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

More Time in Universal City, but Without Elder Loveridge

Dear family, friends, ward family, and random stranger roaming the internet,

Looks like I'll spend another transfer in Universal City; my companion Elder Loveridge however, will not. He's been called as a zone leader, and he'll be sent to who knows where in the TSAM. He predicted we'd stay together, however I successfully predicted he'd become a zone leader. I have the proof in my journal. I'm really hoping that if I get a new companion, that he will be Spanish speaking so I can have a buddy to bounce my Spanish off of. Those missionaries in foriegn countries have the blessed situation of always having a Spanish companion, something that I'm just a little jealous of. I won't be training anyone, and I'm just crossing my fingers that at some point in my mission I'll have the chance to do that. But maybe I'm just not destined to train anyone at all. Doesn't matter. If I do train someone, I'll be forced to act a little less goofy. So at the same time I am blessed.

Elder Judd, a missionary from Cibolo, part of our district, will be the new District leader, and I found out that Sister Turpin and Elder Pew are new the new Sister Training Leader Leader and Assistant to the President respectively. Both are great missionaries that I look up to. Working with them has been a blast. I wish them the best, and I love how the best missionaries are always called to positions in which they may serve the most.

Elder Loveridge has mixed feelings about the whole change. He'll do great, but he told me that he will miss the opportunity he's had to work so close to the Elders in the district. I can imagine, work as a district leader is a bunch more personal than work as a Zone Leader. I can't imagine him disliking the opportunity to go on lots of exchanges as a ZL though. One day I suppose I might be a district leader. It would be cool to go on a few more exchanges and be responsible for organizing district meetings. For now, howerver, I'm allowed to take things slow, one bit at a time.

One evening this week, walking home from our visits, we came across this Jamaican man with a barbeque pit trailer hitch, randomly cooking meet in the parking lot of a store. Upon talking with him, he offered us some food, which we accepted, and I can't say that I've ever had chicken as good as what that guy made. I'm glad however that I didn't get food poisoning, which would have been bad. Let this be a lesson to you that generally you shouldn't take chicken from strangers. Unless they are Jamaican. This was the funniest moment of the week.

Even as that jamaican man got the food ready, we met someone else who passed by us on the sidewalk. He had seen us before on our bikes and was curious what we were up too. We shared a little with him, and we'll probably go visit him. We think he lives in Randolph ward, however, and after we teach him once, we'll probably have to refer him to the Randolph Elders. Too bad, but not really, because we are all on the same side.

This week I had an exchange with the Cibolo Elders, Elder Reimschussel and Elder Judd. Elder R was the first person that I ever handed out a Book of Mormon out with, but he worked in UC as I was in Cibolo. And because Elder Hughes is missing his companion, I also technically had an exchange with Randolph as well. It was interesting because that morning we ate with a member for breakfast and then we helped him to decorate his Christmas Tree. then later that evening during the exchange we decorated another tree. Pretty funny. It makes me want to go out and buy a puny tree and decorate it too, but Elder Loveridge isn't on board with that. I'll just have to hope that my next companion has more Christmas spirit than him. Just kidding of course. No problems in that regard.

I did snore badly for Elder Hughes though, as I forgot to get more nose pads from the store last P-day. He had enough and threw a pillow at me, which utterly startled me in the middle of the night. I've always felt bad for the Elders that have to put up with my snoring, which apparantly doesn't dissapear just because I'm in the Lord's service.

Another set of Elders had a baptismal interview that they needed Elder Hughes for, so of course we tagged along. I was glad that it went well for the candidates. We helped Elder Hughes do some Zone Leader business earlier in the day, but otherwise little happened during that exchange. 

Owing to how many people we visit everyday, I can't remember if I've told y'all about Tony and Staniel. Anyway, they are a great couple with four kids that we met when we went looking for their less-active mother-in-law/mother. Instead we met them, and as soon as Tony found out that we weren't Jehova's Witnesses, he let us in. That made me a laugh a little. We've had the wonderful chance to teach them twice already, and the only reason they didn't come to church yesterday was due to their oversleeping. We think that we'll have them for sure this coming Sunday. But of course, as always, prayers for their benefit are welcome, as I see this family progressing an awful lot. Oh boy, I'm excited for them.

One scripture that I liked from 2 Nephi 28:14 talks about how the prideful people were taught by the precepts of man. It reminds me that I need to be careful from which sources and whom I am studying from, and that I remain humble, seeking to be a child and a saint. The scriptures talk about an awful lot.
 

This Saturday we had a meeting with all of the San Antonio missionaries and Elder Corbridge and Wright of the Seventy. They talked about being willing to say and go as we are sent, and to build up the kingdom in the areas we server, one person, one member, one investigator at a time. They talked about how our desires shouldn't as much be to baptize, as to baptize and bring others to a knowledge of the gift and power of God. They also said that if people really understood what we taught, they would have no problems with being baptized. What an eye-opening statement!

I'm struck with the depth of things I was able to learn with Elder Loveridge. Anyone considering serving a mission would be helplessly done a disservice if they didn't serve. It'll be up to you, but you won't regret it as long as you stay true to what you believe. It won't, however, mean anything if you don't stay true, or continue to believe. But if you do, it'll bless you. It'll be hard to return home after all of this.

Questions and Answers: 

Well, have you been transferred?

See monologue above.

If so or not please tell any and all things that have caught your notice in spiritual ways this first week of December. 

I've noticed how critical prayer in the morning is. Elder Loveridge and I were listening to conference talks this week and one by Elder Holland struck me. He talked about how God created all things spiritually before he did physically, and based on His example how we should pray to create our day spiritually. I'm trying to work on that.

How are the families?

Great. Ramon is still coming to church, but still isn't ready to be baptized. We haven't heard from Gloria in forever. Still pray for her, she'll need it. Tony and Staniel are awesome. All of the families from this ward seem to be doing very well. I want to find another family this week.

How are the people?

Fantastic. I really wish more Spanish speakers were here. However, we did get a return appointment with a man named josé, who seems promising. It'll be hard at church because his English is limited, but if he feels the spirit, it won't matter.

What have you learned from the work with your companion this week?

Elder Loveridge always teaches me how to contact people on the street better. He's given me insights that have heightened me ability. He teaches me to be more tactful with my words, and quicker at my insights. He teaches me to smile. He teaches me to exercise hard in the morning in order to be invigorated for studies. I'll miss him. As of yet, I've not had a single companion for more than about 10 weeks. I'll receive my 8th one at the beginning of my 5th transfer. It's crazy.

How's the weather?

A lack of snow makes it weird for me to say "Merry Christmas." I feel like there ought to be a lot more snow, or snow period. We wear sweaters for the most part. One night when it started to rain, Elder Loveridge lovingly donated his scarf to me. because I wanted to keep my head dry, I got creative and wrapped it into a turban. It almost looked like a beanie after a few tries. I was pretty proud of myself.

 How are the bikes?

Working well. Elder Loveridge got this bizarre knot in his chain this week, so while we took his bike to the shop to get fixed, I let them tune mine up as well. The place that most missionaries purchase their bikes from is in the area, so they tuned my bike for free, and his for cheap. 

Don't you love my Scarf-turban-beanie?

 

Cibolo and Universal city. In our apartment, which isn't anything fancy but it get's the job done. You'll note that Elder Reimschussel is the shorter missionary with either the maniatic or scared look on his face. His birthday is on the same day as my brother Tracy's. Funny.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

P.S. Would any of you like to send your stories of how you've come closer to Christ during the Christmas season? I might use some of them in teaching situations. :-D

He is The Gift of Christmas

Another good week in Universal City,

 

Thanksgiving was great. We ate with the Steven's family, and they fed us quite nicely. Elder Loveridge ate 7 pieces of pie. I ate only 2 and a half. I was extremely full for the rest of the day.

 

Those of you who surf the internet have likely seen the "He is the Gift" initiative that the church has taken on. If you haven't seen the video, I encourage to visit christmas.mormon.org right now. This video helps us to remember what the true meaning of Christmas is, and why we celebrate it. Of course Christmas isn't His real birthday, but it allows us to come together and remember the Gift He truly is to us. And after you've seen it, take the time to share it with someone, or post it to whatever social media site is popular nowadays. As missionaries we're doing our best to guide people to this initiative. Christmas is the best time to be a missionary, honestly. It's a great time to be a member missionary as well.

One of the paths that we take to visit the city "Schertz" takes us through a dried up creek. We've seem to run into a lot of dead deer in our adventures down in Schertz. I was tempted to take a picture of one of them and send it home, but I supposed that wouldn't be a good sight for the eyes. The one time I almost ran over one of them startled me immensely. I've seen more deer roadkill in Texas than back at home, and that's something that has surprised me a little bit.

We found a family. The mother's mom was a less active member who had moved, but when we went to go visit her, instead we found this family. They have very open minds. The first visit we had the opportunity to help the father set up this huge work out machine, which we saw completed when we visited them again. While they have great potential, I'm apprehensive that they might lose their momentum and stop investigating. But with the Christmas season and the member who was willing to come with us to the first lesson with them, they should be able to continue to learn. I'm crossing my everything for them. Tony and Staniel are their names. Staniel seems quite a bit more open minded than Tony, but they are both easy to talk to and get along with, and they have four wonderful children. During our lesson with them, the youngest made off with our pamphlet and gave it to his parents. Then later he tried to make off with another one. 

Next week I'll find out if I'm staying or going. While I've loved the people of Universal City, I'm anxious to go to an area that I can us my Spanish in. I've talked to a total of four or five different contacts who speak Spanish, and none of them have been too interested. Over and over in my journal I note how blessed I am to be able to use both languages in preaching the gospel, but I wouldn't mine using a tad bit more Spanish. Who knows what will happen? Elder Loveridge guesses that we will stay together for another transfer, which is likely. It's also possible that he might leave and I will stay. But whatever happens, I know I'll be where I need to be. Maybe I'll see some growth in the Universal City ward.

We missed Richard, Ramon, and Gloria this week. Richard told us that he read a few pages of the Book of Mormon at the beginning, which is a good sign. We'll go to visit tonight, hopefully we can invite his family to join us. Ramon has been faithfully coming to church every week since I've been here. I wonder what she needs in order to have the desire to be baptized. Wonderful lady, and she even knows the Book of Mormon is true. I suppose it'll just take a bunch of prayer and time. After all, it is he choice to make, not ours.

The Lord protects his missionaries. Yesterday on our way to an appointment, I looked down at my pocket and noticed my pen was missing. This distressed me for just long enough that when Elder Loveridge stopped for some reason I ran into from the side. Luckily I was going very slow. None of us were hurt, but I couldn't help but laugh after it was over. When we returned home that evening, I found my pen was on my desk. Looks like I had never put it in my pocket. I was happy because I lose pens quite rapidly, and the fine tip pens I use are expensive.

Could you tell more of your experiences with the people of the Universal City ward- are they native Texans , or do they come from other places, are the ward members young or older, converts to the Church or members all their lives?

Some of them are native Texans, most of them are military families that are currently making a stop, or have made their final stop in Universal City. Some of the members speak Spanish, but all of them can speak English. There's a good mix of older and younger members, so I couldn't say exactly if their is more or less of either group. A good amount of converts, but their is only one recent convert family that was baptized within the last year. We'll have to see if we can change that.

 How has the Spirit guided you this past week? 

Every once and a while Elder Loveridge and I get into disagreements and have a little bit of contention. The Spirit guides me the most when he first leads me to forgive myself and second to apologize to my companions. The Spirit also lead us to meet a man as we were returning to our apartment. Due to the fact that we can't ride our bikes in the dark, we were walking. We met the guy who immediately stopped us and asked us if we could pray for him. He said he knew Mormons and some other things, and told us about his difficulty finding a job. We had a prayer with him right there and I could feel calm afterwards. We gave him our information and we hope he'll give us a call. If not we know we were at the right place at the right time. There's nothing quite as satisfying as that.

My parents asked for a picture of me and my bike. I didn't take it before we left the apartment, so y'all might have to wait until next week. I named it "Noahs Ark". It's carried me through many a rainstorm even in the five months I've had it.

Enjoy the season,

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Elder Loveridge's family sent us some Christmas goodies. Two advent calendars filled with chocolate and two stockings that look ready to serve missions.

Thanksgiving at the Stephens

Email sent home from the Bro. Pat Stephens in San Antonio:

We had the privilege of having your young men at our home for Thanksgiving dinner. We had our neighbors who are nonmembers at our home with us as well. My name is Bro. Pat Stephens and I am in the red shirt behind my wife Shala in the maroon shirt holding our daughter Lucy. McKay is our 4 year old and Brennley is our 7 year old. My mother is wearing the light blue shirt on the far left and was visiting from California. It was a great meal and I can guarantee that your sons were well fed! I was impressed with Elder Loveridge who successfully tried a serving of each of the 5 pies that we had for dessert. Of course this was after his 3 plates of dinner! Awesome Elders, we love them!

Pat Stephens

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to family, friends, etc., etc.

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already upon us. Soon Christmas and New Years, and pretty soon summer will be here, and in a year I'll probably be saying just about the same things.

Thanksgiving is a time to be, well, thankful. I'm grateful of this holiday and how it can be a yearly reminder to not only count our blessings but to be thankful in our circumstances. I'm thankful for the members of Universal City ward. They are extremely generous, and I haven't gone a single day without eating at a member's home with the exception of P-day. The members here are completely willing to help us in several aspects of missionary work, and they lift where they stand. I'm also thankful for the support of members back in my home ward and what they to to help me keep the faith and maintain hope.

Earlier this week we met a different fellow. As we went visiting people in our records, we came across Richard. When we knocked he immediately invited us in and we sat down with him in his garage. After a little while we had learned that missionaries visited him many times before. During those visits he was still struggling with a drinking problem, and as a result was not sober whatsoever during those visits. He managed to quit the habit 9 months ago, and so we were the first missionaries to talk with him while he was sober. The older missionaries still had a tremendously good affect on him, which resulted in him inviting us in so soon. He told us how he would love to read the Book of Mormon, how he felt dissatisfied with his current religion, and wanted to come closer to God. He told us how God was a major help to him during his addiction, and how he strives still to overcome his addiction to tobacco. His wife may not be as interested, so I ask for your prayers on his family's behalf, that they might have softened hearts and be willing to listen to the message of the restoration.

Gloria was sick when we visited with Ramon, so we were unable to teach her. We've now learned that Ramon has read the Book of Mormon twice before, and she's working on a third read through. While she has a testimony of its truthfulness, she's still nervous about baptism, and when we asked when we could come over next, she said "Oh, sometime after the holidays." When we asked if she meant Thanksgiving, she responded, "no, after Christmas." Luckily her son helped us by pointing out that we may not even be there after Christmas. She's still extremely apprehensive though, and we'll do all we can to strengthen her testimony of Christ. Prayers are always welcome, and I thank you for them.

Rain, rain, rain. On Saturday night, it poured like mad. Since Elder Loveridge needed to pick up some medicine, we used the less productive hours in the dark to go pick it up. When we came out, the sky flooded. Walking back to the apartment through the few blocks was like swimming. Our shoes were filled. Luckily, however, we had brought umbrellas with us and the rain only wetted our pride, and not our shirts.

I had tres leches cake for the first time before yesterday. Pretty good. For those of you who don't know, tres leches cake is a local dessert made of several things and three kinds of milk, goats', normal, and sweetened condensed. It's extremely moist. Can't say it was my very favorite, but certainly something to try if you're ever in Texas.

Elder Loveridge and I wrecked on our bikes. No worries, I didn't rip any pants this time, but we both felt silly after it all transpired. Going down a, err, I'm not sure what to call it, basically it's a pathway for water to drain, we came to a part where there was a fairly large drop off. To avoid it, we took the side which was a little bit slanted but otherwise level and a safer way to get to the lower level. Seconds after he got on, Elder Loveridge promptly fell over. Moments later following him closely, I slipped too. Apparently all of the rain had slicked the path making it difficult to go over without slipping. My leg hurts a little from the fall, but I've done much worse.

What else, what else? It seems that Alamo 2nd has been doing fairly well. The people we were working with are progressing, and they still find new people.

A family has already invited us over for Thanksgiving, so I'm not to preoccupied with what is happening then. Holidays such as this one aren't the best time to proselyte, so it might be a lazy day. Those shouldn't happen too often.

I'm grateful for email. Technology has helped the work hasten very much, and it continues to be the way that missionaries and families can continue to communicate. Thanks to everyone who sends a friendly message from time to time.

Questions:

What do the people in the Universal city area do at Thanksgiving- are there turkey pinatas or what?

I don't think there are any turkey piñatas. That would be a little strange. They probably do it just like people in Utah do, except with less snow and more barbecue. I'll just have to find out for myself though.

Has the weather let you use your bikes much this week? 

A fair amount. We don't use them in heavy rain and we no longer ride them at night, but we take them out as often as we can. Feet can't beat wheels for efficiency.

How are Ramon and Gloria doing? 

Gloria's a little sick. Ramon is worried sick. We're leaving this in the Lord's hands, because there isn't an awful lot we can do to help them if we can't visit them.

What was the funniest thing that happened to you this week?

Maybe this wasn't funny, but I had a dream that I got sent home. It was funny that I could remember the dream, and it was funny I couldn't remember the reason why I went home. I dream a lot more often than I remember I did before I left for San Antonio.

In what way(s) has the Spirit been guiding you this week?

Through helping me to study better, through helping us decide who to visit. By touching the hearts of us and those we visit, to allow open conversation to flow. I'll need to come up with more specific things next week. Certainly the Spirit tried to guide us away from crashing, but we did have heavenly protection anyways.

By the way, how is your edifying music player working? Can both you and Elder Loveridge hear it well enough?

It's pretty loud. I don't like the broken switch, but it's a minor nuisance.

Did you locate your glasses?

Yes. I found them underneath the suitcase at the foot of my bed. Probably the last place I would look for it, so it took a while for it to turn up.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Elder Hall

P.S. I suggest that all of you offer at least one prayer of only gratitude this week. Make it as long as you desire, but don't get up if your heart is still full!

Increasing in Faith

Hello family, friends, and all,

A somewhat slower feeling week this week. The last few days we got a fair bit of sprinkling rain, which prevented us from using our bikes those days. Once again, I am very grateful for bikes, and the rate at which they can get us from appointment to appointment. We've really relied on members for rides an help during the darkening hours of the evening. During our first dinner when the weather started turning bitter, the members who fed us took pity on us and gave us both gloves and hats. They even gave Elder Loveridge some thermals and myself a scarf. I won't be needing any more winter gear, probably. That was extremely kind of those members. It did help, however, that this member gets free gear in relation to his work, so we weren't taking anything that the didn't already have a grand excess of.

I've gotten a little bit sick in the past few days. One day I pulled my back somehow, and the day it recovered completely I caught a cold. I am taking my vitamins, but I could probably do better to take care of myself, namely exercise harder and eat smarter.

Somehow, I don't know how, I lost my glasses last night. I had them with me before I went to bed, but I must have done something strange, because they haven't turned up yet. If y'all could put in some extra words in your prayers that I might find them or stop being so weak and get over it, I would appreciate it very much. It reminds me of a night in Windcrest back in my first transfer, when I woke up and found my retainer was under my bed somehow. 

Yesterday we ate with Call family. I was very surprised to learn that Brother Call is the younger brother of my former MTC Branch president, President call. When I took another look, he did look an awful lot like him, and they both sound very similar too. They fed us well and we enjoyed their company, but it did make me a little bit nostalgic when they knew the town I'm from. Oof. Lots of good members in plenty of good places.

This week we met with the non-member mother and non-member cousin of another family in the ward for lunch. There were so many people present at the lesson, however, that it took a very long time for us to share the doctrine that we wanted. It goes to show that gospel study sometimes is more efficient in more personal theaters. Gloria, the cousin, has the desire to be baptized, but is a little distraught that she needs to meet with missionaries in order to do it. She'll need all the prayers she can get in order to overcome Word of Wisdom difficulties. Ramon, the mother, has already read from the Book of Mormon, but doesn't seem as interested in learning more. She too, I think, will come around as she continues to read and pray. In reality, if we as members aren't reading and praying daily ourselves, we  can't continue to know that the church is true. It's a gospel principle for everyone.

On Wednesday we had a zone meeting (our zone only). It went very well. I had my regular interview with the Mission President and I asked him how I could consecrate my fears. He told me that the decision of consecration could be immediate, but the actually change would happen over time. Kind of funny how we need to exercise patience in a variety of ways before we become better. And even then, we do it completely through the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. During lunch myself and a few other missionaries wandered a little through the chapel, when this bird runs face first into the glass of a door, and dies. It was so sad, but you couldn't help but laugh at how sudden it was. None of us will live on this earth very long. The time we have to prepare is preciously short.

 With the holidays approaching as fast as they are, we'll need to prepare ourselves to teach like mad during the Christmas Season. Hearts are always softer, words are kinder, and people are generally more receptive to a message of Jesus Christ during the holiday modeled after his birth, Christmas. Please keep the people of San Antonio in you prayers, and pray for an opportunity to lift the life of another during this great time.

Universal city will certainly be a new experience.

 

Will you please tell us more about your new ward area?
Sure.

. . . .


Just kidding.

This ward has plenty of English speakers, but no pure Spanish speakers. Anyone who speaks Spanish in this ward will also be able to speak english. As a result, all of our work is in English. It's a little sad that I can't use my Spanish as often. Instead, I just annoy my companion by saying everything first in Spanish and then translating it into English. Well, that's what I'll try to do.

The members feed us daily. So far in being in this ward, the members haven't missed a single day with us. We have an officially called member in the ward who organizes a calendar and makes sure it gets filled every week. And while we do eat every day, it isn't with the same families every week. It gives us a great opportunity to lift the members of the ward as best as we can.

We have a good sized ward. It covers the three mini-cities of Shertz, Universal City, and Live Oak. Bikes definitely come in handy, but the few days that we've had to walk haven't been entirely fruitless.

What is Elder Loveridge's family like?

A younger family. He's the oldest of four, and from what I understand his mother is a convert. His father served in Brazil on his mission. His younger sister who is finishing up her senior year is planning on serving a mission too. Pretty exciting stuff.

Where does he come in his family as to brothers and /or sisters?   

Two younger brothers and one younger sister.

How has the Lord blessed you this week?

We wouldn't have found Gloria or Ramon at all if it weren't for the members of the ward. Some people you find through hard work. Others come to you as you work hard. Luckily the Lord doesn't bless us in the same ways every single time. If he did, we would begin to believe it was through our efforts that people accepted the gospel, which wouldn't be accurate.

With love for God, and for you all,

-Elder Hall

Movement is Fine, Missionary Work Continues

Good day to you all,

Elder Loveridge and Me Selfie

Yet another change in the mission field. Last Tuesday I found out that I'd be shipped out to Universal City the following day, and I did so. Elder Loveridge is from Ogden area, and he's the first companion I've had so far that is taller than me. He's also a English Missionary, which made me a tad bit sad considering I won't be able to speak my every thought to him in Spanish, but I'll still be able to learn.

This Wednesday a new missionary from Alamo 2nd Ward left on his mission. In about 2 weeks, Elder Galvez will be in the Kenniwick, Washington mission. We attended his setting apart on Sunday, and there were many tears shed -- a majority of them being his. He has an extremely large heart.

Other than that, not much happened in Alamo 2nd happened before they carted me away unexpectedly. We visited a few Recent Converts, had a great first lesson with another couple, and enjoyed our other time that we had. But, let me tell you a little more about Universal City. This area is another Bike area, which means I won't have to worry as much about gaining weight :-). We cover a whole entire ward, different than what we did while I was in Windcrest. There are a variety of different families in the area, and this ward feeds us very well. We make most of our communication with members through dinner messages and when they help pick us up later in the night. I'm still getting to know this area as best as I can, and it'll take quite a while.

I've not spoken any Spanish with anyone except myself, and the only Spanish contact that we've had this whole week. He seemed pretty interested, but when he said his street was called "Navidad," I was pretty sure that he wanted to soft drop us. That was alright thought. It proved to my that my Spanish hasn't completely dissipated yet.

Thursday night we were returning after a failed attempt to visit someone, and Elder Loveridge's chain on his bike snapped in two. After a kind member came and picked us up, eventually dropping us off back home, we had to take his bike to the bikeshop down the road. As a bonus, they took a look at my bike and fixed a few problems that it had as well. But as a result, we did a bunch of walking on friday, and a little bit more when we went to go pick up our bikes. I must say I haven't walked that much in a single day since my mission began. It helps me to feel grateful for the opportunity I have to bike, rather than walk to all of our appointments.

The work in general has been a little slow. Right before I moved into the area, my companion tells me that 6 of our investigators moved out of the area. And so we've had to do plenty of door contacts and looking for more people to teach. Luckily we've been blessed with a few doors opened to us. You'll have to wait until next week to see if the work picks up. All of your prayers on my behalf have been felt. My testimony of the power of prayer has increased especially since all of these crazy changes.

How are you doing in your new area with your two zone leader companions?( It must be very interesting and providing lots of new experiences.)    

Well, only a few. We had another lesson with Jamal. He's extremely humble, and he's very willing to learn.

What has been your favorite experience this week?

Kind of hard to say. We met a great fellow named Eric yesterday, and from what I was told, he has a sincere desire to know if the things we talk about are true. We read 3 Nephi 11 with him, and he seemed to drink in every detail he could. Though it's hard to describe. I felt blessed to meet him. Since he's single's ward aged, he'll likely be taught by the Sister Missionaries who cover the single's ward in this area, so we may not be able to teach him much more.

What are the people in the single adult Ward like?   Have you used either of your sweaters yet?

They are wonderful. They freely take suggestions and do their best to change in order to become better. Also because their schedules are so all over the place, it's very easy to meet with them. Visits late earlier in the day are sometimes as those at night. Which was a blessing. I'm glad that Elder Goodman and Elder Tews are allowed to continue to work in their area.

And yes, both sweaters have come in handy. The day I came in it rained for a full 24 hours straight. I've never seen such rain, and especially not in Texas.

-The gospel continues to sound everywhere. It is true.

Elder Hall

P.S. Hopefully the quality of my emails haven't decreased. All questions you have are welcomed.

Elders Goodman and Tews, my 5 Day Companions

Starting Anew

Dearest Family, Friends, and Ward Family,

I've been emergency transfered.  This just means that I've been transfered earlier than the normal cycle. No injuries here, instead Windcrest A has been dissolved and added to Windcrest B, making a larger Windcrest area. Thursday night the assistants called us and said to pack our bags and be ready by 11:30am the next day. And so we did that.

I'm now working in the YSA ward of Alamo 2nd, which is the area Elder Tews is in. We're companions once more! I'm now apart of the San Antonio West Zone, and Elder Tews is one of my Zone Leader companions. Elder Goodman, our other Zone Leader, is my other companion. My first few days here have been great, but it seems that we won't be teaching anyone in Spanish. Our ward is completely English.

Now all of the sudden I am in a new area. Alamo 2nd has already been quite different from Windcrest. First of all, sacrament meeting is extremely reverent. Not a single crying baby to disturb the silence. I've never been to church in a ward like this. 

Transfer meeting on Thursday was great. President Slaughter talked about the first and second great commandments, and focused on part, paraphrased: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." He suggested to us that it is a commandment to have love for ourselves, but that this love is different than pride. Sister Slaughter talked about sustaining the decision of leaders, telling a story about her mission. Both helped me immensely in my situations.

While I miss my old area, I know that Sister Johnson and her new trainee Sister Rowley will take care of the ward, especially the recent converts that Elder Tews and I taught. It was a little funny coming back from transfer meeting, because we all got lost coming back to the apartments. On another topic, it was great to see the immense change that Sister Johnson went through in here journey to be baptized. She doesn't smoke anymore and her language is very clean. Even Brother Johnson was making changes before I left. I sure will miss them.

Elder Hernandez and I are companions no more. I wish him the best as he works with the Zone Leaders in North Zone. Now my new companions are Elder Tews (less new to me) and Elder Goodman. Elder Goodman has 9 other siblings, and is the 8th down the line. He has a very kind nature, and he speak sincerely to everyone. He studied Spanish in high school for three years before his mission, and his Spanish is very good. Because no one speaks Spanish in the ward, we speak the language with each other as much as we can.

The first person we visited after I got into Alamo 2nd Ward was George, a recent convert. I found him to be extremely hospitable to us. We shared a chapter from the book of mormon with him and read parts of it (Alma 36), when we asked him if there was anything that we could do for him. He said yes, and he took us to the kitchen in his apartment. With a sense of humor, George asked us to start the washing machine for him, which Elder Goodman readily did. Elder Tews told us after that George had promised him he'd have something for the missionaries to do when they came over next. I got a real good giggle out of this experience. 

Later we met with another recent convert named Sue. Sue is the first member of the church in her family, and her parents don't know she's been baptized already. She told us her conversion story, and it all started with a friends willingness to share his testimony of church. Sue has a strong testimony already, and it was great to learn from her. The funny part was she wore a halloween costume as we taught her, so I didn't recognize her at church. I embarrassed myself by saying, "Nice to meet you." as I saw her at church that Sunday. No worries.

We had great success last night as we went to visit another member of the ward. Soon after we got there, Carlos introduced us to his friend, Jamal. We had a great lesson with him and towards the end he introduced the concern that he had, that he didn't want to change his faith. Jamal being a baptist, we told him that our desires in meeting with him are to help increase his faith in Jesus Christ. After meeting Jamal I felt my vision raise, and my eagerness to serve this ward increase. 

The rest of the night we were extremely blessed. After the visit with Jamal we met another college student and visited with him and his sister. We have a return appointment with him. We later found another person outside and set up an appointment with him. When me moved to another complex we found plenty of people to talk to and set some more appointments. Whether these appointments come through our not might differ, but I felt extremely blessed. In the past Zone Conference Elder Hamula said "opening your mouth is the price you pay," and as missionaries we need to be willing to open our mouth to talk to everyone. Most of those we talk to don't accept the invitation to learn more. But by talking to everyone, we show to Heavenly Father that we will be ready to talk to those He has prepared for us.

I'm extremely excited to work here in Alamo 2nd. Seeing as I'm younger than the majority of the people we visit, I'll be humbled enough to teach a little better. My companionship and I joked that instead of teaching part-member families, we teach part-member apartments.

 

Here's some answers to questions:

How does knowing that there great blessings for all people to obtain (after the tests and struggles) encourage you? 

It brings a measure of hope. All people who decide to join the church, and especially those who are already members will encounter trials. Trials, as I have been taught and have learned, sometimes come because of our sinful choices. Other times they come because Heavenly Father knows we are ready to grow. Growth is a great form of a blessing, but I am glad to know that all those people who make steps to receive saving ordinances such as baptism and confirmation will be able to feel God's love as they do so.

You mentioned that Elder Hernandez played soccer, do you Elders play soccer on P day or is it basketball mostly?

We never went to P-day activities when we were together. We usually took some time to rest in the apartment and do other errands we had.

What was your most important spiritual experience this past week and  How is the Rubio family doing?

I assume they are doing very well. We saw them last Sunday, and all of the daughters are enjoying church. Brother Rubio is as strong as ever, leading his family. Sister Rubio still hasn't decided to be baptized, but attends church and reads the Book of Mormon with her family.

How is your cooking going?

Well enough. I'll probably be doing less cooking here in Alamo 2nd, at least until we all get used to sharing the kitchen space. Elder Wynne our district leader and his companion Elder Duncan share the apartment with us, so there can sometimes be a bunch of people in the kitchen at once. Elder Duncan and Elder Wynne are both great missionaries.

What funny thing happened this week?

Some of the experiences as noted in my email. Being with Elder Tews has been so surreal that we sometimes laugh for no good reason, or for at something extremely plain. I loved knocking doors with him and Elder Goodman last night.

-Elder Hall

P.S. No pictures this week because the public library we use doesn't allow us to send pictures. We'll have to wait until we use the FHC next week.

P.S.S. Those of you reading these from the blog, feel free to send letters to:

Elder Hall
404 E Ramsey Road Ste. 105
San Antonio, TX. 78216

P.S.S.S. I'm not begging for letters, I promise.