Elder Bridger Hall: 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!