Shine bright like a diamond

Hey fam, I don’t have much time this week, but I thought I would at least say hello! This has been a hard week, but we made it through! 

This last week was quite the adventure. On Monday night, we went on exchanges with the APs! I went to the downtown branch with Elder Coombs and Elder Mobley went to Farmington with Elder Wallace. Elder Coombs and I had a really fun and interesting time in downtown Portland! There are some pretty crazy people there. It’s a pretty dark feeling in downtown wherever you go, but luckily we have the light of the gospel!

On Wednesday night I had a rare privilege of spending some one on one time with President Bullen. He is such an incredible man and I’m so grateful that I get to associate with him.

So transfers are on Wednesday, and we know Elder Wallace is leaving, but we don’t know where he is going, if I’m staying, and if so, who my new companion is. We will find out later tonight, so hold tight until next week!

On Saturday morning, we were at the Woodside’s house to cut down a tree the old fashioned way with some axes. Well, we were waiting for breakfast, and little Addie (she’s two years old) came up to me and asked if I would read her a book. We sat on the couch together and the two of us read a few books. You know, it wasn’t a big deal, but that moment made my whole week. I miss my little nieces and nephew and the time we would spend reading books every Sunday night. Addie brought in the brightest sunshine of my day. I love that little girl so much!

Someone once told me a very profound thought. Diamonds are best displayed when put against dark surfaces. The beauty of our lives is found in the deepest contrast. Can you truly shine without trials and temptation?

I love you all, have an absolutely incredible week! And take some of Rihanna’s advice, Shine bright like a diamond!

Love,

Elder Hall

Adventures at the Woodsides

 

 

Heavenly Fortunes

Hello everybody! I’m just going to tell you all right now, it was a super uneventful week with not a lot happening so this email will be very short. It’s been a wet and cold week, with a lot of rain! The weather really does affect people.

Here’s a short story that happened on Friday. Elder Wallace and I had a really hard day. We just weren’t having any success at all, and we felt like we were failures. We didn’t have dinner, but a member surprised us with reservations at a Chinese restaurant. After an incredible dinner (Stir Crazy Chinese off of TV Hwy, we highly recommend it), we opened our fortune cookies. Elder Wallace read his first: “Pray for what you want, but work for the things you need.” We were shocked. Then I opened mine: “Your faith carries you through difficult times.” It was like lightning struck. We were in utter disbelief. Heavenly Father let us know how to carry on! The work continues forward and we have a loving Heavenly Father ever-aware of us.

I know this is a super lame email, sorry! I promise next week will be better. I love you all, have a good week!

With Love,

Elder Hall

That dang sticker!

The bonfire, Chloe the goat, and Starlord the dog

Hey from Oregon today! It is a bright and beautiful mostly cloudy day. Haha we are enjoying any glimmer of sunshine we can! This week has brought a lot of fun and cool experiences I am excited to share with everyone! 

On Wednesday, we went to this super sketch trailer park and when we got out of the car, there was this super cute little yorkie on the porch of this house that kept jumping, just summoning us over. So we walk over and this lady (her name is Yolanda!) opens the door and we start talking. She had never heard of the Book of Mormon so we shared what it was about and read 3 Nephi 11:11. She loved it! We committed her to read the rest of the chapter, got her phone #, and a return appointment! It was so cool! #firstnewinvestigatorthistransfer

Ok so Friday was an adventure. We started the morning with interviews with President Bullen and can I just say I love that man. He is such an incredible man that inspires me. We had an awesome discussion about missions and how much I’ve changed. We were blessed to watch the funeral of our beloved prophet Thomas S Monson shortly after our interviews and it was a beautiful service as most of you probably know. What a fitting tribute to such an incredible man!

We went to lunch shortly after the funeral with President Bullen, President White, the stake president of Beav West, and Sister Bullen. President Bullen had asked us to bring a copy of the Book of Mormon with the new OPM stickers we are putting in the cover. Elder Wallace and I walked out to our car to get one and we discovered that we didn’t have any more copies with the sticker in them. We literally only had one job for this meeting and it was to bring a copy of the Book of Mormon with the dang sticker in it! We thought quick on our feet, and remembered some missionaries lived just half a mile from where we were having lunch. We jumped in the car and drove there slightly illegally fast, found a copy with a sticker, and drove back. We ran in and tried to look calm and refined. President Bullen didn’t even ask any questions why we were gone a little longer than it should have taken. Hahaha probably one of the best moments of my life! 

Another highlight of that Friday lunch was running into my good friend, President Giles of the Milwaukie stake! I love that man very much. It was so good to see him!

Well, Saturday was awesome! We went up to the Woodside’s house as usual. We built an enormous bonfire to burn and it was amazing! I look forward to going up there every week. Spending time with the dogs, the goats, and usually work in a fire there somewhere. It was an adventure as the fire started to die out, but after much love and stoking, we saved it and had a successful burn! 

It wasn’t until later that day Elder Wallace and I realized that Saturday was a landmark day for us. It was our 18 month mark! We forgot to burn a pair of pants, but I think a pile 15 feet high and 9 feet across will suffice. We decided to celebrate and go out to dinner to our favorite Hawaiian place, Roxy’s. As I’ve pondered my last 18 months of service in the Lord’s army, I can’t help but think of all that I’ve learned and the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, the things I’ve experienced. This has been the experience of a lifetime! I’m anxious to see what these last six months will bring.

I love this gospel, I know it is true. Jesus Christ lives. I love you all, have a fantastic week!

With Love,

Elder Hall

Zone Conference

Me attempting to take a picture with a cat that proceeded to bite me. Don’t pick up stray cats.

The Book of Mormon

My mozzarella stick looks like the Nike swoosh!  Just "Do It!"

Hello from Oregon! It’s been a wet and rainy week, but one of many miracles and incredible moments I’ll never forget. I apologize if this letter is a little short!

I’ll start with zone conference. This whole zone conference was about the Book of Mormon and why it is so important. Elder Wallace and I were privileged enough to teach how to support investigators reading the Book of Mormon. But as many of you probably saw on my Facebook feed, a small moment came to pass that I’ll never forget. I’ll just quote it below:

"This morning we started our missionary zone conference with a solemn spirit as we learned of the passing of President Thomas S Monson. Together we sang, “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet”. The Holy Ghost quickly engulfed the room as these humble servants of our Savior sang with full hearts honoring our beloved prophet. It was an experience I will never forget. We are in the Lord’s work."

Later in the day we had an amazing miracle happen! We came out of zone conference pumped to share the Book of Mormon so we set a goal to hand out one open Book of Mormon.  We decided to stop by Kevin's.  He is someone we had talked with last week about possibly coming back.  When he opened the door he was a little surprised to see us again but after thinking for a minute let us in and said we could take 5 minutes. We explained some background on the Book of Mormon and then shared Ether 12:27 with him.  Afterwards we asked how that could affect him personally and it really made him think. We had a great conversation with him and he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and said he would read it! We are super excited to follow up with him!

It’s short, but I want you to know that I love this gospel. It is true, and it brings eternal joy. I love you all, have a good week!

With love,

Elder Hall 

Beav west zone with my pal Kiyah Clemence

MLC breakfast

MLC group

Soaked!

Austin's baptism!

Hey everyone! My goodness it’s 2018 I can’t even believe it! I go home this year! Man that is so weird. Well a happy new year to everyone! I would also like to wish my pup Buster Bluth a very happy birthday! He’s 4 years old today! I’m excited to tell you guys about my week, it was crazy! 

Last Monday was Christmas as you all know, and I had the best time talking to my family! Those little kiddos are getting so big! I’m happy that everyone is doing well and enjoying life!

Tuesday was probably my favorite day of my whole mission. We spent the morning grocery shopping and then some sisters called us stranded because their car broke down. It took us a little bit, but we got the car to start! You can just start calling me the car doctor or something... haha NO. Anyway, we had district meetings and our zone is doing so well. I am so proud of them! 

Ok so rewind to Monday night. My boy Austin is getting baptized on Tuesday in Milwaukie and I have no ride over. Everyone I call turns me down. I finally have this thought, ‘hey President Bullen goes to all the baptisms and he’s pretty close by.’ I call President and he says he would love to give me a ride! 

Now back to Tuesday. President and Sister Bullen come to pick me up at our apartment. Elder Wallace goes with some other elders for the evening. I get in the car and we start driving, just the three of us! President hands me a stack of papers and asks me to read them and give him feedback. We have a really nice hour long drive talking about missionary work and what we can do to change some things. It was pretty cool!

Then we had the crowning event of the night! Austin got baptized! I was so happy for him! I started teaching him back in August. He was so happy and I was so honored to be the one to baptize him. It was a special experience I will never forget! 

Because this was the first time I had ever baptized someone in my mission, I didn’t quite think of how wet I would get... so of course I didn’t bring an extra shirt. I wrung it out as best I could and threw it back on, still soaking wet. Luckily, I was wearing a suit so it wasn’t noticeable, but I was FREEZING. hahaha I am so dumb. 

So President and Sister Bullen and I get in the car and start back home to Beaverton. Because of how crazy our day was, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was now 7:30 and I was STARVING. As we’re driving, President gets off the highway in Lake Oswego, so I ask where we’re going. He says, “Elder Hall I’m buying you dinner. Will you let me do that?” I graciously accepted and we pull into this chic Thai restaurant. He brings in this stack of papers mentioned earlier and we spend all of dinner discussing. I felt like I was about to make a multimillion dollar business deal or something! Haha you could tell President has had many important meetings over dinner.

So that was my Tuesday. And it was just so neat and so fun. I will never forget it!

Flash forward to Friday at MLC which is always a party! Haha I love all of my mission leader friends! President Bullen and I concluded on Tuesday night we needed a reform of planning and how to do it. Well on Friday, he pulls out 8 of us and let’s us know that we are going to be a special committee to figure out this planning thing. We spent the rest of MLC trying to figure out some place to start. It’s going to be an adventure. 

This week has brought many emotions for me. Talking to my family, seeing someone get baptized, being responsible for a big assignment, learning that my family is moving, finding out a dear friend is going home from their mission early, and hitting 2018. There’s been points where I almost fall apart because I don’t know how to handle it all. And then I remember some advice a close friend told me that was reiterated in church yesterday, amazingly enough. It’s this: Control what you can control and then have faith that the Lord will take care of the rest. So that’s what I’ll do. 

I love you all so much much, I hope you have an amazing week!

With love,

Elder Hall 

  

The OPM Christmas Party!

 

 

Beav West, Beav Best!

   

Pictures of my area

A 1,000 piece puzzle Elder Wallace and I did on Christmas

Video of me conducting the infamous OPM Nose Flute Band!