Hello Family, Friends, and All Others,
Conference was great. Serving as a missionary really helps
me to appreciate a modern day prophet and his counsel for us. Many people here
in Texas don't have that restored truth residing in their heart, and that can
be the cause of some difficulty. I hope you all enjoyed conference. If you
missed it, make an effort to watch at the very least a single session. But
really, you can't just watch one! :)
For me, a few of the messages that seemed to emanate the
loudest were of temple marriage and family, reading the Book of Mormon
everyday, everyday, everyday, the role of Christ and His Atonement in our lives
(grace included), and preparing for when Christ comes (which should be a daily
journey as well). What did y'all notice in conference? What will you do differently
because of the messages you've heard? I will be literally waiting for next
conference, trying to implement the things I noticed. A fun bonus was that
yesterday I wore nearly the same exact tie as Elder Holland was wearing, except
with more frequent stripes. The stripes remind me of the fall of Adam and Eve,
redeemed by the sacrifice of our Loving Savior (the knot of the tie).
This week was pretty good. As I had guessed, in trying to
meet with people again we discovered which were more ready, and which were less
ready. I'll try to describe our experience with some of those who received us.
When we went to visit Brother Najera, he told us that he had
thought about it, and he didn't think he should continue to meet with us, but
that he should stick to the church he was going to. Interestingly, Elder
Drennan and I came to the conclusion that he was right. Being as old as he was,
it would be extremely difficult for him to be active in the church if he were
baptized. His family, or so as we could tell, was not as interested as him, and
family support would be critical to his spiritual growth. We were able to plant
a seed that might be harvested on the other side, or by another faithful set of
missionaries. I know that our Heavenly Father's love is great, and that he
hasn't by any means lost his chance to receive the gospel. We see him on
occasion while we are in the neighborhood.
Another few people that we've been working with are Karla
and her son, Joe. She's a young mother with three sons, the oldest of which is
Joe. Karla likes to talk, but after a few meetings we've determined that she
has a desire to learn -- not simply talk. Her husband, bless his heart, is a
little reclusive, and while we've seen him, we've never been able to introduce
ourselves. It's a pity, because we know that the family will progress the best
together. We'll keep him in our prayers. This family lives with Karla's father,
and he speaks Spanish. When we ran into him during one of our visits with Karla
and Joe, he talked about how our churches, his the catholic church and ours,
are the same. Except he did it with really quick, semi slurred Spanish, making
it difficult to understand. And then I believe he transition to how he thinks
this will be good for his daughter's family if it can keep them away from
harmful things. He even seems to want a Book of Mormon. A pretty confusing
conversation, but probably beneficial too. Joe has been reading a bunch, and
Karla has read a little as well. We got confused, because Karla told us that
Joe had been reading a few "sections" of the Book of Mormon. If by
some way he mistakenly started reading the doctrine and covenants off his phone
(he's only 11 but yes he has a phone), more power to him. I'm excited for this
family.
We met with Gracie during the week, and read the
introduction with her. We had a great member come with us, and she asked plenty
of questions. Towards the end, she asked where "Saints" from the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came from, and we explained. She
then proceeded to tell us about her experience seeing a catholic saint at
church. That was a little bit of a bummer. We are hoping that her initial
interest in our message and the church wasn't simply because she thought she
saw a saint. I don't doubt she saw someone, but I hope this experience doesn't
keep her from progressing.
Meeting with Jimmy is kind of difficult, but we did catch
him this week and read a little of the Book of Mormon. We're doing our best to
help him to remember how he felt when he wanted to be a baptized a long while
ago. Rosanna will be a good example to him, but it'll be up to his reading of
the Book of Mormon to relight that candle of conversion.
We missed the family J. They're really hard to catch. We set
up an appointment with them Saturday night for Sunday night, and they missed
it. We'll keep trying with them. It's also been a while since we've been able
to catch Chris and Darian. It's understandable however, as we learned through
their family that Darian's uncle had died. It's never easy to lose family.
The family G is progressing very well. While we can only
meet with them once a week, they've been reading and that can be more important
than meeting frequently. Brother G is a good example to his family. We hope to
invite his family to be baptized, and to set a goal for them to reach. I
continue to be grateful for Christ's enabling power, enabling us to have found
them in a good circumstance earlier, so that we can invite them to come to
Christ.
On this Friday, we had a great exchange with Elder Goodman.
Serving with him for the first 5 days was great, and I love serving even more
with him during these exchanges. This time I prepared myself by creating the
goal to speak Spanish more than 50% of the time. While my Spanish is at a good
level, I really need to speak consistently in order to increase my ability even
more.
Questions
and Answers
How has been the Work
experience this week?
Slowing down a tad bit, but we're focusing on the people we
have to teach. Still trying to find, but working on retention efforts. Sunday
was a hard day to proselyte because of so much time taken by conference (don't
get me wrong, conference is important), but it was all worth it when we found
out through a text that the G family had read together.
How are the people
you are teaching?
Pretty good. Another man I forgot to mention was Joshua, a
very intelligent seeker of truth. He doesn't have much of a Christian
background, but he read religious books at a regular basis. The Book of Mormon
is next on his list. He works really long hours and on Sunday, so meeting with
him and getting to church are hurdles.
Were you able to see
much of Conference?
All of it. I even watched the first Spanish speaking talk in
Spanish. It was kind of hard to follow, but I did get some understanding, and I
got the jokes about 5 seconds late.
Do you know this week
how much you are loved?
Yes, I absolutely do. Our Savior has infinite love for us!
How was Easter for
you?
Pretty laid back. We got some Easter treats from Elder
Drennan's Mom, and watch conference. Normal Sunday otherwise, except for the
grand significance of Christ's resurrection. That's hard to miss.
How did you like
General Conference?
Is that even a question? I love Conference! Just kidding,
that certainly is a question. I was glad to see how important the family is to
our fellow Christians and many others.
Where have you been
to listen to conference? At a member’s
house? At a stake center?
We went to our regular building and watched it in English in
the Relief Society room. Spanish speakers met in the chapel.
Have you had any investigators join you?
If they watched, it was at home. Just the other missionaries
and some members. We were fed a grand lunch both on Saturday and Sunday by a
member family. I'm extremely grateful for them.
The Church is so true. Stay true to it, and to our beloved
Savior.
--
-Elder Hall
Texas San Antonio Mission
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