In the Heartland of Texas

Missionary work just got interesting. Hello Family, Ward Family, and Significant others (aka friends),

I'm now in an area called Uvalde. It's a town that as my new co-trainer companion Elder Bertelsen explained, "exemplifies a small Texas town. When I went to church yesterday, a majority of the older members there wore cowboy boots, including one who wore boots plastered with a Texas flag on the upper part of it. I had never intended to buy boots, but if I find a pair like his, I will be thoroughly tempted to buy them. This area is a choice!

My trainee is named Elder Downer. If Scarecrow and the Joker were to combine together, become a 20 year old and receive the gospel years ago, he would be the result. He's an utter jokester. He got here from the Mexico MTC on Wednesday, and we picked him up during the transfer meeting on Thursday. It was funny, because as we heard from the missionaries, the new ones of course, introducing themselves, I felt impressed that I would be training him when I heard him introduce himself. He's from Provo, incidentally, which is funny too. Because nobody typically knows where my home town is, I simply respond to the classic question, "Where are you from?", with "Oh, Provo Utah area." This satisfies a majority of those we meet, occasionally they will ask more. But it always brings a smile to my face when I don't even need to answer anymore. Elder Downer will say, "We're both from Provo." As a result I save just a few words. Elder Downer has a bunch of potential. I loved it when he told us why he came on his mission. As a employee of Dish, he didn't believe in what he was saying day in and day out. He didn't ever have all of his heart in him as he went door to door. But as a missionary, even if people didn't accept him, he would know in his heart that what he stood for was completely and undeniably true. His conviction is precious!

From transfer meeting we drove a little under two hours to Uvalde. We live in the middle of no where basically. As a general rule in Texas, if the city has a Dairy Queen, than it qualifies as a City. And while Uvalde has a little more than your average Texas town, it's still pretty small. Luckily we have a Walmart and an HEB, but no Target, and not too much more. Plenty of ward members have offered to cut my hair. Thankfully. I'm in dire need of a hair cut. I counted on a LA member to do it Wednesday, but the weather was bad down in UC, and he declined it. He brought over this wonderful Texas flag. It's huge. I'll probably end up sending it home, after I get some awesome action shots with it.

 Saturday we taught lessons like crazy. I've never taught so many lessons in the same day. While we had many people cancel on us, we still managed to teach six or so lessons in the same day. And many of the people we taught are choice too. This area is amazing! We have a few recent converts to work with, something that UC lacked on, as well as some LA members who have the potential to return to activity. One investigator that we are working with in particular is Aida. Aida has been going to church actively for quite some time now. It was funny, because Elder Bertelsen and his past companion, Elder Ianziti, thought she was a member for a while. She, like Sister Rubio, is what you would call an active non-member. Because we identified that she wasn't a member, we were able to teach her the restoration. She's afraid to be baptized because she's seen other religious people in her life fail, and she doesn't want to fail. She also doesn't want people to judge her, because she is afraid her anger would go out of control. More and more I'm seeing that baptism involves a leap of faith. You won't see perfectly how things will turn out for a while.

Another family seems fairly choice. They could go either way. Daniel and Gina seem very choice. Daniel is a police chief, and he's talked about working as a sheriff. They invited us over for dinner yesterday, and we also met their friends who may also be choice. I'll pray for them, and I'll update you about all the other people we'll work with. We've got a great Bishop, a great Elder's Quorum President, and a real great Ward Mission Leader.

 I've been torturing my companions with my snoring. I'm really sorry for them. Because of the new bed, it was horrible for them the first night. So I gave them permission to hit me with a pillow in the middle of the night to stop me. The experience is pretty surreal waking up because of the pillow.

Windcrest, Universal City, Uvalde, all these cities ending in end-of-alphabet-letters.

Q & A

As you were traveling to your new city, what were you thinking of?

I honestly can't remember. Probably imagining what my new area what would be like. Sleeping. I was tired.

Please tell us of your new area and your new companions.

They are wonderful. Elder Bertelsen is from Missouri, and his mother and step-father are both converts. He told me of the efforts of his loving bishop to bring him to activity, and it was wonderful to hear how his life has changed as a result of his mission. He's been out for a year or so. About as long as Elder Vergara has been out. He went to the Mexico MTC, just like Elder Downer. It was interesting that just as I took German for two years, and then Spanish for 2 and a half, he took Spanish 2 years followed by German for two years.

 Will you be speaking more Espanol?

 Claro. Y ?Por qué no? Los dos de mis compañeros hablan Español. Qué bueno.

 Did you see ny armadillos on the road on the way?

Nope.

How (in what ways) do you hope the Spirit will aid you this week?

I hope that the Spirit will help us to find those who are ready this week. To extend baptismal invitations, and to help them come closer to Christ -- effectively improve their lives too.

 --

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Elder Downer in his superman pajamas. Did you know that superman wears Chuck Norris Pajamas? Chuck Norris probably wears Amon pajamas.

Last day together. And someone Photobombing. GAAAH.

 Elder Hall, Bertelsen, and Downer.

Transfers!

Transfers!

Exciting news. While I will be leaving Universal City, (Awww. . . .) Elder Vergara will be training here in UC, and I will go co-train with another missionary that I've never met (Yay! ! ! !). I'm excited to train a new missionary. What if I trained Elder Aguila, my friend from home who moved back to Guadalajara? What if Elder Vergara trained him? I'll be excited if I even get to meet him.  I won’t know exactly where I’m going, nor who my companion will be until the actual transfer day.

This last week was very un-eventful. I got sick. Really sick. Tuesday afternoon after biking to and from Schertz, I came back to the apartment with my companion to have dinner, ate and crashed. Wednesday we crashed the entire day, went to go visit someone and crashed again. Thursday we had a brilliant zone conference, and afterward we came back, I crashed some more. Friday I crashed, we visited Tony and Staniel, and we crashed some more. Saturday I was still exhausted, and we crashed even more.

Sunday we went to church, had dinner with a member, planned for the week, and crashed even more. My ears have been fairly plugged, but I'm beginning to recover. Thank you for all of your prayers. I've received many blessings from my companion, and I'll be excited to recover again.

Our lesson with Tony and Staniel went very very well. Staniel pointed out again that she hadn't known that Mormons were Christians. Tony seems extremely engaged in comparison to how he looked like as we first met him. They both made it to church a second time this Sunday, and they seemed engaged as well. They got a spiritual overhaul on the importance of prayer, since Sunday school and priesthood meetings were both focused on this.

Q & A

How’s your health been? 

Not very good. I'm getting better, but this week has been a lot of tissues, medication, and rest. Not the best way to send myself off after working in UC for so long, but I have no need to worry.

What are fun things you've been doing on your P-day?

I've played Frisbee golf, gone shopping, played sports at the stake center, written letters, P-days aren't really too remarkable, but they do do an awful lot to help to remove stress and such.

Are you able to keep your white shirts clean and pressed?

Probably not as well as I should, but washing them from time to time and removing them from the dryer, as well as soaking the shirts in the shower and hanging them over night helps to remove wrinkles.

Of course, how are all the people doing?

They are doing well. We tried to meet with Richard, but he overslept when we invited him to tour the church. That was a little frustrating. Ramon came to church again, and Brother Rios made it as well. I'm going to miss all of these people. If I'm lucky, Elder Vergara will get a baptism with one of them, and I'll get a picture of all of them. The funny thing is, that I have a goal to teach 100 people that get baptized during my time on the mission.

If your weather is like it is here, I can't imagine you need your heavy coats and sweaters.  But, how has it been?

Pretty good. The weather is beginning to come back to heat.

How has the Spirit guided you and Elder Vergara this week?

By telling us to stay in the apartment and sleep. During one of the blessings of health that I received, he said that this would be an opportunity to learn patience. And boy, did I ever!

What was your happiest experience this week?

Seeing Tony and Staniel at church. I have high hopes for them!

 

I love you all, stay safe, and we'll see where I end up next.

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Another Good Week Here in Universal City

Dear Family, and all others who sustain me with their prayers and such,

Elder Vergara started last P-day by buying a matching ties with a gift card that members of this ward gave to us for Christmas. I'll get a picture to everyone next week, but the ties look like they are from Tron. That made me pretty happy. Off the top of my head, I believe that I now have at least 25 ties in my ownership. I came out with only 8. Shows you how much Elders become tie-magnets when they serve for long enough. I've heard stories of missionaries coming home after a mission bearing more tie that other luggage. That won't be my goal for my mission, however.

Tony and Staniel didn't make it to church this week. They "overslept." I believe them of course, but I wouldn't want that to be an excuse ever in my life to miss church. Sister Rios had pink eye, so that's probably why her husband didn't make it to church. Now that he's working a night shift, Brother Rios will probably be much harder to get a hold of. We're hoping for luck when we try to visit, because it looks like their family has plenty of potential. Ramon made it to church, however, and she and her son and daughter-in-law came to Gospel Principles. It seems that while we always receive blessing when we are righteous, we don't get every blessing.

Every so often I get to engage in an exchange. This time, for the first time ever, I stayed in my area for the exchange and Elder Reimschussel, which might ring a bell, came to UC. He reminds me a bunch of my brother, Tracy. He actually shares birthdays with him, too. Elder R and I paired together to pass out copies of the Book of Mormon my very first day in the TSAM. So we caught up a bit, taught Rocky (explained later), and helped another less-active by giving him a blessing. Elder Reimschussel knows how to be kind, a missionary, and himself all at the same time. He taught me about initiative.

When he and I went over to give service to Richard and then a lesson afterwards, he showed his kindness and his testimony as we read about the Anti-Nephi-Lehi's. Then, as we left his house, he saw someone working in a loading truck, and before I could even begin, he shot after the man to go say hello, and share a card with him. His attitude was always positive, and when he tells you, "[your name], you are basically my favorite person ever.", you knew that he meant it, and could simultaneously mean it when he told it to every other missionary he's met. Funny guy, maybe I'll be companions with him one day.

We've started to text out a daily scripture to some of our investigators and others we've talked to. We've seen how daily scriptures can help these people, especially as it has impacted those we weren't sure could be impacted well. It reminds me even more of how important daily scripture study is for all of us. It give us strength, alleviate stress and empowers us to bless one another in the way that God would have us bless them. I assert that a habit of daily scripture study will benefit you far more than just about any other health related practice that exists. If you aren't reading daily, give it a try. Even a verse, pondered carefully for a few minutes will make a great impact on your life. When we met with Tony and Staniel, we could tell that it was blessing Staniel as she sought to do it.

Speaking about the lesson we had with Tony and Staniel, it went well too. We read over the family proclamation to the world, and tied it into eternal families a tad bit. We also, however found out that they aren't married. Just a little road block on the path. Ooof. It seems like they have desires to be married, but if they aren't, they won't be able to be baptized. Keep them in you prayers if you would, and we'll continue to urge them to make that decision. Their kids seem to love church last week, and we were sad when their family didn't make it

We think that the next step to allowing Richard to make it to church would be a church tour. So we've invited him to tour it this Tuesday, and we'll bring a member with us as well. Sometimes as members we don't notice the spirit that the church contains, because we become so accustomed to it. And while we may be more spiritually sensitive, this very repetitive nature sometimes makes it harder to notice these things.

We wanted to go over to Julia and Brandon's home, but Julia hurt her back, and Brandon decided that the weather wouldn't be appropriate for service. And while we laugh a little about this, since we would better bear the weather going in and out of their house than walking from how to house to look for someone to visit, we understood his protectiveness and desire to help us. Ouch! Sometimes mortality hurts.

With all of these experiences, it'll be hard to come home. while I'll be excited to return, I have an equally opposing feeling that doesn't want my mission to end.

Questions and Answers

So how are your investigators doing?   

All of the families should be doing fairly well. I should have addressed it in the main bulk of the email.

The Book of Mormon touches people and allows the Spirit to testify to their hearts. I don't know a single active member of the church who hasn't receive their own testimony of this book, or are not striving diligently to obtain one.

One of the people we are beginning to work with is Rocky. He's a retired Hispanic with a powerful humility stuffed within him. As we read the Book of Mormon with him, he mentioned to us a few times that he could feel the spirit as he read, and that it was very similar to the Bible. That's power.

Has there been much fog and can you ride your bikes in the fog?

Not a bunch of fog. If there is too much fog, there is usually too much rain, so we won't ride in those situations. I don't know if fog has every impeded us alone.

So what was nice and sweet and funny?   

Brother Muñoz had his birthday this week, and he was kind enough to invite use over to eat with his family for dinner. He had a friend/relative over named Luis, and Luis had plenty of funny stories to tell.

And how is the Spirit guiding you this week?

The Spirit is extremely important as we read the Book of Mormon with those we teach. We do our best on our own to point out the insights that they will need, but the Spirit knows loads better than we do what they need, and what they don't need. It's easy to overwhelm some people who need the basics first.

I think  the Spirit will also help us to teach our children as we remain worthy of it's guidance.

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

P.S. Thanks for the details about my fellow student back at my highschool. Any info from any'all will be great.

Finally, a Year Divisible by Five

Morning family, ward family, Matt W. (or etc.), and friends,

Looking to be a long year. I've realized that in the year 2015, if things proceed normally and I don't return home early, I will not venture inside of a movie theater, theme park, or a car that I own. But that's what will make the year interesting and stuff. The older I get the more I realize that a year is not really very long. So I'll need to make the best of this one, otherwise I could be doing other useful things back home.

As asked by family, there were a fair few cold snaps that got us this week. Apparently this past summer was one of the cooler ones in comparison to past years, and maybe winter has been touched by the cold as well. We wore coats, sweaters, and we could still feel a chill.

New years eve we attended a ward party held by the elders quorum in which families were also invited. Tony and Staniel, and all of their kids also made it to the party. There was good food, and cups which when combined with a balloon proved to be effective marsh mellow launchers. One of the youth decided I was his target, and I had to defend myself. But I might have gone overboard when I stole his ammo and sniped at him repeatedly. And the Ward Mission Leader's daughter began to target me as well. Needless to say I became a popular hit for that party, pun intended. Then we played games in a group, one that involved a single person in the center, saying something that he/she was wearing or had done, and would try to steal someone's seat as people who shared that attribute in common had to stand up and switch places. Elder Vergara singled me out as he said, "has a name tag on." I counter by saying, "is serving as a missionary with me." It was funny to see Tony and Staniel drag their youngest son around in their arms, offering as a slight handicap. Considering new years day isn't too good of a time to proselyte, we were glad we had the chance to go to this party, and more especially that Tony and Staniel came. This offered a great chance to fellowship them with other members of the ward.

Then on Friday we had a lesson with Tony and Staniel about daily scripture study, and daily prayer. We read 2 Nephi 32 with them that focuses on these points, and we invited them to be baptized. We told them a date a baptismal service would be held and Staniel replied, "I don't think I'd be ready by then, when is the next service?" We both laughed inside because this completely depended on them. "The next one would be a week afterward." They did however accept this date, and we hope to help them be baptized at the end of the month. The only worrysome thing is that we only meet with them once a week outside of the potential with church. That should work itself out eventually, however.

Richard is doing well. His wife isn't very interested in meeting us, however. We'll go over on Tuesday and help him clean out the garage, and offer him the chance to tour the church, just like we did with Tony and Staniel. We can only pray that her heart will soften, and try to meet with him and possibly his daughters too. 

Tony and Staniel made it to church. I think it was the 8:30am start time that really inhibited their willingness to come to church. They came and seemed to enjoy everything, though this Sunday was a fair bit different. We had fast and testimony meeting, which isn't too often, and instead of Gospel Principles class we had an introduction to the year, combined in the chapel. And the best part of it, Tony and Staniel were not the only people to come to church. This other man, Kyle, who we had never met before decided to look up a church building in his area and showed up to church randomly. Our ward members were on him like a hawk, scaring him with pure charity. And another person we had been working with, Brother Rios, also came for sacrament meeting. Ramon, who had injured her shoulder a few weeks ago finally made it to church as well. I'm wondering if the 11am church has some hidden spell cast on it that makes people less willing to attend church.

Another family we worked with yesterday was Julia and Brandon. Julia was someone that Elder Loveridge and I met as she entered her driveway a few weeks ago. She bombarded us with some healthy questions and some not-so-healthy ones, and we found out that she had fed missionaries years ago while she attended culinary school. So this week we took her up on her offer and asked if we could come over for dinner one week. While she asserted that she "[wasn't] going to convert," we notice that she and her husband had a lot more potential then she believed. We'll go over to do service for them sometime this week. She's a really good cook, as you should be able to expect with anyone who goes to culinary school.

Later that night we knocked on another door and this man came out and told us for about thirty minutes how much he was proud and appreciated us for what we were doing as missionaries. He told us that he did this with all of the missionaries that visit. I began to be impatient with him, which I regret, but towards the end of his sermon we asked him who he knew that needed help spiritually. He directed us to two people who we hope to visit tonight. Moral of the story, listen hard and show people you care.

I'm praying for all of you. I want to get better at praying by name as well, so we'll see how that turns out. Theirs a saying that whenever a missionary's name tag lifts up, it's because someone at home is thinking or praying about them. It's a fun thing to imagine, and it reminds me how much I'm loved.

Questions (always welcome from any source):

I was wondering how do you divide up your morning study time with The Book of Mormon, Preach my Gospel, study in Espan~ol, study with Elder Vergara?    

 
Well, as is the case with most missionaries, likely to vary in foreign missions though, we start at 8am with a personal study. This hour is reserved to study from the scriptures, Preach my Gospel, and the missionary library. We study for investigators, their questions, to increase our knowledge, and as a result, our power to preach different topics, as well as research our own concerns and prepare for trainings (when we teach other missionaries about a topic and practice with them during a meeting.).

From nine to ten we study together as a companionship. We read from our white handbook (because it is important to know the rules), plan for lesson we'll teach that day, and study a topic together. We also role play, occasionally finish planning that we didn't get to the previous night, and make phone calls.

From ten to eleven I have an hour to study spanish. Whether I learn vocab, study grammar, memorize a scripture or whatever, this hour is the only reason why I haven't lost all of the spanish I've learned.

 

How are Richard and his family and Tony and Staniel and theirs?

Doing well. No meeting with Richard, however. See email above.

Did you get a really cold snap last week on Wed. or/and Thurs.?   

Probably, I didn't keep good track of weather comings and goings.

What was funny this week?    

We visited this potential investigator nearby and taught him. His cat came to me, so I started to scratch it's head. Later it decided to helicopter to my lap and land there. Plenty of animals have decided to sit on me during pass lessons. I've been extremely grateful that I'm not allergic to any of them. But seeing as I don't know when my family developed allergies to dogs and or cats, I might be out of luck soon.

And, of course, please tell us some of how the Lord's Spirit helped you and Elder Vergara this week? 

I've never seen a more disorganized teaching situation than the one we had with Julia and Brandon. They asked many questions, and we did our best to direct conversation towards the restoration. Many of our plans that we made this week were heavenly inspired and allowed us to visit as many people as we could.

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

P.S. Any news on my fellow classmates of 2014? Anyone getting mission calls soon? 

 

 

Skyping Home on Christmas

Dear Family and other etc's,

I was glad to hear from my family and see their shining faces for a time. Forty minutes passes by quite quickly. It was a tremendous blessing to have a short time to do this, because anything longer than that might have turned my thoughts away from the work and sucked them back home. That wouldn't have been too useful for the rest of the evening.

Last P-day I went to a store nearby to buy myself some much needed brown sunday shoes. After I waited for some time in line, I went to pay for the shoes, but forgot the pin number for my personal card. The only thing left for me to do was to use my missionary card, which combined with the only few bills in my wallet, was barely enough to pay for the shoes. It was a blessing that I decided against a few different things during grocery shopping, because if I had bought a single one of those extra things, I wouldn't have had enough to pay for the shoes. Fewf. And of course, as soon as we got to the car I promptly remembered the pin, in its shining glory. My brain has a way of making fun of me from time to time.

For Christmas I got four new ties, a picture of the Savior, two Spanish-English dictionaries (one visual, one normal), some vitamin supplements, chocolate, and other things. Christmas isn't made because of the gifts, but I'd like to think that the things that I received were useful.

Tony and Staniel didn't make it to church this Sunday either. It was a bummer. But, with the UC ward changing to 11, they have an even greater chance of making to church. On Saturday a 8-year-old was being baptized, and we invited them to come to the baptism. We walk to the church, and time passes and they miss the actual baptism. We got worried. We weren't even sure if they'd make it to see the confirmation, and at just the last moment we meet them at the front door and guide them to where the confirmation took place. They seemed to enjoy it, and we promptly took them on a church tour afterwards. Talk about a close call.

Richard seems to be doing well. He wants us to meet his wife, but she seems to be working most of the time, which makes it difficult. We taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he was extremely interested in the Celestial kingdom. When we gave him the pamphlet, he said, "Can you leave it open to the page about the kingdoms? I want to share this with my wife." We're not completely sure where he needs to go. He will progress the best if we can include his whole family, and that will require his wife. We're crossing our fingers and praying, because our own wisdom probably won't be enough.

Christmas on the mission isn't too much different than any other day of the year. The few differences were the wonderful Christmas dinner, presents to open when we wake up, and deliberately avoiding knocking on random doors any time during the day. My companion summed the receptiveness of people on Christmas well: "They will either be extremely willing to invite us in, or shocked that we would even dare." We tried to visit Richard, but he was still at his in-laws when we dropped by.

How did the rest of of your Christmas day go?

It went well. Like I said, it wasn't terrible different from other days. When we couldn't visit with Richard, we asked a member to bring us home, where we tried to get some more book work done, but I proceed to wimp-out and fall asleep on the couch. Ugh.

How are the Richard and his family and Tony  and Staniel and their little ones?

Richard is doing well. When we last met with him on Saturday, he decided to visit us dinner, AFTER we had already ate with members. Elder Vergara got more than his fair share, and had to lug everything home after the visit. I had warned him, however, and did not feel guilty for him, only sorry. ;-0

Did Elder Vergara enjoy his talk time with his family?

I believe so. I wasn't present and only heard a few words as I passed by the room he was in from time to time. I think he saw his dogs from home, his parents and younger brother.

And how has the Spirit guided you this week as the year turns around?

Just in the simple things. Say this. Go there. Visit him. I've felt a good amount of comfort as the Spirit confirmed to me that I should be here and that I'm worthy to do what I'm doing. Thank goodness for Christ's atonement.

Any snow in the forecast?

Negatory.

What was the funniest thing you encountered?

More like the funniest thing that another family encountered. We had dinner with a family this weekend, and we met the father who had been away working on school as part of the military. He told us that at one point during their marriage, they had only been together for 3 years out of the 12 that they were married, or a number close to it. That must have been rough. He told of an experience he had while he and their family were driving a van down a highway going 80 miles an hour. All of the sudden a coyote crosses their path and WAM, they t-bone the poor animal. It didn't stand a chance. The father didn't know quite how to react, and mimicked the "Meep-meep" classic to the road runner. While his wife was shocked and appalled, all of the kids laughed their heads off. That was a pretty funny story.

  --

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Posing in front of the trees on Christmas day. Do you like my snarky shirt I bought from Goodwill?

Christmas Time, When the Time is Prime

Dear Family, Friends, and Others,

 A special thanks to the Grimmers, the Balls, the Lovelands, and the Lunds for their Christmas cards. I was surprised to get mail during the Mission Conference this past Wednesday, and was glad to see that people back at home were thinking of me.

Christmas is in only a few days. Very interesting to think that exactly a year ago I would still have been home with family, doing whatever in the world I was doing. My six month mark of service in the Texas San Antonio Mission will be on the 25 -- Christmas. I'm lucky to have two occasions to celebrate on this marvelous reminder of Christ's birth. Even if his birth wasn't in December, it doesn't matter.

 Last Monday after P-day activities we went and visited a family in our area. When we told them we didn't have a tree, they gave us a Charley Brown Christmas tree, the one that has more twig than branch. That was a fun tree to have. Then yesterday another member donated a mini Christmas tree to us as well, only slightly bigger than the other one. While I'm not used to having trees this small, I couldn't be happier with the trees we got. I was glad to throw my makeshift Christmas Tree away.

Wednesday Christmas Conference was great. It was wonderful to see my past companions and catch up on what's going on with them. Elder Tews, Goodman, Loveridge and all of the others are doing quite well. All of the mission presidency spoke to us, and we were blessed to hear many musical numbers. Following some good ol' Texan barbecue we had a talent show. Elder Goodman and an old companion of his sang their song "Preach the Gospel," and Sister Woodward gave her parody called "The Little Mia-maid." and another group called the "Mariachi-oneros gave a pretty silly song. Then other people like President Slaughter's son performed more sacred songs that brought the spirit. Then other performances are better seen than explained.

President Slaughter especially focused on teaching us about the references that Jesus Christ is God, and that if he was not, he could not have preformed the Atonement. He made references that the Atonement is not only Retro-active (those who lived before Him could access his act) but that it was also Intergalactic-ally-active, that all people who have ever lived on any planet could access it. Sister Slaughter taught about the joys she had in teaching about Jesus in a nation that doesn't have a Christian background. She said that it was a blessing to teach those who weren't influence by the false doctrines of others.

It's very interesting to think of how much meaning Christmas would lack if Christ had not done what he did. As God's first gift to us, we will all be resurrected. Even that alone is enough for us to share with everyone we meet as missionaries. But even better, we know that by following the doctrine of Christ, we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again. Another couple that we were teaching, Kevin and Bianca, didn't have a Christian background and were completely new to the idea of Jesus Christ. Except for the little bit of reading that Kevin read from Proverbs, he hadn't read the Bible before. Bianca has tried several different churches. They had a lot of questions that helped me to ponder my relationship with God. We did, however, pass them off to the Zone Leaders, who cover the area that they live in. If they were just on the opposite side of the street, we would have kept teaching them, but alas, it won't matter.

I barely passed my tier 2 Spanish test, and once I finish the book-work necessary, I will pass into the tier 2. The TSAM is divided into three tiers of Spanish mastery. The first is ridiculously easy to get into, which I passed into during my first transfer in the mission, the second is moderate difficulty and the third is insane. I've heard that if I pass the third tier, that certificate will grant me a minor in Spanish in some universities. A bunch of work went into passing this tier, and while I'm not done yet, I'm excited to see my progress.

I'm excited that I still have 18 months+ to serve in the TSAM. My Spanish will grow, and my love for other people regardless of background should also grow. I'm glad to be serving in a bike area where I can continue to exercise regularly, and stay as fit as I can.

As for the funny moment, Elder Vergara and I were on our way to the mail center to pick things up. He was expecting a package because he ordered a set of mini scriptures which were supposed to arrive in 2-3 days (this was friday and he ordered these on monday). When we checked the box and found a key to one of the package slots, he grabbed it and proceeded to open the slot. I slyly said, "If that's for me, I'm going to laugh." He opened the slot and I proceeded to chuckle. Luckily, "Because I [Had] Been Given Much" I too shared some of the package. Thanks for packing some things for him, Mom. We get a good laugh out of that every once in a while.

 

How are the families and people you are serving?

They are doing quite well. Tony and Staniel didn't make it to church this week either, but we're hoping with another week as a chance, and then afterward with the church time change to 11 from 8:30, we might be more successful in bringing them to church. They still do have their freedom of will. Their family is really quite delightful.

We also reestablished contact with Richard, who I may or may not have talked about before. He didn't really explain why we kept missing him, but when we offered to stop by he agreed. We met his two nice daughters but his wife was working. We shared the "He is the Gift" video with him and he plans on sharing it with his wife. He invited us over for Christmas, which is pretty exciting.

It did get rainy and yesterday snowy here, so have you also gotten rain?

Hardly a drop. We got sprinkled on a little walking to church yesterday, but nothing heavy.

How are you and Elder Vergara helping and learning from each other?

Because Elder Vergara knows enough Spanish to understand most of what I say, he's let me pray in Spanish when we are together. That is an immense blessing that will allow me to learn my Spanish even more. He's a great example of the desire to improve and to make the most of the time he has with any companion. He's said many time that he doesn't "want to survive a transfer [he] wants to enjoy and thrive in it." 

I'm not sure what he's learning from me. I'm sure he learns enough. I know that he loves the people we teach very well. He doesn't want to show them any degree of impatience, and he wants to be fully in any visit we make.

AND how was the program and gathering on Wed.?

Wonderful. (See main part of email).

How do the people in the Universal city area show Christmas cheer?

Regardless of the level of snow in Texas, the people here do like to deck out their yards with lights. Likely because of the lack of snow they are able to do more elaborate air sculpture thingies, light arrangements and so forth. This one house had a brilliant light that shot several laser-like lights at the house. It must have been an expensive light, but it probably took the complication out of stringing up lights in the tree and on their house.

The ward members have done a great job of sharing gifts and goodies with one another as well. The lights are only a garnish for the warm christian and non-christian hearts in the area.

 

Merry Christmas to everyone. If you haven't seen "He is the Gift," take three minutes and go and watch it. It helps pick up the Christmas spirit, and is great to share with the whole family.

 

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission
P.S. It's hard to express how much the support from the people back home has helped me. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Two pictures of the tree that I got from a member, with the lights sent from home. The gigantic pencil has "Texas, San Antonio" printed on it, because of course, everything is bigger in Texas. The ornament was one that we got during Christmas Conference.

Another Chapter

Dear Family, Ward Family, Friends, and Fellow Saints,

The mission has still continued well. My new companion's name is Elder Vergara. Don't let his name fool you, he is an English missionary as well. I really shouldn't complain, but I was hoping I would get a Spanish companion. I do know however that Heavenly Father will give me the companions that I need, not necessarily the ones that I want or am looking for. He was just serving in San Marcos, part of the Austin Area. He's extremely easy to get along with, evident by when he asked me, "Is there anything I'm doing that annoys you? If so, tell me and I will stop that." He will not however be a district leader, so I won't have to worry about him going zone leader on me. I also learned that he has ADD as well. That'll either act as a challenge or an asset, it'll just be interesting to see how that affects our work. It shouldn't, really.

Elders Hall and Vergara

I do miss Elder Loveridge. His touch was felt easily by all that we met. Many people seemed to plead to know where he went, and all I really know is that he's in Austin somewhere. It'll be hard since we won't be spending Christmas together, but it'll be ok. More companions just means more friends, I suppose.

Elders Hall and Loveridge

As Christmas advances closer, hearts have been soften even more. Unfortunately, we haven't found any new investigators as of late. Tony and Staniel are our best bet. We had a good lesson with them last Friday where we read from 1 Ne 1-2. Tony is a little more apathetic than his wife, which we will work to overcome. We invited them to church on Sunday, but something kept them and they didn't make it. I never realized how much revelation we could receive during sacrament meeting until I came on my mission. You learn so very much during your mission that springboards you into further gospel study later in life. It's because of my mission that I plan on dating as many return missionaries as I can. It's interesting how insightful both Tony and Staniel are.

I'm excited for the upcoming Christmas Conference which will happen on Wednesday. There will be a few group pictures, a large program and a talent show. I'll follow up on what happens, but point is I am quite excited for it.

At the weekend the Relief Society President of our ward asked us to go on some Reconnaissance and find out what a few needy families wanted for Christmas in order to help with a secret santa. We had some good dinners with members as well, and tacos seemed to be the most popular thing to make. We had that two nights this week. The members do take very good care of us here in this ward.

Not too eventful this week. We taught few lessons, re-met plenty of members as Elder Loveridge said his goodbyes and Elder Vergara said his hellos. We're working on finding more people to teach. And as such, we won't be teaching nearly as many lessons until we do find some. I'm going to need to be humble if we are to find anyone new. 

The best news of this all is that Elder Vergara's parents speak Spanish, so that while he is not fluent, far from it, he can understand a good amount of what i say, and I'll probably use him a lot to learn more Spanish. I'm wishing that next transfer I get sent to a Spanish area. But I shouldn't go contrary to where I'm sent, and as a result I probably shouldn't complain about where I am now. It's hard not to be ungrateful sometimes, and i suppose the Christmas season is a great time to learn not to be.

Well, tell us about your new companion-

 Who? 

See above.

Where from? 

From Sacramento California. I've only had two companions from Utah so far: Elder Loveridge and Goodman

What's he like?

He's what he described himself as, "a jock and a nerd." Very sincere, slightly abrupt, he has the desire to make this area the "area to serve in" as well as "leave it better than we found it." He's not too similar to any other of my companions so far, and I'm trying to get a good read on him.

He wants to bring comp-unity into our companionship as soon as possible. I am content to let our skills flourish together little bit by bit, but he does have a point. I hope that together we can have success: not necessarily success with numbers, but success that shows us that our efforts here were not wasted. 

 What about his family? 

One younger brother, three dogs, and a cat or two. His parents are both converts to the church, so he has a great opportunity to be an example for them. I haven't learned too much about his family quite yet, however.

How are you learning together?

Well enough, I hope. We haven't been together for even a week yet. He has a different teaching style, finding style, and I'm still trying to see what I can improve on that he can demonstrate for me. We're learning from our studies and from simply doing the work.

And then, how are Tony and Staniel?

Well. I would love for them to get to church, but there must be an obstacle that they're hitting that we don't know about. Maybe it's the early church time (8:30am is pretty hard to do :O). Maybe it's something else. But whatever it is, they'll need lots of prayer and proper fellowship.

 I thought the "Teach me to walk in the Light' CD might be good for them? 

Probably would be good. I don't want to come across as "I want you to be baptized, so here's this cd", so I'll have to be careful how I give it. Probably I will just give it as a Christmas present.

How has the Spirit guided you this week? 

I could have done better to follow the Spirit this week. A few times the Spirit prompted me to do something and I was too pig-headed to follow. In one case I stubbornly decided to follow the schedule we planned instead of diverting when an opportunity arrived. I suppose the Spirit taught me a little by trial and error this week.

I'm trying to learn to love my companion in more exquisite ways. Be more creative about it, and such. While creativity isn't a requirement, it certainly helps.

What made you laugh last week?

Yesterday every squirrel and it's dog was out climbing trees. It was funny to see how many were out. When we went to an appointment yesterday,we knocked on the door and his wife came out, telling us that he wasn't there. We sadly walked to our locked bikes, and as we unlocked them we saw a car pull up to his house. It was funny that our timing went as it did. If we were a few minutes late, we might have caught him. But to avoid the appearance that we had waited for him to show up, we left to visit some other people instead.

I've proceeded to torture my new companion with my incessant puns. Something that Elder Loveridge told me that I have plenty of. I suppose that's kind of funny.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

P.S. I'm still looking for Christmas stories on how you've come closer to Him during the season. Feel free to send them.

A few Christmas gifts under a makeshift tree I drew on an empty tissue box.

Foggy Morning.

Me on the bike