BACKSEAT OF BAGELS

Backseat of bagels!


Hey everyone! It's been a really crazy fun week. We had some adventures!

Tuesday was zone meeting and it is always so good. I love President Ballard, Sister Ballard, President Newsom, and all of my good friends! It was so fun because not only did we get to be with our awesome zone all day, I got to see some old friends! Elder Bang, Elder Pugmire, Elder Gonzalez, Elder Cedillo, and Elder Garfield, just to name a few. I love them so much. President had me present some things in front of everybody and that was a little nerve-racking at first, but then I remembered to just relax and be myself and it was great! Sister Ballard and I were talking afterwards and she said, "Elder Hall, thank you for being a good missionary. The happiness and laughter you bring to this mission and your area is contagious. Mary Katherine and Stanford couldn't stop talking about how much they loved it when you and Elder Power taught seminary. You are amazing, thank you!" I was so happy! It was a compliment I was very humbled to receive. I'm glad my goofiness and bad dad jokes aren't rubbing these kids the wrong way hahaha!

Speaking of bad jokes, we taught seminary AGAIN on Friday! Brother Farmer called us the night before and asked for our help in his lesson and we graciously accepted as always. When we showed up the next day, he said, "Oh thank you Elders for being willing to teach! Have a good day!" Then he left. And we were suddenly left with no lesson plan and a classroom full of kids. Let me tell you, they are AMAZING. These kids. Holy cow. They have all become such good friends! (Shout out to Sam, Josh, Isaac, Jacob, and literally everyone we love you!) They teach me so much. 

Wednesday night we had a lesson with Des! She is doing so well! It's amazing! We have been calling her every day to check in and she told us she's been reading the Book of Mormon to the cat and she seems to enjoy it. Haha she is so amazing. Watching her be able to take terrible experiences from her past and finally see how God's hands were there helping her and holding her is just incredible. Our Heavenly Father really does love each of us so much.

We had a lesson with Tony this week! We met at the church and gave him a church tour. He is so awesome, man! He is like a total real life hippy!  Love this guy to death! He sat down and was telling us how he could feel how the Joseph Smith story was true, and how he could feel the spirit touching his heart as we sat in the chapel, but this church doesn't let him be free. It was really hard to see this guy feel the spirit and be close just to turn it down. He's a great guy though and a real friend, so no matter what happens, we will stay in touch.

Ok. Saturday. We started off the morning picking up our pal Elder Mobley for the day. LOVE this kid. (Even though he's from Herriman and we wailed on each other in football our senior year). We went to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. While waiting in line, this lady walks up and hands a $20 bill and tells us breakfast is on her. It was so nice! Well, right when we finished ordering and were about to pay, this guy steps up to the register and says, "I got it Elders, enjoy breakfast on me!"  and paid before we could say anything. Curse Chick-Fil-A and their punctuality! So, we decided we needed to use this $20 and pay it forward. After breakfast, we were driving in our area and saw these ladies struggling with some boxes and stopped to help. Turns out they ran a local food bank and were about to throw away 9 boxes of food they couldn't keep, so they loaded up our car with this food! We called the Bishops of both wards and found out who could use some food and delivered a few boxes! It was so fun, it felt like Christmas all over again! 

Well, even after all of our deliveries, we still had a backseat of bagels. So we drove around all day finding homeless people and giving them bagels! It was awesome! One homeless guy was named Kyle. When we offered him some bagels, he said he had food so no thanks. We asked him what he needed then, and he said he was really cold and needed some new clothes, as he was trying to get a job but didn't have anything nice for his interview. We told him to stay put and we drove to the Goodwill down the road. We bought him a pair of new jeans, two shirts, and a jacket. The total was $19.97. That $20 was now paid forward! When we came back and gave him the bag, he looked in and started to cry. The four of us sat on that busy street corner and felt the Savior in the most overwhelming way. We gave him a Book of Mormon and told him if he read it, it would change his life. He couldn't wait to start reading. I'll never forget Kyle. I hope we get to see him again soon.

Well, Saturday evening came and we got a call. There were some members at our apartment with a car full of food left over from a wedding and they thought we could use it. For the first time in my life, I wasn't excited to get leftover wedding food! We were drowning in food! We took it with fake smiles. The second they left, we called the young men in the ward until one answered. My boy Sam! He and his family were very excited to receive some high class sandwiches and cupcakes. Not only did they take the food off our hands, and give us some free laughs, Sister Evans also cut my hair impromptu! I was so happy! I look like a normal person again!

This week has taught me a lot about how the Savior sees us. His love in infinite and eternal, and nothing clouds his view of us. My challenge this week for you all is to try to see people as the Savior sees them. As you pray to do this, you will see the pure divine love our Redeemer has for each of us. I love you all so much. Have a great week! 

With Love,

Elder Hall

      

Daisy the dog and me. She's so sweet!    

Carrot cake from the wedding! It weighed 7 pounds!!

Bethany lake! (Aka dead guy Lake)

Driving in the car! Don't worry we were parked.

     

ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?

My caterpillar Buster Jr hatched into a beautiful moth! He now runs
free in the Oregon air.

Hey everyone! Hopefully I can write everything I want to! It's been a
crazy awesome week. Let me tell you about a few things!

Tuesday we went to the pantry as always. When we were walking out we
noticed two dump truck loads of dirt sitting in front of the Rock
Creek Bible Church. We went in and asked if they were going to need
any help moving all that dirt. This crazy old man told us that would
be great and handed us some shovels. Well, we didn't have anything for
the day planned, so we rolled up our sleeves and started to work. It
poured rain all day. I've never been so wet in my whole life. But, we
finished! Me, Elder Power, Sister Robinson, and Sister Nielsen worked
all day with 4 shovels and a wheelbarrow and we moved those two dump
truck loads! It was so fun. We looked like drowned rats after, but we
had a blast!

On Wednesday we stopped by the seminary to say hi. Brother Farmer, the
teacher came up to us and said he was grateful we followed the spirit
to come because he was feeling sick and wanting to go home. So, we
stepped in and taught seminary for the rest of the day! It was a ton
of fun! I LOVE these kids. They are good friends now. I can't wait for
them to start getting their mission calls!

Friday was the big day!! Elder Ballard came to the mission again!!
Grandpa Ballard is amazing. He really is a living Apostle on the earth
today. When we got up to shake his hand, I for some reason got put
first in line. It was awesome! Sister Ballard said she needed to get a
better picture so here I was standing, posing with Elder Ballard for a
solid 15 seconds. It was so awkward and hilarious at the same time!
Haha Elder Ballard and I had some very nice small talk. And you know
what? I'm pretty sure we still didn't get a picture hahahaha, oh man.

Well, Elder Ballard told some amazing stories, but he said something
that I really struck me and I wanted to share. He said, "Elders and
sisters, what an incredible place to serve your missions! Now, Oregon
has some strange people. I mean, REALLY STRANGE. But I hope you wake
up every morning at 6:30, look out the window and say, 'Look it's
raining and we are going to be persecuted all day! Isn't this
wonderful?' Boy, does it rain here!" Haha it turns out Elder Ballard
really hates rain. But, he is right. This work is wonderful! I'm
reminded of what President Ballard once said. "What we have, the world
desperately needs." We need to remember we have the restored gospel!
We have real truth on the earth! How amazing is that?! Share the
gospel with everyone around you. Don't be afraid! This really is
wonderful!

I love you all, and I'm so excited for my pal Alex Guymon to come to
the OPM! Congrats on your celestial mission call!

Love you all,

Elder Hall



Some beautiful trees in the sunset. Love this place!

MIRACLE(S)

The sun came out for an hour or two this week!





Hey everyone! I don't have a ton of time today, but some incredible
things have happened this week!

I forgot to mention our MIRACLE that happened to us last Sunday! There
was a real rough looking guy that had come into church by himself. Now
for some people it's a little scary. For missionaries, rough people in
church is one of our favorite sights! He sat in on our lesson about
baptism and after we finished, he came up to us and asked, "Who do I
talk to if I want to learn more about your church?" His name is Mark
and he is homeless. He was driving around Sunday morning and he
felt like he needed to go inside our church building. We were so
happy! We set up an appointment for Tuesday at the church to meet with
him. Tuesday came around and we waited, we waited, and we waited. Mark
didn't show. We were so bummed! His phone was disconnected so we
thought that was the end of that.

Our boss lady at the Rock Creek Pantry we volunteer at is having her
baby soon! Because she's going to be out of commission for a bit, she
asked if I could take over for her while she's gone. I was humbled to
know that they trust me and my abilities to lead and get things done!
We are so excited to keep volunteering there!


Wednesday we were at mutual and about to leave when a member of the
ward came up to us and asked, "Elders are you teaching a man named
Mark?" The ward member had come to the church the night before and saw
a man sitting inside. He asked how he could help him and he said he
was looking for the missionaries. It was Mark! He had had some things
come up and couldn't make it to our appointment and then he could call
us because of his phone being disconnected, so he decided to just go
to the church. That's when our ward member was able to help him out!
What a miracle!! We are excited to keep teaching him!

Wednesday morning we got a call from our investigator Des. She was
crying and said she was in a lot of pain. We asked if she wanted a
blessing and she said yes! Her roommate doesn't like us and we can't
go in with two single women anyway, so we made a plan to meet in the
park. So, in the pouring rain, on the side of one of the busiest roads
in Washington County, Des sat on a utility box and we laid our hands
on her head and gave her a blessing. Immediately after saying amen,
she felt so much better and said, "thank you God and Jesus!" The
spirit was so strong. It was an incredible experience! Come to find
out Des has a serious problem with men getting close to her because of
some past experiences with abuse, so her letting us give her a
blessing was an amazing miracle!

Saturday was the Region 1 Oregon Battle of the Books competition! They
asked us to volunteer at it so we said yes, assuming we were just
going to be extra bodies. But, when we showed up they had us
moderating the battles! We were so intimidated! They handed us a 24
page handbook to learn and study in time to do the battle. It was
scary at first, but we got the hang of it and we ended up have a lot
of fun! It was even more fun when we got to moderate our investigator
Grace's team! She is the smartest 10 year old I've ever met.

Saturday afternoon we had the opportunity to meet with President
Tad R Callister, General Sunday School President. He was so amazing!
My mind was blown as he taught us from the scriptures. It was a cool
experience!

Sunday afternoon we walked out of our dinner appointment to hear
someone calling for us. We walked over to find a member doing some
hard core yard work for one of our potential investigators. He asked
for help, and boy did he need it! So, we rolled up our sleeves, tucked
our ties in, and went to work! It was a lot of tiring work and we were
a mess by the end, but boy we had fun! It makes my heart happy when we
do service for those in need!

I invite you all to feast from the scriptures. Don't just read them,
FEAST from them! You will be taught and blessed more than you can
imagine. I love you all so much!

And Happy Birthday tomorrow to Libby and Aunt Holly!!

With love,
Elder Hall

  

A tiny frog I found while doing yard work!

THE ADVENTURES OF RED ROCKET

Zoo Trip!


Hey everyone! Sorry I didn't write last week, it was a crazy day and I
didn't have much time! We had an incredible week this week!

First off, it snowed this morning for a bit. What? It's freaking
March! Just get warm already!

President called me last Saturday and told me Elder Power and I would
be companions and we were going to combine the Bethany and Westview
wards into one area. Two churches, two wards, two dinner calendars,
two everything! Life has been crazy!

My new companion. His name is Elder Power and he's from Queen Creek
Arizona, otherwise pronounced "QuinCrick". He's a cattle rancher, a
total cowboy complete with the accent and ropin' skills. He loves cows
and horses and everything in between. I love him to death!

So, I HAVE A CAR!!!! Probably the best thing of my life. We started
out this week with the truck, but had to give it back. Then they gave
us the Red Rocket! It is the AP's old car. We love it! It's a 2013
Toyota Corolla. I'll include a picture!

We went to the Oregon Zoo today, it was so fun!! I'll include pics.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we got to teach Seminary at Westview High! It
was so fun. Those kids just astound me. We had so much fun teaching
them. Elder Power brought out his cattle whip for the students and
they loved it! We laughed, we cried, and we felt the spirit. It was
hard saying goodbye to those kids! I have a feeling we will be back
there soon...

So we got assigned to be the elders over the downtown hospital, Legacy
Good Samaritan. It's 10 miles away, but you do what President tells
you! So, our service began when we got a call Thursday. A woman was
in the hospital and she had asked for the elders to come give her a
blessing. Her name was Nancy and she was from Washington and going in
for surgery soon. She was totally alone because she lived 100 miles
away and her husband is a disabled veteran. We visited for a few hours
and helped her feel more at peace. She asked if I could give the
blessing. The Lord promised her some neat things! When the doctor came
in, he asked who we were. She said, "Oh these are my dear friends
Elder Hall and Elder Power. They talk about my church. Would you like
to hear more?" She winked at us and we smiled. She was a neat lady!
She gave us her information so we could stay in touch.

Sunday rolled around and we went to both wards (luckily they slightly
overlap so it's only 5 hours of church instead of 6). We got a call
that there was a 77 year old lady asking for someone from her church
to visit her and she turned out to be Mormon so they called us. They
said it was urgent so we dropped everything and drove over as fast as
we could. Little Janet Rose looked so small in that great big hospital
bed. She told us she was dying and she was scared. The staff told us
she hadn't had any family come visit and she was going to pass away in
the next day or so. We walked into the room and she started to cry. We
didn't say any words for a long time, we just held her hands and sat
with her. I sang her hymns and squeezed her hand. Elder Power told her
all about church that day. We gave her a blessing of peace as she gets
ready to pass on. She opened her eyes and said, "He's here. He's right
there." We both knew there were angels in that room with us. We kept
holding her hand until she went to sleep. We didn't leave that room
with dry eyes.

As we were walking down the hall, we walked by the room Nancy was in
and peeked in. She was still there, so we stepped in and said hello!
She started to cry and said, "I have been praying for Heavenly Father
to send me familiar faces to visit." We sat down and visited for a
little while. When we had to leave, we said a prayer and gave her our
number and told her to call us if she needed another visit!

We had just walked out of the hospital doors when a lady came running
up to us and said, "Elders! We need you!" It was a relief society
president and she was visiting a sister. She had kept asking for a
blessing but the men of her ward weren't answering. The president felt
she needed to walk outside and the second she did she saw us. We
turned right around and went back upstairs to the room of Kamilyn, a
sweet lady battling cancer. We gave her a blessing and visited for a
little bit. She was so grateful to have a visitor.

My heart was full as we left the hospital. We had missed an
appointment and were late to dinner, but none of that mattered. We
were where the Lord needed us to be so we could bless His children.
Heavenly Father is mindful of us. He answers our prayers. He loves us.

I hope everyone has a great week! Don't ever forget you have a
Heavenly Father who is always thinking of you.

With love,

Elder Hall

  

Zoo Trip!!!