New Venue in Austin Zone

Good day to everyone, family, friends, and others,

Great News! I learned from other missionaries that Johnny and Vicky from Uvalde ward were baptized. Ed hasn't been baptized yet, but he is getting closer. If all goes well, Sister Rubio should also be baptized in late September. I have had the chance to see many familiar faces recently, and I will definitely meet new ones in my new area:

After a single transfer serving in Carrizo Springs, now I am covering Cedar Park/Carriage Hills wards, all the way over in the Austin Stake, near Round Rock. Because of the distance between the border zone and Austin, other missionaries from the zone and I drove up to San Antonio Wednesday night, and we went to transfer meeting the next morning. In the meeting I found out I would be serving in the Austin area, and I endured another long trip there. I've had my fill of long road trips recently.

In the San Antonio transfer meeting, I sat next to my good friend Elder Hart and his trainee. They will be together for another transfer in Las Palmas. In the Austin transfer meeting which happens in the afternoon, I sat with Elder Drennan. I saw other familiar faces like Elder Vergara and Elder Zelaya, and it was wonderful to get a hug from Elder Bertelsen.

My new companion is Elder Hovinghoff, a missionary originally from Mt. Pleasant, Utah. His service is a great example to his family, who aren't active in Church. Because the wards that we cover are English, we will need to treasure our opportunity to speak Spanish with one another, as he is Spanish called. Elder Hovinghoff has yet to serve in a Spanish area, and we are the only Spanish missionaries in our district.

On Sunday we attended both wards. In total, we attended about 5 hours of church. I loved being able to take the sacrament twice. With so many members of each ward to get to know, meet members for the first time every day.

To finish, I met a few missionaries new to the mission that I recognized. Elder Borren sang in choir with me, and it was exciting to see him.

Here's a fun picture with Elder Evans at the famous (for missionaries, anyway) Super Tacos Morales in Eagle Pass.

Questions and Answers

Those pictures from your zone conference.  Was that the entire zone?

It was the entire zone. Because of the distance from everyone else, it is hard to meet with other zones.

How often have you gotten to go to the temple?

I have been to the outside, but I haven't gone into the temple yet. It's been a while, I would love to go. The principle for temple attendance is we are allowed to attend the temple twice during our time serving. Visiting the temple with recent converts may cause us to go more than twice. We are counseled to remember our focus towards nonmember families.

Que` vas hablando espan~ol todo el tiempo con tus compan~eros?    

We study a little bit during language study every day. We also have the opportunity to speak it with each other during the day. I will miss the opportunity to speak it with people we meet during the day.

What experiences have brought you inner peace this week?

I was struggling to get adjusted to the area, so I asked my companion for a priesthood blessing. In it, I was reminded of the positive influence I've had on others, and the challenges that will come. The Lord truly loves us, and so he tests us, and allows trials to occur. I cannot foresee the coming weeks clearly. I do not know how things will turn out. But I do know that relying on the Lord will allow me to press through. He is there.

As always, how are your people?

We met with Gerardo another time before I left. I have no doubt that he will progress well. We're looking to find families to teach in this area. We're not working closely with anyone in the area yet, and it is hard.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission