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