SWELL, JUST SWELL!

Zone Capture the Flag!

Hey everyone! This week has been so so good, besides finding out my
whole family is going to Disneyland without me. You better eat a
frozen banana and ride the tram for me!!

We served at the pantry Tuesday and it was crazy! What was supposed
to be only two hours turned into 5 hours. They couldn't believe we
were willing to stay and help. It was a little gross because they had
an entire pallet of milk tip over in the box truck and it covered
EVERYTHING. That was quite the adventure.

I'm sure you all heard about the daily schedule change!! It's been
really really weird getting used to it. The worst news is that they
shortened lunch to half an hour. The best news is that P-day has been
extended 2 hours. It's really exciting stuff! Living through history!

Interviews with President this week. Despite him being a Ute fan, we
are made from the same stuff. We always get a little distracted
talking about football... he's always shocked at how much I know about
current teams and things. He asked me how I know so much and I say, "I
have my ways President. Don't worry." He always smiles and says, "I
don't need to know, just don't tell me and we won't have a problem."
Haha I love him so much.

This ward. Man, I love this ward! The youth here are some good friends
now! President told us to get in good with the youth, and boy we have.
We text them all the time, they text us, we go to mutual, we play
sports with them, they are so awesome. I love it!

Our investigators are doing so good! We have two that are very close
to baptism. Keep praying for them! I'm so happy for them and the
decisions they are making to come closer to the Savior.

That's all for this week, but I want to share a thought that was shared
in sacrament meeting yesterday. The speaker was talking about having
trials in life and praying for help. In speaking about answers to our
prayers he said, "Sometimes He says no, sometimes He says not yet, and
sometimes He says I love you." Heavenly Father will ALWAYS answer our
prayers, but we have to be willing to accept His answer. It's my
prayer that you can keep your heart open and listening to your Father
in Heaven. I love you all, have a good week!

Love,
Elder Hall

  

Selfie with my happy light!  Thanks Dad!
Selfie with my 5lb bag of chocolate raisins!  Thanks Dad!

  
Dinner with the Rutledgte family and our investigator, Des!
Portland sunrise from our apartment!


This super cool plant thing we found.  Took this picture with my ipad.

My spirit animal, Lola the dog.  She is the funniest little thing!

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

The snowman wasn't too interested.

Hey everybody! It's been a slow week filled with lots of rain. It's a
short one this week, not much going on!

Tuesday was so miserable! It was still super snowy on the ground but
it was pouring rain all day. We were about to head home but we decided
to knock one more door. It was a 90 year old man named Ernie. He
invited us right in and listened to our message. He told us how he
listens to Music and the Spoken Word every Sunday. The Motab is his
favorite! He wasn't sure how much he wanted to learn, but he sure
liked us and was happy with our company. I love old people!!

Wednesday night we went to mutual with the teachers quorum. They are
all so funny we have a great time! Elder Hewitt and I got to judge
their Dutch oven cook-off. It was pretty bad. Now we know why the
leaders wanted us to judge so badly.

Thursday we found a new investigator! Her name is Shelley and she
is so awesome. She has the classic questions and sincere interest in
the Book of Mormon. We are stoked to teach her more!

Friday was Inauguration Day as some of you may know. It was an
exciting time here in the liberal state of Oregon. Shoutout to the
Motab singing! It was great! I love America!!!! Our dinner appointment
called and asked if we could come early, but dinner would be like two
hours. When we showed up, the whole house was decked out in USA decor.
The member of our ward had found the official White House recipes for
the Inauguration Ball dinner, and had made a dinner fit for a
President! It was incredible!! It was so cool to think we ate
literally the exact same meal as the President of the United States
did. It was a SUPER FUN tradition they do for the inauguration! I
would add a little Linda Parry flair though, and probably add the star
spangled banner and a short program with dancing to finish it off.
Hahaha!

Saturday I was on exchanges with Elder Mobley in the 5 Oaks Ward. He
and I played against each other in high school football! It was so fun
to talk about the games and all the different guys we both knew. We
went out and found 5 new investigators for their area! It was so
awesome! We taught a Muslim man about the Book of Mormon and he wanted
to really read it! It was so sweet. I'm excited to hear how they all
turn out.

Anyway, that's all I have for this week! Love you, hope you stay warm
and dry! The church is true. The Savior is real. He loves you.

With love,
Elder Hall



Me and Elder Mobley on exchanges!

STOP SNOWING!

Me and Elder Pugmire

Hey everyone! So it snowed the most it has in Oregon history! I don't
know if you heard, but the governor declared a state of emergency.
School was canceled all last week and it hasn't been warm enough to
melt. With no plows in Oregon, there's still a foot of snow everywhere
and the streets are ice rinks! It's been a crazy week!

It started to snow Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning there was
over a foot! It was stunning! We went to the Allen's and built a sweet
igloo with them in the front yard! I showed the boys how you give a
proper whitewash in a snow bank... Anyway, after that we spent ALL day
shoveling driveways and sidewalks. Since no one has ever needed a snow
shovel in Oregon, it was really hard to find some but once we did, our
work was cut out for us. What a long day! It was really fun though, it
made me miss Utah!

I hear Utah is getting rain like Oregon should. We need to switch the
weather back! You can have all the snow! We want our rain back!!

Well, biking in a foot of snow with road bikes isn't exactly safe or
effective, so we walked. And boy DID WE WALK. In the last 5 days we
have walked approximately 60 miles. I never thought I would say this,
but I need my bike back! AH!

Friday was my 6 month mark! BUMP DAY!! Woo woo! I of course did the
ceremonial burning of a tie. It was tons of fun!

Yesterday I got to speak in Sacrament Meeting! I love speaking so I
was so pumped! Not only that, Elder Hewitt and I then sang the musical
number. Everyone loved it! we are still getting texts and phone calls
telling us how great it was. We are recording it with a member's
studio next week, I'll send the recording when I get it!

Anyway, that's all I have for this week, but I'll end with my
testimony that God lives. Jesus Christ is our brother. Because of this
restored gospel, we have the opportunity to live with our Heavenly
Father again in eternal families! The Atonement is real, the Book of
Mormon is true. I love my Savior with all my heart. He lives!

Love,
Elder Hall

 
SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!
 

  
Singing with some snow carolers.  Me and Brother Allen.
  
Building the igloo with me, Elder Power, Elder Hewitt, and Elder Pugmire.  Bump day tie burning!

*cue rihanna* This tie is on fire!                    Topgolf for P-day!

   

Extreme Biking: Road Bike Edition

IT'S COLDER THAN PROVO

Exploring the "wilderness" in our area!

Hey from the arctic tundra of Oregon! It's been so cold this week! Let
me explain the subject this week.

Whenever it gets freezing in Oregon, it's funny because everyone has
this odd pride in it. Such as, "It is so cold here, did you know it's
colder here than it is in Provo?" I can't tell you how many times I've
heard that one this week. So while I'm pretty sure it's colder in
Provo, I've got to put my Oregonian hat on and say, "Did you know it's
colder here than in Provo right now?" Haha! Jokes aside, it has been
FREEZING. Try riding a bike in 30+ mph wind and it's only 19 degrees
to begin with. It's been pretty miserable this week.

Tuesday morning we were getting haircuts from a ward member but we had
to be there at 545am! Well it was 20 degrees and two miles away, so
we convinced the office Elders to drive us and the Rock Creek Elders
there. It was a fun morning! When everyone was done it was only 645am,
so we went to chick-fil-a for breakfast and had a party with the
employees. It was so funny!

That night, we stopped at a less active's house. He was so glad to
greet us and let us in! We soon realized it was too good to be true
though. For two hours he lathered the anti beliefs on us, grilling us
question after question. We couldn't leave either, his huge German
shepherd was guarding the door! After a few hours, he offered to help
us run away back to our families because he knows we are being held
against our will. He wasn't wrong, we were being held against our
will! In his house! Haha we finally were able to leave after I made
friends with the dog and she laid down at my feet. I'm a dog
whisperer!

Every Wednesday after district meeting we all go to subway down the
road from the church. It's always the same two guys working and now
they know us! It's so fun!

The most embarrassing thing happened to me. We were going to tract a
neighborhood across our area so we biked there and then locked up the
bikes. Elder Hewitt had to use the bathroom, so we stopped at a
port-a-potty on the side of a very busy road. While I stood outside
waiting, everyone driving by was laughing and pointing and scoffing at
me. I thought, "wow this is a mean neighborhood." After Elder Hewitt
was finished, we started knocking doors. Everyone that
answered looked at me and just smirked! I was astounded at the
rudeness of everyone! Well, after the third door I turned to Hewitt
and asked, "why is everyone being so mean?" He looked at me and then
started laughing just like everyone else! I was so mad! Then he said,
"Dude, you're wearing your bike helmet!" I felt like such an idiot!! I
would've laughed at me too! Now I'm very self conscious about my
helmet.

Thursday we dry walled a shed for a former investigator. It was a
ton of fun and thanks to my dad, I wasn't totally clueless. Thanks
dad!

Saturday was the snowstorm. It snowed sideways all day. But that
wasn't stopping us! We met this lady and her 4 year old son while they
were trying to feed ducks. We talked for half an hour or so and really
got to know them. They started to walk home and asked us to walk with
them! That NEVER happens! As we walked and talked about the gospel, I
asked little Benjamin (that was the boy's name) if he liked Jesus. He
stopped dead in his tracks and went silent. His eyes got wide. He
turned to us and projectile vomited all over. Luckily we both dodged
the spray, but the poor kid just kept throwing up. His mom was
comforting him as he said, "I'm cold and I'm sick and there's no more
ducks!" Elder Hewitt and I didn't know what to do. So we helped little
Benjamin and his mom back to their house and asked if we could come
back and share more with them. She declined but thanked us for the
kind conversation. We were bummed as we turned around, but all that
changed when I slipped on what was now little Benjamin's frozen throw
up. Man, what a week it's been. You can't make this stuff up!!

Yesterday church was cancelled due to freezing rain. I've never had
church cancelled my whole life! President texted us and told us to
stay inside, it was too dangerous to go out. It didn't look that bad,
so we ventured out anyway. IT WAS BAD. Ice storms are real. So we went
back inside and that's where we stayed. ALL DAY. It was the longest
Sunday of my life. I'm excited for church next week! I get to speak,
and I love speaking in church. I'm so pumped!

Anyway, that's it for my crazy week. I hope there were some good
laughs for you! I'll end with my testimony of Jesus Christ. He is
real. He is our Brother. Because of Him, we can be with our loved ones
forever, resurrected and living in endless happiness. I can't wait for
that day! I know He lives. His spirit is real. He will stand with us
through the good times and through the bad. His hands are there, we
just need to grab them and hold on tightly.

Love you all, have a great week!

With love,
Elder Hall

  
The backwoods in our area after the snow storm and how I went tracting.

   
The best Oregon sunset I've seen. It helps it was over the high school
football field 😊 and  selfie because the lighting was so good.

A little bigfooting! Someday I'll go real bigfooting out here!

KNOCK KNOCK. WHO'S THERE? NO ONE.

A ward member's truck that is my dream truck.


Hey everyone! Happy New Year!! It's winter here. It is SO COLD. (By
cold I mean Oregonian cold so like 30 degrees) I've aclimatized so I'm
no longer that Utah Eskimo where 30 degrees is shorts weather. It was
a long week, but we made it through!

Last Monday, a member in our ward took us to the Nike Employee Store!
(The Nike world headquarters is just a mile or two away and everyone
and their dog works there.) It was super cool! The only way you get in
is a special pass and each employee only gets 5 a year. They have all
their products at half price and you get a personal store member that
assists you in picking out merchandise. It was so rad! I got a sweet
pair of Jordans so I can school everyone on the basketball court now!

On Wednesday we knocked doors all day. Well we did that every day...
but we found a woman named Qing, a Chinese lady from Shanghai just
like my boy Elder Chen! It was cool that I could talk a little about
it to her with the knowledge I got from being companions with my
little grasshopper. She was really interested so we are going back
this week to teach her and her family! I'm so pumped!

We knocked doors and contacted people all day every day this week with
no new investigators. It's been a tough week, but we aren't giving up.
There is something great on the horizon if we just keep trying!

Saturday night we couldn't go anywhere unless we were invited and no
one invited us or the Bethany Ward Elders. So we partied it up and
went to Krispy Kreme for some Hanukkah donuts! It was a lot of fun.

As this new year starts, I hope everyone has the chance to look ahead
to new beginnings and better things. Remember the Savior will be your
guide! Have a great week!

With love,
Elder Hall

         

Hanukkah donut!                                              Westview and Bethany donut New Year's Eve party!



Football Donut!