Loving greetings to you all,

I must say that packing all of my things is stressful. With the help of Elder Anderson I've managed to keep myself aloft emotionally. Add sickness, reduce time, and by the end it is apparent that the Lord trust me to do hard things. I surely will.

Yesterday during sacrament meeting one of the counselors announced that it would be my last Sunday in the mission field. I hardly expected that to happen. Walking through the halls there were friendly faces that said goodbye. The hardest part of the goodbyes is right now.

And even more astonishing, we learned that we are getting doubled out, and that a pair of sisters will take our place. Wow, I may be the only Elder to finish his missionary time in the Lake Travis area, especially if the ward begins to grow. I know that Sister McCarty will likely be in the area with a trainee that is coming this week into the mission. Don't worry -- I hadn't talked about Sister McCarty before. She made a good impression on me during the zone conference this past week. I know that she will take good care of the area.

--------------- An update from Elder Anderson that I thought you might like to read ---------------

Sorry, I am a little short on time, we are getting doubled out of Lake Travis, so I need to start packing and cleaning. (We will be replaced by sisters. The apartment must be spotless.)

We had a second Zone conference on Thursday, the last with President Slaughter. It was very edifying and I can see the power of righteous living. It really opens people's minds up to the spirit. How can anyone think this church is not correct when they see all the fruits of it? It is like denying the fact that  water turns to steam when boiled, despite the undeniable evidence of millions who have put it to the test. It is logical, and those who feel it know, the church is true.

On Saturday and Sunday we found two Filipinos in some condos who have a lot of interest and a lot of potential. It was a testimony to me of member missionary work. These Filipinos have a roommate who is a member, Sis. Viceral, who often attends a different ward and studies the scriptures with Goldie (one Filipino we found with epic readiness to hear the message) every evening. When we gave Goldie a Book of Mormon, she accepted it very gratefully, and wants to talk with us later. Well, I think the sister missionaries will be good for this area, and especially for Goldie and her friends. They will actually be
able to enter the house without a member. Although it is not a commandment for Sisters to come on a mission, their work is very appreciated and highly necessary. They can go places and open hearts
that we as elders cannot, despite our skill and calling. They who have a desire are called to the work, and will become much better people for and by it!

The church is true. I know it for I have seen the fruits of living it and they are unique to this organization. As Bro. Polakowski, a ward missionary, said the other day, "After the many witnesses I have had about the truthfulness of the church, all doubts are illogical now."

--------------------------------- End of Elder Anderson’s Update -------------------------------------

Questions and Answers

What can we do for you that you may not have mentioned?  

I need prayer from anyone who can offer it. If I don't mention it earlier in my email, I did catch a cold mixed with allergies a few days ago. Home represents the love of my family and friends, and I've anticipated it intensely for the last couple days. Please, feel free to plan out a few slow paced activities for when I get home. When I know that my family is on my side, it helps me reduce in stress.

 How has your final week been, Darlin' Elder with your good Elder Anderson?

This past week was full of miracles. We had another Zone Conference focused on where to find the prepared. I took sufficient notes, and participated by raising my hand from time to time. I knew nearly every face that attended that Zone Conference (it involved missionaries serving in Austin and such), and I talked to many others. There was and Elder Davis who originally served in Guadalajara, but was re-assigned here. He talked quite slow, and he had a peaceful demeanor.

This ward treats us so well. I love the members here, and will do my best to keep in touch. Though it is difficult to say this, I must remind myself to take things one task at a time.

How are N and D?  

D has been battling with some health concerns, and we haven't talked to her this last week. We received a text this past week from her, telling us that she wasn't interested anymore. However, Elder Anderson and I agreed that she couldn't have texted it. We also met and talked with N and her husband B, when they were on their way out of the house. This was a mini miracle. I know that their family will receive missionaries well in the future.

And S? 

She has been reading from the Book of Mormon a little bit. She still has questions, though we only talked to her for a little bit when we saw her last week. I'm excited to see how her family progress.

And H, P and F? 

H continues to work hard. We went to his house this week with a member, and invited him to church. Up to this point, I hadn't recognized that he didn't know he could come to our ward if he wanted. In my emotionally broken Spanish, I expressed to him what his blessing would be as he exercised faith, and came to church. He said he would make an effort to come. He didn't arrive, but I know that my effort was never wasted on that good, kind father. We didn't see P or F this past week.

 And, of course, Sister Smith? 

I didn't actually see her this past week. She didn't make it to church, but she was visiting family. With Sister missionaries taking our place, they will be able to serve her in many ways that we couldn't. I am whole-heartedly blessed to have met her.

How have the tender mercies of the Savior's atonement helped you this important week?

The Lord continues to heal my wounds. Sometimes when I was having a hard time this past week, I remembered a hardship in my life. But when that happened, and I was willing, the Lord was able to heal that experience, and leave it feeling unwounded.

I wrote a considerable amount in my journal for this past week. I didn't write everything, but I will share those things in my journal when I return. For now, I need to have confidence in the future.

With all the love I have, given of Christ,

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Pictures!

The following pictures will not contain lengthy captions. These were taken at the zone conference.

Elder Stanley (to the right) served in Uvalde and knew Elder Bertelsen well.

Zone Conference Group Photo

All Land is the Lord's

Dear everyone, essentially,

"This is my Father's world," and while it doesn't always seem like it, God gave us the world to learn and grow it. Doubtless many people don't keep it spiritually clean. Anyways, I am still loving missionary service down here. I know I will come home soon. That is important, but so is this lemon that I like to call Texas. It has endless good if we make lemonade. I feel like writing deep complicated words right now.

That is not the Lord's way! He speaks to us in the language we can understand, even when that language is Texan. Ja ja. Last Monday after emailing I had a load of stress fall on me. The other elders gave me a blessing and I still feel the effect of the blessing work. From then to the zone conference, we were stressed. Quite simply, stress hangs heavy. Elder Anderson astounds me every day with his willingness to work. That makes me happy too.

After the zone conference, which was quite sentimental, we felt a boost. Then we crashed emotionally again, but we picked things up from there. When church came along I sorely needed it. The Sacrament is a vital ordinance for us. And since then, I've felt powered up.

Actually this morning we went to a Memorial Day breakfast held at the ward level. I knew nearly everyone there. That astounded me. We got to enjoy the food, and there were leftover pan cakes, toppings, and everything, really. We're going to a member's home later to pick the food up. Leftovers really do boost a missionary's weekly budget. This has been an exciting p-day already.

And it is regrettable, or whatever, but I need to out of necessity plan how I'm getting back home. Packing this round will be a bit tougher. Not too tough, as Elder Anderson is a moving expert. He'll likely give me practical advice of how to pack 2 years of my left to send home. I'm not going to cry, I hope!

Questions and Answers

How was the zone conference? 

It went fantastic! All of the people that I saw made it heartwarming to attend. A leader in the mission asked me to take down a paragraph or so of the experience to save for "mission history." Because that is something important to do, I'm going to make sure I write that first. Hopefully I will have described the conference before this email is done.

What are your thoughts on pressing forward?  

Awesome. My thoughts are awesome. Just kidding. Pressing forward seems to be a principle of enduring to the end. I bet we all at times hit a point in our life where we think, "now what?" I'm going to do my best to keep busy when I get home. A "charitable busy" will be very therapeutic to engage in. Pressing forward "with steadfast faith in Christ" is the essence. We feel and understand that essence during the sacrament, scripture study, and untold many other ways we worship God.
How often do you have 'Ammon days'?  

We've been thinking of doing those once a week. We ourselves schedule Ammon days, so the day can and probably will vary. We've gone out two Fridays thus far.

Are the Texas lizards and frogs coming out in great numbers?  

The reason why animals are bigger in Texas is likely because of how green it gets out here. Growth of trees and things is fantastic. We've seen lizards, frogs, snails, mice, a fox, several dogs and cats, and a faun that made it into someone's house. Animals are hilarious.

How are your people doing (including Sister Smith)? How has the Lord blessed you with his loving Spirit this week?

Sister Smith is doing quite well.  She went to a wedding of her family this past weekend, and so she was not able to come yesterday. I do not worry for her however.

We've discovered that our teaching pool may be smaller than we wanted to suppose. Finding H at home can be tough, and we've needed to move on with others. The ward has so much sincere growth. Even when people have been baptized already, we love to see people familiar and not attend with us. Brother R was an example of that, as he has been working enough that it was fantastic to see him again. Elder Anderson hadn't met him yet. Plenty of people came to visit as well, and the B family made it to church as well.

Pictures!

We parked near a familiar member's home and saw the fox prowling his grounds. When it left, Elder Anderson took a picture.

Do you remember how we said we did service a while ago? We helped build a tree house. Our help was little in comparison to the actual project, but I loved being a part of it.

We took this picture when Bro T. gave us a tour of the service project tree house.

The Tree House service project crew

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission