Elder Bridger Hall: FAITH TO FIRE

Selfie with my burning shirt!

Oh my heck I can't believe it's been another week! Next time I won't
blink! Oregon hasn't been better! The weather this week was GORGEOUS.
Clear skies, high of 80, low of 60. This is why people live here! Too
bad it only last for like three weeks haha! We had QUITE the eventful
week.

I'll start off by saying I've purchased a harmonica to learn in my
personal time. I can already play a few hymns and twinkle twinkle
little star! It's been a fun thing to start learning.

We've taught Andrew, Cass, and Dax several times this week! They are
all progressing well. We should get all of them baptized by the 12 of
August! We are so excited!

On Tuesday we were at the Oregon City Municipal Elevator (the only
one of its kind in the USA) doing some tasks and talking to people.
This guy is walking towards us and I said hello. He came over and we
started talking. His name was Jackson, and he was 21. Well, he told us
his life story. This kid was addicted to heroin, and watched his two
best friends be killed for it. As he talked, he broke down into tears.
I asked if he needed a hug and he just bawled on my shoulder for a
solid 5 minutes. I didn't know what to do! All I could think was, "I
wonder what this looks like to everyone walking by right now..." He
wasn't interested in the gospel, though his heart was so prepared. I
told him that God had sent us to find him, and he needed to listen to
us. Hopefully he will realize he needs the gospel and will call us.

We had a beautiful Wednesday morning at the visitor center with
Janean, a recent convert in the 5th ward. We watched the two new Book
of Mormon movies, only available in the 18 visitor centers across the
world! They are so well done, and bring tears every time I see them.

Thursday was my year mark!! I couldn't believe that I've made it this
long! Haha it's been so fun and so trying, but I wouldn't change it
for the world! I'm looking forward to this next year! I did burn a
shirt and it was AWESOME. Don't worry mom, I burned one that had a
really bad stain on it! It was quite the day. Of course what do I
spend the day doing on my year mark? Being a referee for the sisters
in my district. I thought drama ended in high school, but BOY WAS I
WRONG. I'm glad they finally got some issues worked out so the work
can progress!

Because of some struggles my district has been having, we decided to
do a district fast on Friday. We decided that morning as we all came
together to pray, that we would call it "Faith to Fire". It was the
perfect name for what we needed to accomplish as a district! It was an
amazing day filled with miracles, and I know we haven't seen the end
of the blessings that will come from it! We found two new
investigators named Tonya and her son Elliot. We are so excited to
teach them! They are so prepared! Well, we thought we would end the
day with a prayer as well. It was 8:30 and we all met at the stake
center. There was a stake fireside going on, so we just went into the
relief society room to end. Elder Itaia, the Elder from the Marshall
Islands who doesn't know too much about America, was real interested
in the fire alarm on the wall. Not knowing what it was, he followed
the directions on it to push the button in, and pull the lever down. I
watched in horror, yelling as he pulled it. Bells, lights, alarms, and
mass panic quickly set in. The fireside thank goodness had just ended,
so everyone quickly evacuated, not knowing the fire alarm was a
mistake. I didn't know what to do, and everyone was looking at me
because I guess I'm the district leader, so I should know what to do.
Eventually, the fire department came roaring in on their trucks,
dressed in the full gear, masks and all! Luckily they got there fast
enough to turn off the system before the sprinklers were enabled.
Elder Itaia felt horrible, but the firefighters assured him that it
was ok, just don't do that ever again. We laughed all night long!
President Leptich, the stake president, came speeding in and was
relieved to find out it was all an accident. We all got a stern
talking to. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized this fast was
truly a "faith to fire" experience, complete with real firefighters!!

Saturday night we had a district dinner with my FAVORITE lady,
Annette! It was so fun. I can't even describe to you the experience,
and I wish I could! Let's just say we had the night of our lives. One
we will never forget! It was so fun, and I'm so grateful that my
district has really bonded with each other now. Heck, after all we've
been through this week, we could conquer the world!

I'm so thankful for all of the support I've received from each of you.
I love all of you, and I love this gospel! We truly can go from faith
to fire as we let the Lord lead and guide our lives, and we keep His
commandments. Now hopefully there's no real fire, but a spiritual one
in your heart, that you can't deny. I love you all, have a good week!

With love,

Elder Hall