I'M SO BLESSED!

My new raincoat from mom for my birthday and my new tie from dad for my birthday! Thanks guys! 

Hey everyone! What a great week it's been! It's flown by. Not much to report on, but that's ok! 

I'm so glad you're doing ok mom! I hope you recover quickly! I was brought back to Christmas 2013. Scary memories. Strengthening memories. Boy have we been through some stuff! 

Man it felt like Fall this week! It made me feel a feeling I just can't quite explain. It felt like a Fall Saturday you wake up and put on nice jeans and a crisp plaid shirt and wave at everyone as you drive around. It was so surreal! I love that feeling. The leaves here are absolutely breathtaking. I've never experienced a Fall season like this. It is just what Fall should be. I am in Heaven! 

We had zone conference this week, and I loved it! Every time President opens his mouth, it's just for me I swear. I am so thankful for him and his example!

I was really missing my Buster Bluth on Saturday! The weather is just so perfect, it was a day that I would spend going on an adventure with my pup! I said a prayer in my heart and asked God to let Buster feel my love for him. Later in the day, we went to a member's home for dinner, and they had the most beautiful and fun German Shorthair hound. While he wasn't a Bluetick, the German Shorthair is the closest breed to him! His name is Bower, and him and Buster are kindred spirits. They have such similar personalities! It was such a tender mercy to me. I knew Heavenly Father was aware of me, and what I was longing for. He wasn't my Buster Bluth, but he did my heart some good! I let Heavenly Father know how thankful I truly was for that! 

We taught Matthew this week, and he's making progress! I'm excited for him!

Laura is just killing it! She came to church again yesterday, is reading the Book of Mormon every day, and is making so many friends at church. I'm so thankful! 

We taught Frank this week with the intent of dropping him, because he just is at a road block with some things. We went and had such a spiritual lesson with him, he actually told us he was feeling the spirit. He is actually making progress now! I am so excited for him! 

We have a new investigator! His name is Dan and he's a great guy. He coaches at Sherwood High, so we talk football a lot. I love it! He is starting to read the Book of Mormon. Woot!

This was a short email, but I know that as long as we are faithful and obedient, the Lord will multiply our efforts. The Book of Mormon is true, and if you haven't read it, READ IT!! It will bless your life! I love you all, have a great week! 

Elder Hall

The most beautiful sunset I've seen here in Oregon. Still not a Utah sunset!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Puffed Rice treats from home!

Hi guys! What a week! I've learned so much about myself this week. I'm
excited to share! This last Tuesday was two months! Only 22 more to
go! Woo woo! I can't wait!

On Tuesday, we taught Laura. At first we were nervous, because we were
going to teach about the word of wisdom, and she had many posts on
Facebook about her morning coffee. As we taught, The spirit filled the
room, and she told us how she was thinking that she would stop
drinking coffee anyway. She came to church yesterday, and told us that
she had gone all week without her coffee. We are so proud of her! We
hope to set a date for baptism soon!

On Wednesday, we went and visited some of the elderly in our ward. June
is 93 and so so sweet. I love her so much, I almost called her
grandma! She just loves when we visit. She loves telling us about the
war, as her first husband was killed in action, and related to Luke
Johnson, famous apostle to Joseph Smith. She's great!

We also went and saw Ella-Rose. She was really not well, and it was so
hard to watch. She was so frail, and she didn't know where she was,
but she knew we were missionaries and so we prayed for her. Through
all of the pain, confusion, and sickness, she started to pray. It was
such a tender moment. Despite her loss of memory and knowledge, she
prayed so fervently. It touched my heart. Her savior knows her, and
she knows Him. I'll never forget that.

We went and saw Matthew again this week, and told him about the word
of wisdom as well. It was very good because we brought a member that
had issues with the word of wisdom in the past. Matthew was so willing
to give up all of the things that he's used to in order to keep the
Commandments. We hope to catch up with him soon!

Saturday was my birthday!! It was the best birthday I've ever had. It
was the perfect day. We had an awesome breakfast with our whole zone,
and then went and helped Amy's friend Yvonne move into Amy's other
bedroom. Third floor, just like home! Elder Bang and I were so sweaty
after but it was so fun and fulfilling! It poured rain all day, but
that couldn't dampen my spirits! We rode our bikes a few miles down
the highway to Shari's and got a pie shake. We looked like wet rats!
It was so funny. After lunch, we went and saw Deedee and played phase
10 like always. I won! She is so similar to grandma Beth, I know they
would have been the best of friends! After Deedee's, we went home and
I made the most beautiful cherry pie I've ever seen. I freaking made a
pie by myself! You would be so proud mom! I feel so accomplished! We
went over to a member's house for dinner in a spur of the moment
thing, and we enjoyed the pie together! We spent all day soaked in
either sweat or rain, we didn't baptize anyone, heck we didn't even
teach a lesson! That didn't matter though. I have an incredible
companion, an incredible family, and incredible calling, an incredible
God! It's definitely a birthday to remember. 19 years down, many more
to go!

Last Monday, I ended up having a really bad day. I felt so alone. I
prayed for strength to overcome all that day. I fell asleep pleading
to my Heavenly Father for rescue. When I woke up the next morning, I
got an answer I wasn't expecting. It was very clear: be obedient.
Probably two of the easiest yet hardest words you'll ever hear. Well
that's what we did. Elder Bang and I decided to be perfectly obedient.
It was hard at first, but as the week went on, things got easier and
easier. Everything got better. I could feel the support being built up
under me. President Ballard told me this week, "you are either
obedient or you aren't." If we obey most of the rules but neglect
some, we aren't being obedient! To call yourself obedient, you must do
EVERYTHING as to what the Lord has directed. This doesn't mean being a
hardnose or a 'holier than thou' kind of person. It means you do
exactly as the Lord tells you. What a blessing it's been! For the
first time since being out, I feel like I am right where I need to be,
doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

I'll end with words of a favorite hymn.

"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes.
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake.
I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"

I love my Savior! May we never forsake Him in our lives. My prayer is
that we all learn to truly lean on the Savior every moment of our
lives, good or bad. He will be your best friend! He is the light and
the way. Let us never forget His love for us.

Have a great week everyone!

Elder Hall

                   
                                                                                                     I found a real life clue from Blue's Clues!
                                                                                                       This is a NORMAL size slug for Oregon.                                                                                                             They are huge! It reminds me of
                                                                                                                         Harry Potter.


 

You can see how really wet we were!



Elder Bang and I at lunch on my birthday. We were SO WET.



 Closeup of my pie



Selfie with my pie!

THANK GOODNESS FOR REPENTANCE!

Good news!  I found Big Foot!

This one is long, but I hope worth the read!

Transfer day today! Elder Bang and I are staying, but most of our
district was transferred.

This week started out pretty good. It started with an exchange with
the zone leaders. Elder Kossin came here to Woodhaven and Elder Bang
went to Tigard with Elder Leavitt. I was a little scared, because not
only was I the one leading out, it was with the zone leaders! I had
every second exactly planned out so I would look really good. We went
around and set up appointments with members and then went tracting.

We knocked on the door of lots of houses, and had many people get
quite upset at us. It was a little strange, because Sherwood is
usually very kind. Anyway, we met several people who were willing to
listen and ended up setting up two return appointments! We are going
back this week, so I'm excited for that!

Elder Kossin is going home soon, and he's from South Jordan. He played
cornerback at Bingham and loves music, so we had a lot in common! It
was really fun. I'm glad to have met him! He told me that I was a good
missionary and he was really impressed with how "broken in" I am. It
meant a lot!

We got a referral from one of our less active members, and ended up
teaching him about the Book of Mormon and the restoration! His name is
Alex, and he told us he feels lost and thought the church sounded like
a good place to start. We are hoping to set a date for baptism this
week!

Laura has been reading and praying, but she still hasn't decided if
she wants to be baptized and commit her family to the gospel. It makes
it more difficult that it was stake conference this week and that
throws everything off. We are going to set a hard date with her on
Tuesday, so I'm excited!

Matthew has totally stopped in his progress. It's so frustrating! We
visited him yesterday, and he told us he is pretty good with life
right now, and doesn't feel like he needs God anymore. He told us he
doesn't want to repent, because bad things make him a better person.
We just can't get across that you can learn from experiences, but you
don't have to drag those emotions and heartache with you. We are going
to keep praying for him, and hopefully he opens up again soon.

We didn't get to see Frank this week, but are going over! I'm
excited to see where his praying with intent has lead him in the
conversion process.

Saturday we volunteered at a fun run in Tigard. We sat all morning
waiting to direct runners, but no one was coming. We sat for two hours
waiting until they told us that the race was delayed. Haha it was
great fun. We had fun putting bugs in a giant spider web and watching
the spider eat them! When they finally ran by, only 30 runners came
by. What a race! Haha it as still fun though.

We went and played cards with Deedee again, and she just cracks me up.
She didn't like that I was getting all the wild cards and said I must
have said my prayers. She thought that was pretty funny. I love her
personality, and wish all of you could meet her! Grandma Beth would
have loved her!


Saturday night we were tracting with the Edy Ridge Elders and found an
abandoned house. We decided to check it out, but didn't get too far
when we decided to turn back. Before we did though, I made a comment
that there was probably ghosts in it. Right then, a boarded up window
on the second floor flew open. NO JOKE. It was boarded up from the
inside, and the window, without being touched or jostled in any way,
flew open. No more abandoned houses for me!

So Sunday night our dinner appointment was very nice, but they eat
like birds so we had pretty much nothing. The family was so sweet, we
really appreciated it, but we were so hungry still! After dinner, we
stopped by Blaire's on an impression, and it turns out he had a huge
tv he needed help moving into his car. We hefted it in (thank goodness
for my lifting days) and he asked if we could help him take it to the
goodwill drop off. Of course we said yes. After unloading the tv,
Blaire told us he had a surprise for us. The next thing we knew we
were squished in a booth with his whole family at The Old Spaghetti
Factory. Blaire being Blaire, we didn't even have an opportunity to
decline. Elder Bang and I didn't know what to do! We didn't want to be
rude, especially when we left our bikes and bags locked in Blaire's
house! So, we sat down. I think I had more guilt than noodles on my
plate. While this was a not ideal situation, we did end up teaching
Blaire's non member siblings about the gospel! I'm not sure that
totally justifies the situation, but we did feel .01% less bad about
it. After dinner, we explained to Blaire that we hadn't quite kept the
Sabbath day, and he felt horrible. He apologized and said he would
defend us to the mission president. Hahaha the moral of the story is
that we learned our lesson about Sabbath day observance.

We played sports with some kids the other day, and I met Cannon, a
senior at Sherwood High and a very active member of the church. As we
talked, he said, "Elder Hall, you're just a likable guy. I don't have
very many friends, but you make me feel like I have one now." My heart
was bursting. He didn't know that I had been struggling that day,
wondering if I was really making a difference. I didn't know he was
struggling to find a friend. We truly had answered each other's
prayers!

Matthew 10:39 says, "He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." My testimony is
simple. The Savior loves us. He is always mindful of us. We are His
hands. If we open our hearts to God, we become the answers and aid to
another's prayers and in return, we find the answers and aid that we
need. I hope we all are continually striving to be like the Savior,
and walk the path He would walk. Moses 6:34 states, "Behold, my spirit
is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains
shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn from their course;
and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you. Therefore, walk with me." My
prayer is that we all take the Savior's invitation, and walk with Him.
He is real. He is good. He loves you. I know this to be true in the
name of my savior, my redeemer, my brother, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Hall                                                                                         Our parody of a sign we saw....ha ha!

        

The best sunset I've seen here. Utah is still king in the sunsets category!    

  
Who doesn't like a grainy railroad selfie?                                                                                                                                                   Completed Fall leaves wall.

                                                 

THANK YOU

Marathon Volunteers

Hey everyone!

It's been a good week. We started off with an exchange! I went to the
cedar creek ward with Elder Hutchinson and his companion, Elder Kern,
went to Woodhaven with Elder Bang. It was pretty good. We went
tracting and met a very drunk man. He was very concerned that there
were no more gold "tablets" and why the guy Smith had to make them
disappear. Man there are so many drunk people here.

When we got to the apartment, Elder Hutchinson asked me if I wanted to
watch a movie. I said yes because we don't have anything like that in
Woodhaven. He pulled out a tiny portable DVD player and he put in the
testaments. Well, it was in ASL. The movie would go really small to
the corner and an Indian guy would show up and sign all the words. I
started laughing, but quickly realized Elder Hutchinson didn't see
anything wrong with it... So we watched the WHOLE MOVIE. I still am
laughing thinking about it!

We taught Frank this week, after not seeing him for a little while. We
were ready to drop him, because he doesn't really focus on our purpose
and just wants to discuss scripture. We showed up having every
intention of dropping him. As we taught our lesson about the Book of
Mormon, he explained that he really wants to know if it's true and he
reads it and prays every day, and he would get baptized if he knew it
was true. As soon as we left we both knew we couldn't drop him. He's
not making lightning progress, but there's progress there. We aren't
giving up!

Elder Bang and I went tracting on Friday, and we gave out 2 copies of
the Book of Mormon in just 45 minutes! We are pretty sure it's a new
record here in Woodhaven.

It rained every day this week, and let me tell you, when it rains
here, IT RAINS. Locals tell me it doesn't stop for the next 8 months,
so bring it on Oregon. I'm ready.

Part of our mission is service, and so we go visit the elderly and
play cards or just talk. Deedee isn't a member, but she loves her
missionaries. She calls me kid and elder Bang is boy. She is a riot!
She's quicker than anyone I've ever met, and she's 93! We usually play
cards and eat ice cream with her. Phase 10 is her favorite, and she
wins every time. Totally reminds me of grandma Beth! She taught school
for 18 years, and has the most incredible talent to paint and draw.
Even at 93, her hands are so steady, drawing and painting in the
tiniest detail. Her best friend is a little dog named Molly, who she
rescued after she had been severely abused. Deedee knew I was a "good
nut" when Molly came right up to me because she is very afraid of men
after the abuse she suffered. Both Deedee and Molly need each other,
and bless each other more than they realize. It's a bond that will
touch your heart and impact you forever.

We taught Matthew again this week! He told us he has never had friends
in his life, and he decided he needs to meet people, and church would
be a good way to do that. He told us we are his best friends. He isn't
sure about baptism, because he has some issues on the word of wisdom,
but he wants to know Jesus. It's slow but steady progress with him!

Laura finally got home from vacation, and we taught her again! She is
excited to come to church, and has continued to pray and read the Book
of Mormon. She isn't sure about baptism yet, not until she knows that
the church is the right thing for her and her little boy Ryder. Well,
she came to church yesterday and stayed all 3 hours! It was such a
blessing! Ryder made so many new friends and primary was so fun! (we
know because we went to primary it really is the place to be). She
really liked it and had lots of genuine questions. The ward is
incredible. I don't think she ever had a moment alone. There was
always someone talking to her, asking about her, showing her where to
go. I know she will get baptized!

On Saturday, we served at a half marathon! I got to direct traffic on
a busy road. It's so funny, no one cares who you are, but the second
you put on a reflector vest and point at cars, you become the most
powerful person on the road! Anyway, as the runners would run by, they
would say, "thank you!" or "thank you for volunteering!" As I stood on
that street corner, I thought, "they think that being here is a
sacrifice out of my day, but I'm a missionary. We don't do much." Then
I realized something. I was standing on that street corner because I
volunteered my life for the next two years. That morning wasn't a
sacrifice, these next years are my sacrifice. I was almost brought to
tears each time a runner would say "thank you" after that, because
they weren't just saying, "thank you for stopping traffic," they were
saying, "thank you for serving a mission." It's been a hard few weeks,
mostly missing home, but I know I'm here to bless someone's life. I
don't know how, or when, or who, but I do know the Lord needs me here.
I'm so thankful that my Heavenly Father let me hear His thanks for my
service. It's a tender mercy that I will never forget.

Thank you all for the continued prayers and support. They are what
keep me pedaling my bike, knocking on doors, and waking up every day.
This is the hardest thing I've ever done, but something I'll be
forever grateful for. This church is true. I know the gospel and the
Savior are real, and when we follow Jesus Christ, our lives are
changed for the better. Keep the faith! I love you all, have a great
week!


Elder Hall