely have to overcome. T is progressing slowly, and we have been advice to take it slow with him. T2 keeps missing church. It's a little frustrating. Praying for a miracle on his behalf. And D is fine, but we didn't see her last week. I wonder if I will see them all again, or be transferred. ????

How is the Lord helping weakness to become strengths in you because of your obedient service as a missionary?

I'm a spoiled missionary. My energy tank is frequently full though I probably wouldn't have in in the same circumstances otherwise.  I'll fill in more next week.

Do you know how much you are loved?

Yes. Ja vohl. Sí.

What tender mercies has the Lord sent you this week?

Seeing D and K progress more than they have in a long while was nice. I don't know, the biggest tender mercy has simply been staying here on a mission. These two years are the longest short time I've ever had.

Pictures!

Elder Garver caked the Sisters. The sisters had made the cake for my birthday. How nice!  (The baking of the cake, not the caking of the bakers.)

The district in normal.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Some Measure of Success

Hello my friends,

We are enjoying some fun bowling right now. I haven't bowled for quite a long time. We'll see how well I do.

So, it looks like this week we enjoyed some measure of success. Some of the people that we've been working that have met with missionaries for a long time are progressing now. Ken has met with missionaries for going on three years. He wasn't able to make it to church yesterday but he has accepted the message a little more than he has before.

We've met with him fairly consistently since I got into the area.

Then there is Dani. She has met with missionaries for even longer. I just can't remember how long. Her struggle is that those of her family aren't very religious. She fears that they will distance themselves from her if she were to be baptized. I don't really think she has anything to worry about. But of course, those we teach have largely different perspectives on the process than we do.

Then last week we had a zone meeting. It went all right. I needed to have more focus than I did. The fun thing was that I was able to direct President's interviews.  This is something that I really hadn't done before.  My interviews were so short, I felt like I could have been better prepared for it. Well, short doesn't mean bad I suppose.

Trunk or treating was fun to watch. We had a lesson with Tyler during the event, and a member from the ward was kind enough to give us candy for our birthdays. We didn't eat any of the chili because we had already eaten. I never have gone to a trunk or treat before. MOM! DAD!  Why have I been so deprived? Just kidding. I haven't missed anything.

I also enjoyed exchanging with Elder Shields in his area. Because members in their ward love them, they have Tempurpedic beds. Quite comfortable, but short lasted. We enjoyed knocking some doors in a complex. I've never met so many people who came from India. They are courteous, but uninterested.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Eight Lives Left

Dear Loved Ones,

Time moves faster than I really would like it to. It seems just yesterday that I received Elder Tews as a companion, and just that same afternoon that I arrived in Uvalde, or that night that I went to sleep in the little house of Carrizo. I will not mention anything about my age, which I was thinking about because it was my birthday this week.

This weekend the community got some much anticipated rain upon itself. I cracked out the umbrella and coat for the first time in a while. Last winter we rode on bikes as cavalry. Maybe this year we will roll out in heavy artillery. A lady that we serve on occasion was very happy to have the rain. She had been hoping and praying for it at least since I got here.

I got a much needed haircut. Last week we had exchanges with Elder Garver and Elder Shields and Elder Clawson and Elder Hill. It was enjoyable to take Elder Hill's place because only a letter would change -- and a height change, voice change, and well, more than enough things got switched up.

Elder Garver taught me the blessings of having a good attitude. I've decided that I need to use the Book of Mormon more often since the exchange with Elder Clawson. Besides the flood of rain, we talked to many who are amiable.

Because the member feeding us this said it was a highlight to our missions, I thought I'd bring light to it -- we ate spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti squash is this really weird squash that forms into little strands reminiscent of spaghetti. Supposedly healthier, clearly crunchier.

Elder Scroggs and I wanted to make the same dish a long time ago, but the price of the food didn't agree with our budget. Speaking of Elder Scroggs, I haven't heard from him in the longest time.  Some companionships simply do not stay in touch!

Questions and Answers

*Are y'all having 80's weather or still 90's? *

um, probably the 80's, but I'm not sure. It was quite cold as it rained, and it rained pretty much non-stop Friday to Saturday. Fall is finally setting in. The seasons don't really change all that much down here.

*If your blender is broken, how can you blend a smoothie- just really fast stirring for good exercise?   *

No, but we can order a new one. That'll happen as soon as I stop being lazy and place the call.

*As with other good people you have taught and served on your mission so far, Tony seems to be progressing at his own speed. It was good of him to babysit for the little ones, though- how are things with him?*

Well, we didn't see him whatsoever this past week. He's become increasingly difficult to get ahold of him. Maybe God is trying to teach me to be more earnest in my prayers for those we teach, and place more emphasis on them in my thought process.

*  How has the Spirit helped you in your teaching this week?  *

During the exchange in the Spanish area, it helped my Spanish to be understandable, and of a good help to my companion. Much of the preparation happens during our planning where we set alongside the help of the Spirit a plan of what we are going to teach. When we come to a decision in righteousness, we can have the promised guidance needed, whether the plan goes through or not.

*How are your Espanol studies going?   *

Fine enough I would imagine. I'm glad for the opportunity to study every day.

*A joke:*

Why did the Lamanites go hungry?  Because Moroni had all the plates.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Elder Brough

Dear Family and Friends,

 Elder Brough was queezing and feeling awful last p-day, and took about until last Wednesday to recover. He said that was the first time he got sick on his mission. It’s a pretty good track record if you've gone 14 months and then you get sick for the first time. He was pretty tough about it. No real complaint, only a few favors asked.

A ward member that we visited people with a fair amount of times brought Elder Brough gatorade when he was sick.

 Tony has been pretty hard to catch as of late. We visited him, set up an appointment for the next day, and he wasn't there. We met him Saturday night to help him prepare for church, and the kids that he was babysitting decided to stay the night with him, impeding him from coming to church. During a phone call I was half inclined to tell him, "take the ankle biters with you!" but I held my tongue. He'll be baptized, but at this rate I likely will not be there for the baptism. Haber (we'll see).

So Teagan and the rest of their family moved -- just outside of the ward boundaries. I was so mad. Well, not really, just a little frustrated that they couldn't move just a few streets towards the ward and stay. If anything, we successfully handed the torch off to others, and we can focus our efforts on others.

We went to the aquarium today! Lot's of fun. I was mean to the stingrays and pinned them to the wall a few times. One of them had enough of me and flipped to the side, spraying me with several paddles of water. I got some fun pictures. They let us in for free because we are missionaries.

Questions and Answers

How was Elder Brough's birthday celebration? 

Somber. He was sick.

Also, where is Elder Brough's home?

Ye 'olde city of St. George. He experiences the same general weather of Texas minus the wicked moisture.

And what are some things about his family?

Girl. Boy, Girl, Him, Girl. His uncle got him interested in rock climbing and in a dinner with members last night, they got into a conversation that I wouldn't be able to follow.        

How are Leah, Tony, Cliff and Eric doing? And Teagan and Katherine and Ken?      

Haven't seen Leah in a while, see above for Tony, Eric falls into category with Leah. Then Teagan and their family moved.

Ken seems to oscillate between progressing and stagnation. We'll continue to work with him, but such is the life at times.

Are you still interested in smoothie recipes?

Our blender broke, but sure.    

Do you still want us to send you weird phrases for you to translate?

Think of the important words that you would need to say, but probably wouldn't think of at first. Translation helps the most when it challenges me.  

And how has the Spirit guided you this week?

In subtle ways during lessons. Of comfort when things aren't going perfect. I'll get more specific next week.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

October is like a second Spring!

Merry October y'all.

It's been a fairly normal week after the massive spiritual high of conference.

Tomorrow we will celebrate Elder Brough's birthday. It would seem that his is a few weeks before mine. Very interesting. The bad news is that Elder Brough came down with some stomach distress this morning and has been feeling horrible ever since. I'm struggling to find words to share with him to help him feel better.  But, I pray that he gets better before the birthday celebration!

Let's see, as far as our missionary work goes, we met a man named Tyler this week. Tyler's neighbors are members of the ward and introduced him to us and we got to know him a little bit. He's been going through some rough times and has felt that even his family has lent him little support. Luckily we have more family than what we have here on this earth. We taught him a little bit about the Restoration, and we're set to visit him again this week. It can be difficult at times to catch people more than once a week.

We had our first district meeting as a new district. Elder Garver is our new district leader, and he is about to finish up with his mission. It seems that as of late I've been put in the district of plenty of people who are about to finish.

It's not too often that someone you refer to other missionaries progresses well. I was happy to learn that Justin is making a big effort to meet with his missionaries and to get baptized. It was an over-joying thing to learn. It makes me wonder about the other areas I've served in and how they are progressing lately.

Elder Brough is gradually warming up to the area and we are picking up speed. We're trying to get to know all of the members of both wards to work more closely with them -- after all, they are the ones that know where those prepared are. And as we do that, we're working to talk to everyone that we can on the way. I don't have a whole lot on my mind to say this week, but I'm glad that a feeble man like me can be employed in such a great cause. I can only imagine what it will be like to fulfill this same role again when I've finished, laboring among those that are being lead to the truth.

Questions and Answers

Have you been able to communicate with Elder Matt Whetten?

I send him my weekly emails, but I really haven't gotten much from him. I'm sure he's doing well there in Oklahoma, and he was so close to being called to the greatest mission on earth (not even a gram of bias). Hopefully he's doing well, will read this email, and write me back or something. No pressure of course.

Did you get the package?

Yes. Most graciously yes!

If so, is it proving useful to you?

I'm putting the GPS to good use. Elder Hovinghoff left me with one of his to borrow until I got the one you sent me. Interestingly enough, it's a larger version of the same GPS I was using of Elder H's.

Do you think that you could use them if you received some more choir CD's?

Likely. I've forgotten how many I had left, but I could definitely use some more.

So Elder Brough and I found these Star Wars ice molds in the apartment and decided to have fun with drink mix.

Purdy happy to be hur. Lave y'all.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Imbued with Testimony

Greetings to all,

Great week with changes. Elder Hovinghoff went elsewhere, and I stay here in Carriage Park. My new companion is the devilishly spiritual (albeit a really neat oxymoron here) Elder Brough. *grand applause*. Elder Brough was trained by Elder Hutchings (you don't know him) and Elder Hernandez (you do know him). I remember when Elder Brough and his companion stayed at our apartment in Windcrest for the night before we saw Elder Hamula. He's fairly quiet. He has a knack for cleaning things (the apartment is so clean you can see your reflection off of most surfaces), and he's patient with me. We'll have the opportunity to continue to learn Spanish together. I also took the Spanish tier test, and I'm hoping that I passed finally. I did forget how to say tire, and I was a little bit embarrassed because that was a word that I had found and learned on my own. Alas, it cannot be helped. Elder Hart left his area for the first time. He had been in Las Palmas for a long time. Elder Vergara became a zone leader, and I believe that Elder Bertelsen did as well.

Elder Brough and Me

I'm serving as the junior companion this time. Not really a worry. If anything, I can rest a little and drop some of the burden at my companion's feet. I'm hoping continually that one day I get to train another missionary and that I will serve in Spanish ward. For those missionaries that are currently serving Spanish Speaking and have been struggling with English areas, there is hope. It is heresy to believe that you cannot learn Spanish outside of a Spanish area. I am proof of that. If anything, the English area invites me to push myself to learn grammar that I usually wouldn't seek.

WE HAVE NEW APOSTLES. GOOD GRAVY COATS OF GLORY! Did anyone guess correctly who they would be? I had no idea. I loved the overall theme of faith and building faith during the sessions. Do any of you plan on ponderizing for the rest of this month?  Ponderizing is going to become the next new thing -- just watch. I'll have to do my best to follow with the trend and see if I can make it for a month, then the rest of the year, and then maybe the rest of my mission. If you haven't seen conference yet, I would greatly encourage, no, exhort you to watch it. There is a reason that the temple is closed on the Saturday of conference and that we don't have sacrament meeting on the Sunday of conference. It is because the even it so important.

I bought a "Bahama Buck's t-shirt. It was going to happen eventually. Discovering that I might get transferred was motivation enough to get me to do it. I really do like shaved ice and smoothies.

Elder Brough went to get a haircut today, and I saw an old lady with a Mohawk. I guess I can now die in peace knowing that I've finally seen an old lady with a Mohawk.

Things are going smoothly. I'm hoping to find that one family that is waiting for us in the area. That is my dream -- to find an entire family prepared for the gospel. Twenty kids in the family is preferable, but at least 2 is ok.

Questions and Answers

How did you watch General Conference sessions?

Most at the church, one at the ward mission leader's home. It was interesting taking notes on my tablet. It was very efficient, except for the time I accidently erased a good chunk of my notes. That was sad, and to replicate on pen and paper.

Were you able to have any investigators watch any sessions?

Four investigators made it. Leah, Tony, Cliff, and Eric. Eric is Leah's cousin. He watched a session, but we're hoping he progresses. He apparently listened to the Book of Mormon "cover to cover" and is listening to it again.

How have things progressed with Teagan ,Cliff and Katherine?

They made it to a session of conference. If they can continue to come each week and to read from the Book of Mormon, I have no worries for them.

How are Tony and Ken doing?   

Tony progresses gradually. Ken does as Ken does. Ken has met with missionaries for a long time. We need to help him change his expectations about things. We don't want him to go another ten years before baptism. We might have to stop going by him if he isn't willing to act on the smaller invitations we give him.

Are your prayers en Español more reverent because you have to think carefully about what you are saying?    

I'm getting to the point that I can pray in Spanish about as well as I do in English. It helps a little, I suppose. There is still more I can do to increase my vocabulary and such.

Are you staying where you are with Elder Hovinghoff or are you getting a change?    

He left. BYE ELDER.

Have you had any interesting food experiences this week?   

I'm too far away from the border to eat anything out of the ordinary.

How have you been blessed with tender mercies from the Lord's Spirit this week?

I'm glad to have a companion that is easy to get along with. I don't see too many bumps in the road planned with Elder Brough. A big tender mercy, though it may seem irrelevant is the good nights of sleep I've gotten in the last few weeks.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission