Workin' Never Smirkin'

Dearest Family, Friends, etc. important people,

I learned from Elder Craner last week that Gerardo was baptized. I'm extremely excited for him, and the choice that he made. The Lord truly gathers his prepared people.

Elder Craner, his new companion and Gerardo.
Gerardo was baptized not last Saturday, but the one before. FANTASTIC!

Another fruitful week in Austin and things are looking up. I am beginning again to remember the dreams I have at night. While I had a few interesting ones this week, I probably won't share them.

We had a Spanish conference this week. I was able to see some great other missionaries that I've had the pleasure of serving with, and others as well. We did plenty of interpretation exercises. For example, we would listen to a paragraph of a conference talk in English, and then translate it to Spanish. We would translate an English speaker actively as they spoke, and plenty of other activities. I loved the motivating atmosphere that existed there. I am so close to passing the tier 3 test of Spanish, I can nearly taste it. Just 25% more until I ace it!

Last P-Day Activity as a zone

They also talked about using our Spanish hours to plan out what we are going to do to improve our Spanish throughout the day. I realized that there is more that I can be doing to make use of my Spanish during the day, even as we teach, preach, and communicate in English with most of the people here.

Tony, unfortunately missed church yet again. He's exerting himself a bunch to keep the commandments that we have taught him so far, but he barely missed the opportunity to attend. He accepted the message quite quickly; it makes sense for those we work with to have concerns in some areas while they are void of them in others. Ken did not make it either, which was sad, but livable.

These wards feed us too well. If they don't stop, I'm going to get fat. Almost every evening we eat with a new family and enjoy the spirit of their home. The tricky part is asking the right questions to help them to share the gospel with their family and friends. Full time missionary really is a fancy way to say missionary work assistant. I've grown to notice that this work isn't so much of getting the help of members, but helping them.

Could I give y'all a request? Think of the most odd-ball sentences you can, and send them to me. I can translate those, and hopefully learn some new words as I go along.

Some other pictures for you to enjoy:

I found my home street!

We love the members in our area, and not just because they feed us well.

Tony and Stanyelle and kids at their baptism.  How I would have liked to been there!

Questions and Answers

How are you and Elder Hovinghoff doing in your efforts with Ken and Tony and his family and Elliot?

As described above. Elliot actually lives outside of our area. As sad as that could be perceived as, it is great that other missionaries will have the opportunity to work with him.

How is your Spanish studying going?  

As well as it can, with improvements on the way. Elder Hovinghoff and I like to take about fifteen minutes each Spanish hour to study together. I'm working on boosting my vocabulary and my ability to translate hard things. The evidence of the gift of tongues in my mission is abundant. Never in my wildest dreams would I be able to grow so rapidly outside of a missionary environment, Spanish area or no.

Are there in your and Elder Hovinghoff's apartment with more than one companionship or just you two?  

We got the whole world (apartment), to ourselves . . .

What has the Spirit taught you this week? 

Mistakes and sin are a natural part of life. I've come to realize on my mission that people are imperfect and need repentance. Repentance is an immediate remedy that would act as a salve for all mistakes. And when I do make them, which surely will happen, I can trust in the undoing power of Christ.

Have you felt any hints of Autumn?   

Vaguely. The calendar is the biggest hint. The next biggest is the night falling earlier each evening. Coming up in third place is degrading heat. I've survived two Texas summers, woot!

I suppose the Halloween decorations are another example.

Have you has any animal companions around?

Compared to Tenth Ward and Carrizo, Carriage Park does not have as many companion sized animals. Although in Lago Vista, the deer pretty much roam free with little care about what surrounds them. It almost makes me angry how oblivious they are, but a then I remember that they are deer, and there really isn't a reason to be irritated. I suppose though, they might become a hindrance if we were to hit one with the car!

Does Elder Hovinghoff also like smoothies?

I believe so. He makes slightly different ones that I do.

--

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

Steady as it Goes

Dearest family, friends and others,

Quite a hopping week this week. While this area moved slowly when I got here, it has managed to pick up. Tony, unfortunately, was unable to make it to church. He can still be on track to be baptized in October, and with God's will he could be baptized with his family as well. His parents haven't expressed great interest in the message, but with prayer, their attitude could likely change. Instead, a man that has met with missionaries for a while, Ken, made it to church for the first time in a while. We also met Elliot, someone who came to church because of the invitation of members from the Ward.

I've taken a liking to smoothies this week. I decided to blend what I usually mix in a bowl for breakfast every morning, and it tasted great. Peanut butter, granola, oats, frozen blueberries, chia seed and almond milk. If any of you have suggestion on smoothie recipes. Or for anything else for that manner. 

Exchanges with Elder Hopkins this week. He sounds a little like Elder Tews when he talks, which made me laugh a little. Working with him helped me to overcome my natural fears of talking with people. At the end of the evening he gave me a much needed hair cut. It's much cheaper to get the help of a missionary.

As missionaries, we make diligent notes about lessons we have, so that future missionaries can build off of he work we have already done. Nowadays we have been working to transfer our physical paper records into a digital format. Hopefully we'll be able to do it all before the transfer ends. A love the digital direction our work is going!

The weather has gotten a bunch tamer. We still drink plenty of water and the heat doesn't punish us to the same level as earlier in the summer.

I also apologize that this email is coming out so late. Today we had p-day activities at a members home in from another Ward. We had great food, played baseball, pool, and fishing. Swinging an aluminum bat, I missed all 25 or so pitches. The wooden bat was more successful.

Questions and Answers

How have your experiences with the Ward members been this week?    

Plenty of dinners. It's fun getting to know the missionaries that are about to leave. 

There are plenty of strong families in the area. Plenty of people preparing for missions.

How is Tony doing?         

Persevering and such. He's been reading and although He hasn't been to church yet, he should be able to make it this Sunday.

How is 'forget yourself and go to work' helping you this week?        

   

A lot less to worry about when you take yourself out of the equation. It requires a bunch of prayer.

How has the Lord helped you to know what is needed this week?      

He has helped me to raise my vision. We can find a family this month, I am sure of it. Working with families makes me extremely happy.

What has been funny, happy or a tender mercy this week for you and for your companion?

Ken made it to church even though Tony missed it. Elder Hopkins did a lot to encourage me and help me to recognized the growth that our area has seen. Patience in seeing growth.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

I love you all!

His Work of Salvation

Dear family, friends, and others,

Things are looking up, I'm beginning to adjust a little more to working in two wards, and the heat is down a few degrees. I am definitely sure that the Lord has an active role in these two wards. Serving somewhere in the Austin area was secret wish of mine at the beginning of my mission.

Last week a member pointed us to one of his friends in the area. We went by and met Tony, one of the first people I've met that has read from the apocrypha. Tony is extremely bright. We shared the restoration with him and talked about the blessing of baptism that is available as a result. Without hesitation, he accepted the invitation to be baptized. I was proud of Elder Hovinghoff who extended the invite. It was a promising first visit.

Later we visited a again with David, another member. He had been reading from the Book of Mormon, and knew that it was true. We were more excited, we reminded him of baptism, and he shared that he was still excited for his. We saw him again that weekend, things going as they should. When church came around, we found out he wasn't available for David to pick him up that morning. We were disappointed, but the experience with Tony reminded me of God's power to prepare his own people.

We had exchanges this week with Elder Shields and Elder White, our district leader. Serving with Elder Shields, a new missionary in his second transfer was a blast. New missionaries have an energy that is hard to imitate: excited, willing to learn, ready to preach. He shared a tender mercy he saw when he noted that he was disappointed to miss eating pizza with a family in his Ward. Instead the family we ate with also shared pizza with us. It was great to drive again for the day.

In Austin they do not use plastic bags at stores. I was surprised to learn this, but I've laughed as the past two p-days before this one, we forgot to bring our bags with us to go shopping. There seems to be less roadkill around as well. I almost miss the dogs that would stalk you in Carrizo Springs, as walking around in Cedar Park and Leander isn't challenging.

In our Zone Conference this week we received trainings on turning outward and avoiding contention. A sister missionary cited the famous counsel from President Hinckley's father, "Forget yourself and go to work." For some reason, that phrase didn't quite sink in until this recent meeting. I've found truth in that counsel and a hidden happiness. Then, after seeing examples given by our leaders, I found practical application of the principle of dissipating contention.

Enjoying a cool treat on the way back from Zone Conference 

We knocked the door of a pastor for another faith. We were looking for someone else, but we talked to him. He introduced himself, and we shared about temples, and the blessings of baptisms for the dead. While he didn't agree with the doctrine, the conversation ended well as we sincere asked about his beliefs and his faith in Christ. I felt a positive gift of persuasion as we talked. We might visit him again.

Questions and Answers

Does your tablet allow you to look back on the emails you have sent and see again the emails sent to you? 

Yes, I have access to all the messages I've received since I first received it. That being said, I only receive messages when we use the internet. It's almost like I still must check a mail box to get mail. Please feel free to send emails. This is still something special about a hand written letter. Both have their place.

How are you and Elder Hovinghoff doing getting to know and understand each other?

Working together has helped us to get to know one another. I've been doing much better. Your prayers are all felt. Even those of you that wonder if it does, I see the results of them. Elder Hovinghoff and I are getting better at dispelling contention from among us. He is one of the greatest examples I have seen of patience. Not a complaint, not a fidgety remark, not a selfish demand comes from him. He says he wants to have a big family one day. He would make a great father of many children.

He's likely learned that I sing to myself when I think no one is listening.

Is the weather still really hot in the Cedar Park and Carriage Hills area?     

Quite. I feel adjusted. Lots of water and patience act as magnificent remedies. For short, you might call it "Cedar Hills area" or "Carriage Park".

How is your heart this week?  

In a healthy condition physically and Spiritually. I definitely felt a burden lift from my shoulders as I recognized that Christ already lifted it for me. The Sacrament is a true ordinance!

How has the Spirit helped you this week?

The Spirit helped to guide my personal prayers. I felt like I've struggled for words to say in prayers before, but the Lord already knows what we need. Sometimes it helps to ask for help knowing what we need, and diligently follow promptings as you ask for it in prayer, and seek it throughout your day.

Thank you Mom and Dad for your letters of encouragement. Thank you Erin and Tracy for yours as well. Things have gotten better and will continue to get better as the Lord performs his work in Carriage Cedars. I love you all.

Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission

The Work Endures in Cedar Carriage Park Hills

Hello everyone at home, or elsewhere,

(Apologies about the short email. I will definitely write more next week.)

Recently in the Cedar Park and Carriage Hills wards there was an emphasis on Sabbath Day observance. From what I've heard, this emphasis has been felt at home too. My favorite part of this week was indeed the Sabbath day.

Forgot to mention last week that we do drive a car. We cover plenty of area, and while I would sincerely enjoy riding a bike, it wouldn't be efficient to do so.

Fairly hard week this week. After getting adjusted to small-town Carrizo Springs, working in a highly populated area is different. We've been visiting Brian and his family from time to time. Brian and Shannon have met with missionaries for a few years. Their daughter Faith was baptized about a year ago. They've gotten to know quite a few missionaries.

This past week I learned that Elder Hovinghoff was an avid mountain climber before his mission.

Elders Hovinghoff and Hall Selfie

Questions and Answers

What have you and Elder Hovinghoff been doing this week?

We had a district meeting with the new district. There are only three companionships, one of them Sisters. All of the other missionaries in district have been out for a shorter time than I have.

Continuing to look for new people to teach, we've gone by members of both wards to introduce ourselves and get to know them. In between those visits, we've walked different neighborhoods looking for people outside to talk to.

Every other week, we switch off which ward we have dinners with. This week we met with those people of Carriage hills.

Will you please tell us some more about Cedar Park and Carriage Hill Wards and their people?

Carriage Hills has many missionaries in the field. Just this past Sunday, we listened to the farewell talks of two future missionaries: one from each ward.

Is it hilly there? 

There are some fantastic hills in the area. Going towards Lago Vista, we drive down an exhilarating decline

And, do you ride bikes there?

We could if we really wanted to, but no.

-Elder Hall

Texas San Antonio Mission