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