SOMEBODY CALL 911!!!

Safari Jeep!  It was sweet!

Hey everyone! It's been a really good week here in Oregon! Lots of
rain, but that isn't anything new. So far it's only rained twice this
year! Once for 45 days and again for 36 days. Hahaha just kidding!
Really though, I kind of really miss not rain.

This week was difficult to say the least. But we made it through!

Tuesday was Zone conference and I love President Ballard and President
Newsom. They inspire me! If I can become half the man that these
incredible leaders are, I would be thrilled. Just like General
Conference, everything said was just for me. The Lord truly does
answer prayers.

Wednesday night was crazy. We were at mutual and they had root beer
floats. So they had some leftover stuff and they gave it to us, but we
didn't want it so we thought, who could we take this to? We thought of
the sisters, who live in the opposite direction of us, but we decided
to just go anyway. We came over the top of this hill to see a minivan
and a small car smashed and smoking. This bad wreck seriously JUST
happened. We pulled up and blocked the road with the car to stop
traffic and I ran to one of the cars while Elder Kindrick ran to the
other one. The air bags had gone off and there was a woman freaking
out in the car. She was in total shock. So I opened the door and asked
if she was hurt, but she didn't speak English. I grabbed her arm and
scooped her out of the car and sat her on the curb, all the while
she's screaming. I pull out the phone, hands shaking, and call 911.
People that witnessed it were coming up to me and telling the story of
what happened. Everyone kept calling me "detective". Haha everyone
thought I was some kind of law enforcement. The ambulance pulled up
and the paramedics came over and asked what had happened. I told them
all that I had seen and done and they said we did the right thing. I
sat with the woman as she cried and they checked her out. They told us
we were ok to leave, so we got in the car and left because it was past
curfew. We called the fire department the next day and all those
involved had been shaken up with a little whiplash and some bruised
ribs, but everyone was ok. I still feel so humbled over this
experience. What seemed like an innocent thought had actually been a
prompting of the spirit. Had we not been taking the treat to the
sisters, we wouldn't have been there to help. You never know when God
is going to call on you to serve His children. If the thought is good,
go with it! It's from the spirit!

Thursday night we had a lesson with Des and it was great! She is
stubborn and has a lot of serious fears, but she is making
progress and it is so exciting to see. She is an incredible woman who
inspires me so much.

Friday night we went to the Westview girls lacrosse game to support
the youth in the ward! It was so fun, though I didn't have a clue on
what was happening. I finally understand how you see football Maddie!
Hahaha we had a blast!

Some days are harder than others, but I received some incredible
counsel from an incredible man who I look up to. He said, "Keep
pushing hard Elder, trust in the Lord—this is all His, these are His
people, and His problem, you’re just the tool.  When the work seems
slow and all you hear is crickets, realize that there’s a grand
symphony of angelic collaboration taking place in your behalf to move
God’s work forward." We are constantly surrounded by angels. More than
we will ever realize. Remember God is always aware of us.

Love you all! Have a good week!

With love,
Elder Hall



Korean spice flowers

EASTER PIG

Hey everybody! Happy late Easter! My favorite holiday!! I really
missed the party this year, but we had a great time with the ward!

My new comp Elder Kindrick! He's from Orem, Utah. (My first comp from
Utah! I made it 9 months without one!) He kills me. We have way too
much fun together. I haven't laughed this hard since I was with my
sista, my number one BFF! Don't worry Maddie, no one will replace you.

Tuesday we went to seminary to say hello and share the #PRINCEofPEACE
video with them. I have said it before and I'll say it again: I LOVE
THESE KIDS. They astound me. They have become dear friends. Later that
day we went to the pantry and they were so happy I had stayed through
the transfer. I love all these sweet older ladies. They are so fun!

We found an important looking SD card with Sister Ballard's name on
it, so we stopped by the mission home to give it to her. As always, we
ended up staying for 2 hours talking and eating cupcakes while we
played with Belle, their ancient yellow lab. I love that family so
much! It will be hard to say goodbye to them in July!

Sports night was Thursday and as always it was so fun! Most
recently my dance moves have been emerging and let me tell you, they
are pretty fantastic. The youth think I'm crazy but soon enough they
are all dancing right along with me so am I really that crazy? Maybe
not...

Friday we got a call from the mission office, they are going to
sell our car soon so we had to go get some work done on it. We spent
literally all day in a Les Schwab and a Jiffy Lube. We called some
potentials and one ended up answering! His name is Bob and he was so
happy to hear from us and set up a time to meet right away! We meet
with him tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it!

Saturday. Oh boy. My new comp Elder Kindrick had a baptism in his last
area that he went to. Elder Comish in the Rock Creek area was going to
the same baptism, so they went together and I stayed with Elder
Comish's companion Elder Wallace. It was so fun! Elder Comish,
Wallace, and I were all in the MTC together. Elder Wallace and I got a
call from the Salem mission telling us about some members in the Rock
Creek area needing some help, so we headed up in the freaking sticks.
We pulled into a farm in the middle of nowhere and they let us know we
were in the right place. We spent the next 5 hours shoveling 7 month
old goat poop out of a barn. I can't even describe that smell. Oh my
gosh. They were all making fun of us because we both apparently looked
very out of place. I thought I was pretty good with being on a farm,
but I soon realized I don't know what the heck I'm doing.
They had a bunch of pigs in the pen and we were trying to get them to come 
over to us but they wouldn't. The family told us to just go into their
pen, they are nice pigs. YEAH RIGHT. we walk into the pen and I crouch
down as they come up to me. The one little pig starts sniffing my
finger and then out of nowhere it chomps down onto my finger! I
freaking got bit by a pig! I punched it in the snout and it let go. No
skin broken but I guess the way I freaked out was the real
testament I didn't come from a farm. Hahaha i still can't believe that
happened to me. Only me!

Sunday was Easter as you all probably know. We went to church #1 and
it was so good as always. Shoutout to Corrine Keeler for the amazing
strawberry shortcake in Sunday School! I love the Keelers, you guys
are the best! Church #2 was so good. The primary sang a song called
"Miracle" in Sacrament Meeting and I couldn't keep it together. It was
so beautiful. There was a man sitting in jeans and a Tshirt. Turns out
his name was Patrick, and he was walking down the street coming home
from work when he saw our little protestor outside the church (there's
a lady with huge signs that say, "Stop preaching white supremacy" who
stands outside the church every Sunday) well, Patrick is black. So the
sign caught his eye and he decided he better worship God on Easter and
see what the white supremacy is about. He came to all three hours of
church and loved it!! He is meeting with missionaries this week! We
had to refer him to the missionaries that cover his area, because it
isn't us. That kinda stinks but we are all on the same team right?

I'm so thankful for all the people that were so kind to us yesterday!
The Olivers, the Keelers, the Rutledges, Emma, and so many more. You
guys are great! I couldn't be more grateful to be in this ward. I was
here for Christmas and Easter too! The love, fellowship, kindness,
generosity, willingness, and happiness I feel here is celestial. It
really is. I couldn't be surrounded by better people right now in my
life. The Savior knows the Westview and Bethany wards, and they know
Him. I love my Savior so much! This work is true, and it's real. The
atonement of Jesus Christ is real. Let Him into your life. I love you
all! Have an amazing week.


With Love,
Elder Hall

  

Easter photo shoot!  Photo credit goes to my home girl Emma!

    

Minonaries twinkies!                              New America tie

   

Purple shoes and Easter socks                       Villa in the sticks

    

Clyde the bunny!                                      

   

Fiber optic eagle                                     more Easter photo shoot

TWO FORKS?!

               Mod Pizza with my boys!

Hey everyone! It's been a week that's for sure. Sorry this one's not
very long! Transfers are today, and I'm staying in Westview/Bethany!
At the end of this transfer, that will make 6 months in this area!

So. I got a new comp today! His name is Elder Kindrick. I'll write
more about him next week!

Last week, we didn't have dinner one night and we had a gift card to
the spaghetti factory, so we went. Elder Power had never been anywhere
so fancy in his whole life. He felt so out of place it was so funny!
He just couldn't understand why there were two forks. That's a waste
of dish water if you ask him. Man I'm gonna miss that cowboy! Well
anyway, the waiter came to our table and let us know someone had paid
for our meal and to have a good night. My goodness people need to stop
paying for us! We had a gift card this time!! Hahaha really though, we
are always thankful.

Wednesday and Thursday we visited seminary! We showed them the new
#PRINCEofPEACE video and had them share it with their friends! It was
so awesome! These kids have literally no fear in sharing the gospel. I
LOVE these kids so much. They've changed my life!

On Friday we had to take some Elders to an unexpected interview with
President Ballard. When we went back to pick them up, President called
us in next. I was scared out of my mind to be having an impromptu
interview, but it turned out so great. I love President Ballard!

While we don't teach nations, we still strive to walk with the Savior
every day, hoping we make a difference in someone's life. President
Eyring said it perfectly in this last conference in what is probably
my favorite talk of all time. He said, "The second lesson is that the
Lord’s work is not just to solve problems; it is to build people. So
as you walk with Him in priesthood service, you may find that
sometimes what seems like the most efficient solution is not the
Lord’s preferred solution because it does not allow people to grow. If
you listen, He will teach you His ways. Remember that God’s work and
glory is not simply to run an effective organization; it is “to bring
to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). This
is, after all, why He gives His priesthood authority to flawed mortals
like you and me and invites us to participate in His work. Our
progress is His work!"

I love you all so much! Have an awesome week! And happy Easter!

With love,
Elder Hall

     

Elder Power holding his two forks.       Our solution to help us stop eating unnecessarily!

Video of me ALMOST catching a duck. Expect to see pics of me holding a
duck next week.

CONFERENCE PARTYIN'

Fishing with a fishing rod made of candy!

Hey everyone! It is springtime here! It has been sunny for 4 days in a
row now!! It's a Conference miracle! Sorry this one's gonna be a
little short, it wasn't a super eventful week!

Tuesday was a little weird. It was spring break, and a bible school
was volunteering at the pantry, so they didn't need us. It was a real
bummer. That night though, we got to have a lesson with a lady named
Sue. She's the mom of a member in the ward, and she hasn't been
interested in 15 years! Well, our ward member had a prompting to ask
her mom yet again to meet with the missionaries, and she said yes! We
had a really tender lesson about the temple and forever families. The
spirit was tangible, and she was excited to read more about the temple
in the pamphlet we had.

Wednesday we took my BOY Sam with us to talk to people on the street.
It was so fun! I freaking love the youth here! They are friends I hope
I can stay in touch with. Love you guys! Thanks for being my pals!

Saturday was so fun! We went and "borrowed" the church projector and
hooked up our iPads to it in our apartment. We had Conference on our
wall while we ate breakfast with some other missionaries. It was a ton
of fun! Conference was SO good. Don't worry, we returned the projector
with no harm done. After the Priesthood session at the church, a member
from another ward took us to the swankiest buffet in town. It was so
fun!

Sunday morning we had breakfast and watched Conference with Bishop and
his wife and their dog Juno. It was really nice! After the morning
session, we went to another member's house (our new investigator Sue's
family) and had a really good lunch and fun outside! We played tug of
war and it was the kids against me. It was so fun! The last session of
conference was SO good. We played conference bingo with the kids and
they loved it! And the best part? We found out Sue had watched EVERY
session of conference!! It was so neat! We also learned our other
investigator Des had watched all of the Saturday sessions and loved it!
We were so happy!

Sorry this is short, but I'll leave you with a thought from Priesthood
session. Elder Bednar spoke about being called to the work and
assigned to an area. If we apply that to ourselves as members of the
church, we must remember we are ALL called to be missionaries, whether
you wear a tag or not. My assignment is to serve in the celestial
mission, the OPM, for right now. Your assignment is to labor where you
live! There are people that need the joy we have. What we have, the
world desperately needs! Though you may not have a paper with your
exact assignment on it, you have a paper in your wallet that calls you
to share the message of the gospel. Your temple recommend only means
something when you help others get to the temple. Don't let your
covenants slip away without bringing the full blessings of them into
your life. Share the gospel! If you haven't seen the #PRINCEofPEACE
video, go to Mormon.org and watch it! Then get on your knees and ask
Heavenly Father for specific people that need to hear it. Sharing it
on your Facebook wall is a good start, but Heavenly Father trusts you,
and will tell you which of His children's hearts you need to touch.
Don't let that trust pass you by! Love you all, have a great week!

With love,
Elder Hall

 

Our Saturday morning conference set up!




         Sweet little beaver pond we found!

                     Spring Photo Shoot!








  Good cop, bad cop!

 

I found some real Air Force sunglasses! I rock them well.