I'll Be Who You Want Me to Be

Dear Family, friends, and everyone else,

My thoughts reach out to you all. In a few days I will have served as a missionary for a whole year. This year has been one of the fastest slowest years of my life, and I am excited for another year.

Tony and Stanyelle and two of their kids were baptized the Saturday before last. I wasn't there for the event, but I am extremely glad for them. Thank you for your prayers in their behalf!

So this last Tuesday morning I said goodbye to Elder Drennan and I left with Elder Hart and Elder Bertelsen. As far as I know, he is serving somewhere close to the boarder. He was both excited to go there, and sad to leave the people here. It felt almost like an irregular exchange where we didn't leave the area whatsoever. I enjoyed working with them, and I could definitely tell that the strength I had was coming from a Loving Heavenly Father.

Thursday we had transfer meeting. Many missionaries have gone home this past transfer, and so the mission shrunk rapidly. The transfer meeting was good.  We only had a few missionaries come.

So now Elder Black and I are covering plenty of ground. I bought a cheap road map on Tuesday, and I've been using it to help navigate us from place to place. If any of you have used a GPS, don't take it for granted. I both love learning the roads of our area, and dislike that I get lost. But that's not a problem, since making a wrong turn doesn't ruin anything. So really, driving is usually only as stressful as you make it.

For now we're working on keeping the ward strong and helping people to progress towards baptism: that means teaching them about it, and helping them to understand why it is important for them. It's easy to get distracted from this, but as we remember why we are serving, our effort will go in the right direction. Don't let me forget this important point!

I love this work so very much. It changes us into who we need to be, not who we think we need to be. And as such, I'm working to stress less as we go from place to place, and to trust in the Lord with all my heart (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

Questions and Answers

We saw that there has been lots of flooding in parts of Texas- has it reached you and your ward people?    

Here and there, it has. Some of the families Elder Drennan and I were teaching are affected by the rain more than others. The same thing goes for the new families I've had the chance to meet with Elder Black.

And how has it been this past week with the transfers and combining the 10th ward work?

I little bit stressful. The ward was a tad bit disheartened at having less missionaries, but I know that things will go positively this coming transfer. A bunch of the work that we've been doing has involved being representatives of our perspective sides of the ward. I want to learn the whole north side of the ward right now, but seeing as that isn't too realistic, I'll be patient and rely wholly on the Lord. It is His work after all.

How is your new companion, Elder Black?

He's a great missionary. He expresses himself subtly in the work we do from day to day. While he likely has concerns and things to deal with, he doesn't complain to me or anyone else. It'll take some time to get used to the way he works, but I know that he can teach me many things.

What is he like? 

He's from Salt Lake City, Utah. He's quiet. He is quite musical, and he has played the piano since he was about 6.

How are your people doing? 

Sister R and her kids are doing well. We missed Omar this past week but he is still on our mind. We met with Bro. H's grand kids, and I felt good about the visit.

Are the dogs enjoying the hot weather? 

They still enjoy barking, that's for sure. The dogs on the north side of the ward seem to act differently than the ones on the south side. Elder Black demonstrates every time that we see dogs approach us that he knows how to respectfully ignore them. They then proceed to ignore us.

How has the Spirit blessed you this week?

A few days ago Elder Drennan gave me a priesthood blessing to help me cope with the change and to remember all of the things that I've learned. The blessing, eloquently and peacefully, has helped me to react better to things that usually trouble me. Jumping to another experience, one of our leaders shared with us that trials can stop being trials when we change to better overcome them. For example, sweeping the floor will seem difficult if do it with only your pinky finger, but it becomes less of a burden when we learn to use our hands and our bodies to sweep instead.

How about fun/funny experiences in this transition week?

When you serve as a missionary, you get used to having a companion. When you lose said companion, you feel a little empty. Since served with Elder Drennan for longer than I've served with any other missionary, it was hard to part from him.

Have you started using your tablets yet?

Not yet. Coming up this week, we should be getting them. I'll let you know about it next week.

No pictures this week, unfortunately. I'm hoping to get pictures from other missionaries, though.

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Continuing to Grow, Learning Restraint

Good afternoon everyone,

It seems that many things are going on at home. Life continues to move forward whether or not we are ready. Here in San Antonio, we've receive an excess of rain, especially this recent Saturday evening. If you ever wonder what the weather is like down here, guess "raining" and you'll likely be right.

Transfer news is here. 10th Ward is being combined into one area, and I'll be staying. Elder Hill and Elder Drennan are both leaving, and Elder Drennan will be going to the boarder somewhere. So using proper deductive reasoning, Elder Black will be my new companion, and he will take Elder Drennan's place. Elder Drennan is sad to leave the area, but he's also excited. I'm not going anywhere new, but we will cover the whole ward instead of a single half. Even when we stay put, things change.

I've been with Elder Drennan longer than any other Companion

Now for a review of the week:

This past week we had a great mission conference with Elder Allen and Elder Evans of the Seventy. What might of been more of a meeting to learn how to use Ipads became something much more. These servants of the Lord taught us of the importance of developing righteous digital habits. It struck me how often they used the scriptures to teach us how we should prepare to use these tools. They helped me to strengthen my understanding that the scriptures were written for our day, most especially the Book of Mormon.

Last Monday while we were out in the evening, we approached a Hispanic man who was working on his car. When we offered our help, we learned that he was a preacher for a church in the area, and we shared a little bit of our beliefs. Rather soon, however, we lost control of the situation as his Spanish out classed ours in fluency :). While frustrated towards the end, I did my best to respectfully exit the conversation, when we met Chris and Darian outside. We followed them to their home and shared something with them. It turned out that work among other things made it difficult to meet with them. We hope to continue to meet with them in the coming weeks.

When Elder Drennan and I were with Elder Pope on an exchange, we met a man named Ray. He expressed sincere interest in a modern day prophet, and we had set to come by this past week. He wasn't there when we first tried by, but on another day we knocked on the door and met Ray again, with his brother, Clay. After sharing the Restoration with them, Ray explained that he and his brother were talking about prayer just before we knocked on their door. I knew that God was mindful of them, and I felt honored to be his tool.

Outside of the weather this week, our weekend felt long. We set up appointments with many of the people we've been in contact with in this area, but nearly all of them fell through. In a scenario like this, it's easy to think to yourself "It's all right, in the evening we'll see a miracle" but the miracles were harder to see. When we got home, I was reminded of my "weakness" as we read about often in Ether 12 : 27. The difficult day drove me to my knees figuratively, and I felt myself relying more on the Lord to remain positive and to continue to work my best. Minimize the Lords role in missionary work, and get focused on ourselves and our own strength. I can no more take credit for giving a priesthood blessing to someone else than a hammer can expect payment after a construction job involving nails.

And so, though the week was difficult towards the end, I won't lose focus in the reason why I serve. I can't serve looking for recognition, or serve in the hope that I will become a leader in the mission field. Whether I serve as a leader or not, I will have a happy and successful mission.

Questions and Answers

Has weather impacted your work this week?    

In a variety of different ways. Saturday had plenty of rain that came off and on throughout the day. Towards the end of the evening, we received a few severe weather alerts, but we were able to get home before the worst of the rain got us.

The rain tends to make things hotter outside because of the moisture. Summer is on it's way.

How are Yesenia and her family, and Bro. H. and his grandchildren, and Karla and Joe and Adam?   

Gregg took us out to dinner this week at a Chinese place nearby. The food was extremely quick, but the restaurant played some distracting music off of the radio. It offered me an opportunity to practice focusing myself on the people, rather than the food or something else. We only met with Bro. H's family once this week. As we read from the Book of Mormon with them, other members of their extended family and such went in and out. Combined with other sounds, it was difficult to hear them. Regardless of the other difficulties, I was glad to see their faith grow as a family.

Karla's family is difficult to find. Elder Drennan and I joke that it's easier to catch the rest of her family at home than her. Because of the other people that we are working with, I believe that we may have to move on from her family, and only drop by occasionally.

As a side note, I learned from Elder Vergara that Tony and Staniel should have been baptized this past Saturday. If all went well, as I can be sure it did, they should be members of the church.

How has the Spirit helped you in times of change in this past while?      

Well, I feel like this is a rather deep question.

This past week was rather difficult. I feel that the studies we have every morning to a great amount to help me to survive the day, spiritually. I read recently from Alma 29. The chapter taught me that I need to be content with the work I have to do, because I am immensely blessed to have this opportunity. I feel the happiest when I can discern the needs of others and work to serve them through the guidance of the Spirit. The times that I feel down are the times that I want to serve others. This helps me to feel the Spirit.

How do you say 'enjoy the journey' en Espanol?

I could try and translate it literally, but I think I'll have a better job studying it this week and answering again next week.

What is your favorite tie?

I like this one. Not sure if I have a favorite tie. (This is a photo of us in front of the chapel. This is the only chapel in our mission boundaries that has the church's name in Spanish)

The only picture I managed to get after the mission conference this week. Elder Hart (far right) was Elder Downer's companion (middle) in the MTC. Elder Hart was Elder Olsen's and now Elder Bertelsen's companion.

Language Surrounds Us

Greetings to all y'all,

Texas is really quite diverse. I love working in this part of town because a bunch of culture hits us. As Elder Drennan and I worked to speak Spanish as much as possible during the day, we were able to find a lot of Spanish speakers from plenty of different places. We ran into someone who was painting a house with his wife, and he was from Honduras. Turns out that he had met missionaries before, and they had a profound impact on him. I'm starting to relish every opportunity that I have to speak Spanish. I never thought I could grow my speaking ability so much while serving in a Spanish ward.

I'm also developing a "Texan" accent. My s's and sh's seem to whistle a little bit. It was kind of my fault though, because I was practicing them to see if I could make them happen. No they happen without me thinking about it. Most Texans, however, don't whistle as they say those consonants though.

We've started to work with the grandchildren of one of the members of the ward here. With no prompting question from us, the other day Bro H asked if we could start teaching his grandchildren. A boy, a girl, and a boy, and none of them are baptized, but all older than 8. His daughter, the kids mother , wants to attend church again, and she is open to us teaching the kids. While I'm grateful for the opportunity to help them, it can be stressful helping them to understand. Adrian, the youngest boy, is extremely interested and asks several questions. Francis, the daughter, is a little quiet but also interested. The older son is Zack. We visited them three times in a single weekend. I want to be prepared to help them as much as I can.

Karla is back on our radar, and many miracles. When we got back in touch with her, she told us of the many concerns she's had and we were sorry for her. During the past few weeks when we were unable to meet with her, the Book of Mormon app that she downloaded kept popping up on her phone for whatever reason. She thought it was creepy, but it helped her to read during times she was stressed. I can definitely tell that God is mindful of her family. We were able to sit down and talk about the beginning of the Book of Mormon with her, and we finally got to meet her husband, Joe. Seems to be shy, but he is comfortable with us visiting, and we hope to teach them as a family. Joe, their son, Adam, and the little one seem to be doing fairly well too.

Rain has been abundant this week, and it was raining hard before church last Sunday. Sister R and her oldest made it to church, but no one else that we have been visiting in particular made it. It was a small, spiritual, sacrament meeting.

Questions and Answers

What about your new IPad?

(We received the announcement that we would receiving them soon a little bit ago) I don't know too much about the details, but we should be getting them within a month or so.

Are they going to be part of your teaching?

I would guess so. We don't know all of the details, but the IPad will definitely change how we do the Work of Salvation.

Have you had the chance to check out getting new slacks, or is that really impossible in your present area?

(For those of you who don't know, I've lost a few pairs of pants to damage and or wear and tear)

I'm hoping to repair what I can with my primary sewing and patching skills. There are a lot of shops around here, but we don't know which ones would be able to fix my pants.

Are you using you bikes at all now that it is very warm at all or is the car's efficiency just too important to not use? 

Our area is hard to bike in. Not impossible to bike, but we're being efficient with our millage. Who knows?

How has the Spirit given you wisdom and strength as you and Elder Drennan have sought to teach what the Lord wants you to teach your people?

In the past week or so I've had many opportunities to learn from my leaders. In our last zone meeting, the area leaders and the sister training leaders helped us to recognize that we need to both teach about and invite people to be baptized when they understand. The Book of Mormon is without a doubt the most important tool we have. We want to use it during every situation we can. The BoM teaches us that the authority to baptized is essential to the authenticity of the baptism (Mosiah 21: 33).

We are also trying to help those who are ready to learn, and spend less time with those less interested to read the Book of Mormon. The Spirit is essential in discerning the preparedness of those we meet every day, without judging false judgments.

What has been fun or funny happening this week?

While we were driving the other day we got a text that made sense but was missing punctuation that makes it clear. I translated it in my head and read it out loud to Elder Drennan, and proceeded to say, "Oh, so that would mean (word for word copy of what I had just translated)." I had no idea that I said the same thing, so Elder Drennan started laughing. I laughed because I didn't know why he was laughing. It took us a while to understand each other, but we laughed pretty hard until then.

How is the Texas fruit tasting?

Fruit is cheap and delicious and the fruit flies that spontaneously come along for the ride are free. Texas fruit tastes pretty good. I have another cantaloupe and a watermelon that I need to eat before they go bad.

I love you all very much. Christ is the reason for my happiness; for He is the reason I am able to feel charity, His pure love!

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Texas

Hello family, friends, and all the others,

So yesterday my companion and I had the opportunity to video chat with our family. That was fun. If I think of any specifics I'd like to share, I'll include them later. As for animal stories this week, I guess I'm just getting too used to them. We had this one dog that seem to bark like a werewolf, many dogs charge us only to be stopped by fences, and plenty of other things. I'll remember others later.

Though you wouldn't know, I've realized that I need to work on my Spanish. This past Wednesday we had a great Spanish Conference where Spanish missionaries, their companions, and English speaking missionaries with native Spanish speaking companions attended. I received a great deal of confidence, and a little bit of a rebuke for my slight laziness. I saw many of my past companions and some other missionaries that I admire: Elder Downer was there, where I learned a little bit more about Uvalde; Elder Aguila, with his trainer Elder Loveridge (woo!), and others who I knew well. It's funny to see how many connections you make as you serve. More importantly, I notice the emphasized principle of receiving correction. If we are hesitant to receive it, we will have a difficult time growing. Especially as I learn to speak the language, I have to make many mistakes before I improve. Better make those mistakes earlier, rather than later.

On Saturday we tried to meet with someone that the Las Palmas missionaries referred to us. This would have been the third or fourth try to meet him, without fail, but he answered. When we talked to him, he told us that he was having some difficulties and had been praying for a while. When we shared the Restoration with him, he seemed to light up and we could tell that he felt peace. Ralph, which was the man, seemed prepared and willing to step forward. I'm hoping he is able to embrace more.

The chapel yesterday was pretty full. There were plenty of people visiting, others who had a connection with the military, and then some faces that I don't know too well, but we had a fair amount of people visit today. There were so many little things going on that it's hard to pick the out.  But in the middle of the program that was prepared to honor the important role of motherhood, which was indeed good, a confused person stumbled into the church building yelling about something, and Elder Drennan and I did the best we could to help her. She seemed a little bit drunk (poor lady) and was trying to come to an activity that the Spanish ward had the night before. Luckily we were able to escort her out, and no harm to person or the building happened.

Missionary work is fast. Sometimes I've felt the need to rest spiritually when my body felt raring to go. Other times my body simply didn't want to go where my spirit had the energy to work. Both situations demonstrated to my how rest sometimes needs to come part by part at a time.

Questions and Answers and Pictures!

So, last week we didn't get to really find out what you think about Matt's mission call to Oklahoma City- so what do you think?

I was excited that he was call to serve. I'll say, I am at a loss for words, but that doesn't mean I don't feel exceedingly happy for him.

How has that experience (Dulce's baptism) continued to strengthen their family?   

We visited this past week and found out that Yesenia held a family home evening. Yesenia continued and told us that Dulce took control and with little help from her mother, she guided the rest of the family home evening. It wasn't perfect even then, but we're glad that there are now two members of the church in the family, and that Dulce can help her family out.

How are the Aldrich and the Fernandez families doing? 

They seem to be doing quite well. Both families were able to get to church, and I think they both enjoyed the experience. The Fernandez family is always getting sick however, and it seem that they had to leave early ( I really feel for them).

This will be the second time in a row that both families made it to church. Each time they make it will increase their faith and strengthen their resolve to make it to church again.

Elder Drennan is a very fine and gentle Elder, what a very good companion!

I will be sure to pass it on.

How has the Spirit guided you this past week? 

Most of the guidance that I have the privilege to receive was subtle, small, but powerful whispers. I had some difficulty coping with stress at times. However, when I chose to listen (to follow Christ's humble example as best as I could), many concerns that seemed great were broken down into manageable pieces. If I listen more intently with my heart, I will hear more intently with my heart.

If y'all have any questions, please send them to me. Questions help me to focus my thoughts, and they make it easier to write. Keep reading the Book of Mormon! It never ceases to amaze me what I can learn from studying a plain topic.

Classic dashboard picture (I believe I'm wearing my newest pair of glasses in this picture)

I cut this cantaloupe all by myself. Does that mean I can cook?

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

I Simply Love Missionary Work

Hello Y'all!

A bunch went on this week. Animal stories are a highlight in my mind, but they simply aren't important enough to list. There certainly were too many in my opinion.

We couldn't really catch Omar. His crazy schedule at the baseball field takes his sleep, and interferes with visits. Did I mention Omar in an earlier email? If not, well, I'll try to touch him more next week.

We caught Jonathan and Sandra and shared the 10 commandments taught by Abinidi. We tried to focus on keeping the Sabbath day holy, and he seemed to expect it. However, he didn't make it to church, so we were a little sad about that.

Karla is really hard to catch. We keep missing her, and we try by too much. We'll catch her and the rest of the family eventually.

This weekend, Elder Drennan and I were able to participate in the baptism of Yesenia (no ~ in the name, i actually had the wrong). By participate, we actually mean we helped set it up. She and Gregg weren't aware that they were in charge of organizing the program, they were stressed, but we came in to help as best as we could. So when the day itself actually came, we went to the church quite early to fill the font, set up chairs, and attempt to make a program. Eventually Gregg's family, Yesenia, him, and the rest of their kids came, so we juggled setting other things up, and giving a little bit of direction. The first counselor made it, he helped a bunch, and the printer malfunctioned, so the quickly made program didn't actually happen.

The service started late. We had no piano player. Luckily, I have been blessed with a booming voice, and I attempted to replicate the accompaniment and words by leading the music. I'm glad I was taught how to lead music. We began with "I am a Child of God," and lead into a few talks. Elder Drennan gave the one on Baptism in English, and Yesenia's father gave the one on the Holy Ghost in Spanish. Then Yesenia's brother baptized Dulce. We had practiced the motions with him a few days before, and he did a wonderful job. They were a little too worried about doing it right (we did emphasize that it needed to be done correctly), so they hesitated a little, but it was done well. Then we followed with part of the Restoration video, and lead to the confirmation. This was extremely significant for me, because I had the opportunity to confirm her. It was a powerful experience. I felt humbled that I held the priesthood necessary to do it. Really, I can't take credit for the experience at all. I won't forget the feeling I felt.

We helped a little with desserts, clean up, and taking family pictures. We couldn't take any pictures ourselves, so we will probably need to get them from Gregg. He took a few. We invited Gregg's father to visit with missionaries, but he declined, saying that he wanted to keep a open mind, but he wasn't interested. I'm glad he wasn't hostile about it. We'll continue to serve Gregg and the rest of his family, and Yesenia's family as we can. Gregg was happy about the baptism in general.

Gregg ended up being one of the only non members that made it to church yesterday, but many families that we have been inviting made it. We were extremely pleased to see them at church. The Adrich's, the Fernandez's, and a less active member we found with two of her kids, (her name is Sister Rodriguez), also made it. Sister R's oldest daughter is old enough to be baptized, and really wants to be baptized as well. We'll be working with this family as well. Unfortunately, Sister R is living with her boyfriend who isn't as interested. . . but we will invite him as often as we can to learn about Christ's Gospel as well.

Questions and Answers

Are you and Elder Drennan all better from your sickness last week?   

Honestly we are still recovering. It's quite difficult to discover where the illness came from, but we are still well enough to work every day. We have cited a few suspects, and we're going to eliminate them to see if it helps in recovery.

Was Jonathan able to come with Sandra to church this week?  

Sandra got called into work on Sunday, and Jonathan probably wouldn't go by himself. When we saw him again he told us he was catching up on sleep, and told us about Sandra's dilema. Apparently Mother's day will cause her to work on Mother's day. Basically the store she works at is trying to make money. Don't blame them for that, but we wish Sandra had the day off.

How are your prayers on behalf of Gregg and Yesen~ia helping you to 

help them?  

Prayer is helping. I can see that family growing in faith. Especially with Dulce's baptism, now they have two members in the immediate family. :)

How has knowing that mother's day is coming up this Sunday made you want to make sure you tell your family when you are calling?

Knowing this makes me want to ensure less stress is involved. (I already sent the details directly to my parents)

I'm sure you're back to your short sleeved shirts- how are they holding up?

Long story short, my whole wardrobe is having problems. If I didn't explain in the bulk of the email, not worry, I'll touch it in detail next week.

How has the Spirit helped you this week?

I felt the comfort of the Comforter a bunch this week. In the Sacrament prayer, we are promised that we may "always have His Spirit to be with us," meaning we can have it, but not always feel it. But I felt it's comfort this week. It was a great week, but it was hard too. Nothing of great value comes easily.

 Is it still raining a lot?

Off and on. The weather here is hard to predict. It's definitely felt hotter outside, but we haven't hit the peak of the mountain of heat, so to speak.

Happy Mother's day to y'all. Whoever you are, enjoy your time you have with your mothers, and tell them how much you love them. Mother's day is really really important I would say.

Shout out to the best mom out there -- you know who you are :-D.

I love you!

Elder Bertlesen Cooking with his bandana

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Fiesta, Fiesta, Fiesta

Greetings to my beloved family, friends, and ward family,

The subject-line of this email has a purpose, and I suppose I should address it sooner than later so I don't confuse y'all. To preface, I really don't like random holidays.

There is a celebration in San Antonio every year in the month of April that draws somewhere around a half million people at a time to the down town area. Many of the people we've met this week explained where it came from, but it's hard to summarize. Essential it is a 10 day string of celebrations in this month that occupy most of the down town area, and it draws a bunch of people there. Whether the people are taking part of the festivities, working among them, or working additionally because of them, Fiesta affects many people. Other celebrations precede and follow it, occupying April completely.

The funny thing about Fiesta is I wasn’t sure what it was up until it happened. But as soon as we entered into the 10 day period of Fiesta, it made it difficult to contact anyone who was involved with it. I had no idea how much I didn't know that I didn't know about this local holiday. Essentially, there are names for the different festivals and parades, but Fiesta is an umbrella term. We have "the Holidays" for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years, etc., and "Fiesta" for all the random events and things that are in April.

Karla was almost impossible to find. She worked in a restaurant in the middle of downtown, so the only way she could get in was if someone dropped her off and picked her up at the beginning and end of each work day. We only finally caught her on Saturday because she cut herself on the job and had leave early. Sad for her pain, but glad to finally see her again, we'll visit with them later this week. Other people were also hard to find, but specifics evade me at the moment. Fiesta became such a common reason for missing people, that whenever we couldn't find anyone at home, we would sigh, "Fiesta."

On this last Wednesday, we had exchanges. I went with Elder Hart and worked in his area, which means I worked in the same area, but we looked for Spanish speakers. Elder Hart and Bertelsen were lacking miles, so we were going to bike to nearby places and contact some people who had potential to start investigating the church. We took our bikes out, but I learned that Elder Hart had never used his new bike before, and it had been a while since he rode a bike. We spent some time adjusting things, I shared some tips for riding that I learned in Windcrest and Universal City, and eventually we headed out. During this time, his kickstand snapped. By the time we actually headed out of the complex, it started to rain a little, and we decided not to use our bikes, just for safety.

Then the world began to pour.

Rain everywhere. On our way out of the complex, lightning struck the complex, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I screamed so loud, Elder Hart thought I was hit, even though we were underneath the walk way. (Hard to describe how loud that crash was) we began to venture out of the complex, and we were soaked before we could cross the river. Did I say river? I meant to say river-like street. We only got so far when we got a call from Elder Drennan and Elder Bertelsen, with Elder B on the phone, chewing us out for being outside walking in this weather, in a loving way. We hid under a tree waiting for them to rescue us, and saw someone outside so we jumped to go talk to him. Eventually, we realized we could have just walked back to the complex, when they showed up, took us home, and we changed into some dry clothes. The raining stopped at that point.

Elder Drennan and Bertelsen on exchanges, visiting the Fernandez family and their donkey.

Later in the evening, we went searching for baptismal clothes for a family that was getting baptized in their ward. I had fun using Spanish, and feeling a little more confident about it. Elder Hart was excited, and I felt his love for this family. Heavy rain hit us severally times in the middle of the night this week, and we took some fun pictures.

Rain looks cool with the camera flash.

Yesterday morning, Elder Drennan and I woke up throwing up. I seem to get sick at least once in every area that I serve in. We were worried because we expected many people at church, and we didn't want to set a bad example for them. We made it to church however, but only for sacrament where we proceeded to return home, and I slept for almost 5 hours, off and on. It was a little sad, because we had appointments set up for almost the entire day. We feel much better now, but we are still recovering. I believe that I ate two bowls of cereal, one of which I substituted water for milk, not wanting to throw up what I ate. That was my diet, save for plenty of water.

I really liked a verse in Mosiah, specifically Mosiah 23:14 that teaches us that we should trust no one to be our teacher, except that person is from God. With all the different sources of information, we need to make sure we tap from the best ones, and limit the others.

How are Gregg and Yesenia doing?

They are doing well. Not much to talk about. We shared a little bit about teaching and learning with them, and they fed us some great food. They've been coming to church consistently, and I'm doing my best to include them in my prayers more often. Often, it seems, diligence in prayer allows us to receive more blessing, and for those blessing to fall more abundantly on others.

How are Jonathan and Sandra, and Karla and her family and Chrystal and Alex?

Unrelated to Fiesta, we weren't able to visit with either group during the week. Sandra made it to church, and it was a little funny, because we saw Jonathan leaving the church parking lot after dropping Sandra off at church.

Chrystal and Alex were out of town, and then busy for the rest of the week. Well, we'll catch up with them later.

Questions and Answers

How has the Lord's Spirit infused you with courage this week?

Maybe not the type of courage you're talking about, but I feel like I've had courage to overcome all the random dog experiences we have weekly, and even bi-weekly or daily. This area is dangerous if you aren't careful, but y'all need not have fear for me. Randomly this week we saw a pigeon get taken out by a boxer, and we did what we could to distract the dog (on the other side of the fence, we were in no danger ourselves) to allow the pigeon to get away, but it was to no avail. I believe another pig bull almost followed us as well.

Talking to everyone and inviting people to make big changes in their lives is scary. People, though they have hurt spirits and are seeking relief sometimes don't look or act at all how they feel. They can be intimidating. But I feel that situations that would normally cause me to shrink don't affect me as much. That is, of course, if I choose to heed the promptings that urge me to be courageous.

And where did that courage take you?

We found some great new people this week. As normal, I probably won't mention them until/if we meet with them more, but I'm excited for people to progress.

How are your ward members?

They are well. We are working our best to increase activity in the ward though visiting those less active members of the ward.

What sorts of flowers and flowering trees are growing in your area?   

Pretty ones, I guess. I'd have to ask the locals here, I have not idea what any of the flowers are called.

Do your dog friends like flowers?

Maybe. Who knows?

  

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Chapter 2

Hello All,

Might as well start out with some very good news: I met Elder Vergara this week at transfers, and he told me that Rocky has a date to be baptized on the 9th of May, and also that Tony and Staniel are engaged and will be married on the 6th of May. I was really red in the face with joy at this.

Actually, I didn't find out where he himself was sent, though I learned from him that he would be a District Leader. Elder Drennan and I came early enough for the Spanish test held the morning of transfers, but all else we did was talk to some people, like the missionaries covering Windcrest, and left. I caught Elder Bertelsen on the way out and found out he was leaving, and that the ward is doing well. Elder Downer will stay there. Before transfers, I was wondering who the new missionaries in the district might be. 

I saw Elder Zelaya at the transfer meeting. Elder Drennan knew him from his schooling at BYU.

Then, later that afternoon, we got a call from the missionaries in Las Palmas B. Instantly, I recognized a voice, familiar, but not from Elder Olsen. "?Sabe quien habla Elder Hall?" (Do you know who is speaking, Elder Hall) "No, no lo puedo creer, ?! Elder Bertelsen!?" (No, no, I can't believe it, Elder Bertelsen?) So sure enough, Elder Bertelsen is my new district leader. It's quite funny, because Elder Hart was Elder Downer's MTC companion, and so Elder Hart swapped his trainer for his MTC companion's other trainer. Elder Christensen is the new zone leader (he served in our area about a year and a half ago) and Elder Black is Elder Hill's new companion. They came into the mission at the same time.

This past week we've started to narrow down on our teaching pool. A few of the part member families that we were working with are near impossible to catch now (Chris and Darian are one example, the J family is another), so we didn't teach as much this week as we would have liked. But things are progressing with the people we are teaching, and we have a lot of potential that we need to follow up on, so we can start teaching new people.

Gregg and Yeseñia are doing well. They are trying to figure out a new marriage date, we believe, because they are taking steps to find a new dress, a maternity one. They will move forward, just slowly and steadily. They have made it to church two weeks in a row, sacrament meeting too, and their oldest daughter should be baptized on May 3rd. She's just a 8 year old, but hadn't been baptized yet. Greg should follow her soon, if the ideal situation plays out. Because Gregg has been taught so much already, we're only teaching a little bit each visit and focusing more time on his scripture reading.

Jonathan and Sandra are doing well. We met with Jonathan a few times last week, and he read from 1 Nephi 1 to about 10 in one evening. We're hoping to help him read less each day, rather than many chapters in a single day, so that the influence of the Book of Mormon can be more consistent, and so that he isn't overwhelmed as he continues to read. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to church Sunday. At the same time though, reading is a great start! The difference between  Jonathan and Sandra, and Gregg and Yeseñia and how they all progress, and the other part member families is Sandra and Yeseñia are putting concerted effort to be an example, and they want to be active. Other couples fall by the wayside because the effort of the member is limited. It's amazing to see the effect we can have on the ones we love.

We couldn't meet with Karla this week, but they were reading a little bit. Crazy thing after another kept us from meeting, all coming to a grand climax at the end of the week. She started working for an old employer of hers, and her schedule conflicted with a few of the appointments we set. Then Fiesta, a random state-wide party holiday event thingy, gave her the opportunity to go to a party which conflicted with another appointment we had. Then, we dropped by, and learned that his brother's girlfriend was injured in a car crash, and he she ended up taking care of all 6 of his kids. She's still interested in meeting, seems like she's progressing, but event after event made things difficult this week. 

On this particular day trying to contact members, we got into the car and saw two people, we though a man and a woman, punching at each other in the middle of the street. They never made contact with each other, so we weren't sure if this was domestic violence, or a somewhat friendly bout. Luckily it was more of a bout. We talked to them and invited them to hear our message. We also made friendly joking comments about the stage combat they engaged in earlier. Chrystal and Alex were their names, and they receive the message well, albeit with frequent cursing and foul language. Alex is a former Jehova's Witness and she would got to different Christian non-denominational churches. They acted a lot more rough then they turned out to be, and towards the end of the lesson Chrystal showed us her 3 or 4 bibles that she had. They also had a 1 year old with them, I forget the little guy's name, and he seemed really distressed as we taught. Chrystal is actually the sister of another rough guy we met a few weeks ago, and had been trying to meet with. You should have been there when we first saw them, I had no idea what was going on.

I'm hoping that we can pick up on all of the potential that is laden here in 10th ward.

Another thing happened, 

This past P-day we went to SAS, the San Antonio Shoe store, which is actually quite famous. We had no idea that it was in our area, and Elder Drennan had though it was in 10th A's area. It has a lot of random exhibits, really expensive shoes hand made shoes that I didn't even expect to buy, and ice cream. We bought ice cream and took this picture.

Me and Elder Drennan with ??

Questions and Answers

I'm really glad you get another transfer period with Elder Drennan.  So, what are you doing with your opportunity to work together for a longer time?  

We've continued our pledge to drop by every member of the ward residing in our area. In doing so, we've found even more part-member families, less active members that want to come back, and other people that we can help. We're working to realize all of the opportunities that have been given to us. No matter if we baptize, we will insure that those who follow us should.    

How are Gregg and Yeseñia doing?

They are doing well. They are progressing steadily. They feed us dinner once a week, which is very kind of them. Apparently Elder Bertelsen knew them because he served in the Spanish-branch that covers the Stake, where her family attends.

How are Karla and her family?

Also should be doing well. Her priorities a little mixed up, but many of them are in the right place as well.

How are Rosa and Brother B?

We taught her the Word of Wisdom, which was easy for her to accept, owing to the fact she has learned about it before, and she already has a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith being a prophet. She's less excited about getting married, maybe because of her past divorce and the relationship problems that came with it.

 And the Aldridge family- how are they?  

They said they would come to church, and the Fernandez family would be able to come as well, but they didn't make it. . . . I kind of expected it, given the fact that going to church is really hard when you haven't gone for a while. Pray for them, and we'll continue doing.

And how are the stray dogs treating you?

Like hostages.

Allow me to relate this experience:

Last night we were looking for people that Las Palmas B had related to us to go visit, and we decide to walk the block, talking to people outside. Not as good of an idea as we thought.

We ran into this stray bulldog, and even though we tried to avoid us, it kept tailing us. Some neighbors outside said, "be careful, that dog gets aggressive!" but we weren't sure if they said that just to get rid of us. 

We ended up continuing further and further down the street, all the while that it seem to circle us, approach us, sniff and become disinterested, and continue on. Midway through the trip a car passing us honked loudly and startled us, probably trying to help us lose the dog. It would mark its territory on something as it went, occasionally as it went. It was funny but also terrifying, because every time that we attempted to bail and go the opposite direction when it was off examining something else, it would see us in the distance and come right back -- not running at us but trotting just fast enough to catch up. Was it a pros-dog or were we its prisoners? We also wondered if it was just escorting us through its part of town. Eventually we got out of its area and it left us.

Were we protected, or was it actually friendly? You decide . . .

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Us in our fancy shirts

I wore my invisibility cloak for this one.

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