Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

Shout Outs!

Thank you to Tyler, Maddie, Amanda, Chelsey, James, Sara, Mable, Marina, Lucy, Janelle, Bob, Sister Spencer, Kim, and the Summers. I loved the little notes you all sent! You guys are way too nice though haha I might get a big head one of these days ;)

Thank you also to the Summers for the package! Once again you are way too generous and I am excited to open it on Christmas :D

Well to say that it has been a crazy week out here in Kingston does not to it justice!

To start off there was a huge fire on our street! It may have been on the news, I'm not sure but we were teaching a lesson in Tim Hortons by our place when people started talking about a fire and when we looked out the sky was full of black smoke! We stood there for a while not too sure of what to do and then noticed the poor crane operator making his way across the crane to the very tip! AH! So scary! As a result of the fire they shut off our power and evacuated us for the night. Sister Laing and I stayed at Sister Lenard's for the night. She has 3 hound dogs who weigh like 80 pounds and like to sit on peoples laps.... it hurt so bad! The next day we were able to go back to our place though which was nice!

Huge fire!! So glad the crane man is ok.

Just getting my study on at the members home with the dog.

Aside from the fire we also got a legit ice storm! It is SO cool! It reminded me of the ice storm that hit Jill when she lived in Texas. (Looks like the same kind of deal too -J)

->side note: Elder Snelson is also from Texas and he remembers that ice storm too...weird! He's from Huston I believe

Anyways it is pretty much an ice rink outside so contacting was a joy! But actually it was SO much fun! We would approach people on the street and nearly face plant in front of them haha great way to "break the ice" BAHAHAHHAHAHHA! It took us an extra 30 min to get anywhere and by the end of the night our legs were killing us but it was a nice change up from the regular routine.

Queens Campus in ice form

EVERYTHING Froze!!

We had an awesome lesson with Francis this week! We had a good old DTR with him to figure out what his expectations were with meeting with us (we tend to have a few of those a month it seems like cause he's not much of a talker). We found out that he doesn't have a problem with being baptized again and is willing to get baptized but that he first wanted to check out the church. We have taught him all the commandments and he is good with all of them so it really is down to just getting him out to church which has been a struggle. He did however say that he would come to church and we were so excited! Taylor told him that she would pick him up and everything!... then they cancelled church -_- which also meant that Jess didn't get confirmed... gah!  

->side note: I don't know if I've ever mentioned this but a few months ago Francis told us that there was a church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints by his home back in Ghana and that one of his friends from his childhood was a member. Once he started meeting with us he found his friend on facebook and told him he was meeting with missionaries! His friend was really excited and told him to learn all he could from us and that if he had any questions he could ask him. Cool Eh!

DTR: Determine The Relationship (I learned this from Jill while she dated Tyson... apparently they had to have a lot of those) (Ooohh pahleeease!! -J)

Now the Best for Last! 

So I like really don't care for bus contacting. Like we walk to places so that we don't have to take the bus, however one night it was really cold and we would be late for an appointment so we had to take the bus. So we get on the bus and there are 3 people on it. 2 old people in the front and a what looks like a university student in the back. Sister Laing jumps on the old people and I make my way to the back of the bus. He has his ear phones in so I sit on the edge of my seat and ask him what he thinks the meaning of Christmas is with a big smile so he notices me. He tries to look away but we make eye contact. HA gottcha! He slowly takes his ear phones out and then we start talking. In no time he starts to open up about God and his beliefs. Then he stops and laughs to himself. I ask him why he is laughing and he says this is so weird cause he has been thinking about his faith a lot recently and really wants to over come his doubts. Then he admitted that at first he thought I was crazy and was trying to ignore me, but said he was glad that he took his ear phones out cause he really needed this!

BAH! Am I dreaming! Am I seriously having a successful bus contact?!

Turns out this guy plays basketball for Queens university and is heading home for the holidays but said he would be down to meet up with us when he gets back :D = new investigator via bus contacting what what!!

p.s his name is Tyrell and Winnie has already claimed him as "her investigator" haha

Line of the Week:

Elder Dewey: "Hey sisters we just wanted to check to make sure you all emailed your families telling them that you are safe from the fire."

Me: "Yep, sure did!"

Elder Dewey: "Awesome! Yea, someone's mom contacted president Scott asking if they were alright so we just wanted to follow up with you guys to make sure you emailed."

Me: "...Yea....that was my mom."

Elder Dewey: "What? Really! How do you know?"

Me: "I've had 21 years with her."

-> I LOVE you mom!!! :D (Mom is mortified!!!! -J)

Scripture of The Week: Helaman 5: 10

"And remember also the words which Amulek spake unto Zeezrom, in the city of Ammonihah; for he said unto him that the Lord surely should come to redeem his people, but that he should not come to redeem them in their sins, but to redeem them from their sins."

A Haiku for YOU:

He is born

to heal us from sin

our Brother

Sister Hall

         Y.O.S.O

Backing up Sister Waal

Ice Fishers Of Men

Ice Fishers Of Men

Big News Everyone, Transfer calls were last night and............. NOTHING HAS CHANGED! Haha that's right, all the missionaries serving in Kingston are staying the same :)

A few Shout Outs before we begin!

Thank you to..... The Aurinis, Sandra, Hannah, Lochlan, Chris, Darwin, Sue, and the Browns for the kind notes! I love reading them every morning :) It's a great way to start off the day!

Thank you to Aunty Sue! I got your Christmas package and the appartmentship is VERY excited about also getting a gift :) that was too kind of you!

Kerry, I am LOVING the 12 days of Christmas! We just about died at the reindeer nose!

Jill I got your package and I really want to open it!

I really do appreciate all the support my friends, family, and my ward family back home! It means a lot and really helps to keep a sister upbeat :D

Alright so first off, we have the best elders in the mission. Saturday night we had a decent snow fall and it got pretty cold so on Sunday we made sure we gave ourselves enough time to brush the car off and everything. So we get outside to find that not only is our car brushed off, but someone also shovelled a path to our doors.... later at church Elder Snelson kindly informed us that he stank and was supper sweaty from shovelling walkways this morning. It wasn't till a few hours later that Sister Waal clued in and confronted them. Elder Snelson has a really great poker face and denied everything but Elder Dewey cracked a smile within seconds.

Man I am happy to be staying with Sister Laing in Kingston YSA :) I am getting pretty attached to this area. We have the best YSA in all of Ontario, but seriously we totally do. I have gotten to know the best out of all the YSA, Steph and Rachel. I love them both to bits! They are spiritual giants and help our investigators leaps and bounds because our investigators are able to see that normal people are apart of the church and that it is a life style they too can have. Seriously some amazing testimonies come out of these two!

As for the work over, things are starting to slow down. All our YSA are leaving for home and wont be back till the 6th of January. Most of our investigators have been baptized as well.... looks like we will be pounding the pavement pretty soon here. I know Heavenly Father has kept us here for a reason, and I am excited to find that reason!

Right now we are working with Francis, Jacob and Chase.

Francis is from Gahanna and we have been teaching him for a while now. He was slow to progress at first but in recent visits things has started to change! He is pretty quiet so it's hard to gage where he is at but he told us that he is seriously considering joining the church. BONUS! Glad we got that cleared up, and it only took us 3 months ;) He also informed us that he has started to feel guilty for drinking coffee! He also has a date for January 11th!

Jacob is a new investigator who we have only taught twice. He comes from a rougher background and I am so excited for this gospel to change his life. It will be hard for him to open up and let the gospel heal him cause religion was pretty forced on him as a youth, but we talked about the atonement with him and we mentioned how all the guilt we have felt can be taken from us through Christ and I swear his eyes got a little shinny. I just hope that he opens his heart up! 

Chase we havent seen in like a month cause he is so crazy busy but we still keep in contact with him.

So that is your little sneak peak into Kingston YSA missionary work. We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this coming transfer!

Line of the Week:

Francis: "So would I need to be baptized again?"

Jake after looking at the both of us: "Ladies is it ok if I take this one? See Francis, when Joseph Smith found the plates....."

Jake proceeds to explain the whole apostasy and authority to Francis. I almost died of happiness.

Scripture of the Week: D&C 121: 40

"Hence many are called, but few are chosen."

A haiku for You

6 more weeks

oh blessed Kingston

we aren't done

Sister Hall

Y.O.S.O

Epic Fail!

Taking a nap on my Viking

Throw Downs

Throw Downs

Alrighty lets get this email on a role! 

First I would like to let all my little cousins who have been asking me how my mission is going that it is GREAT! I love it and I highly advise that you should all go :) The weather is a little cold but not too humid which is nice :) Not nearly as much snow as you have over in Calgary! 

Now for some SHOOOOUUUUT OUTS! 

Wendy, thank you for the candy you have sent me! I have been sharing with all the other missionaries and they are grateful :)

Thank you Sandra for the awesome toilet paper! I I just about died when I saw it 

Lochlan thank you for the toffees! They were SOOO good! 

Thank you to Lucy for the erasers :D

And Naomi I LOVE the bracelet and the little rubber doll you made me! You are SO creative 

Victoria you are amazing at writing poems! I can tell that you are growing up a lot while I've been gone!

Also thank you to Dani, the Jacksons, Cartch, Graeme, Sis. Spackman, The Hughes, Rena, Sister Beattie, Uncle Darcy AND Grandma and Grandpa for the kind wishes you sent me :) it means a lot! 

Man that was a mouthful! 

This week has been absolutely amazing on many different fronts! 

First of all Dieter got baptized!!!!! He had requested that we play "Eye of the Tiger" as he got into the font, buuuuttt we were able to talk him out of it ;) Regardless it was a very special opportunity for us to be able to witness the next apostle being baptized by one of our recent converts who has only held the priesthood for 6 days... needless to say my cheeks were sore from smiling so much! Jake did a wonderful job of baptizing Dieter as well! He didnt need any help remembering what he needed to say AND he only had to put him under the water twice ;) Jake sure is getting in a lot of practice for his mission! 

Dieters confirmation was also a very spiritual experience... oh man the words of council Heavenly Father gave him were exactly what Dieter needed to hear :) He talked about how he had felt the spirit strongly in his life and that he would be blessed with the ability to share his beliefs and his tender feelings with those he talks to. I just know that Heavenly Father has BIG plans for Dieter! 

More good news is that Jess also was able to get baptized this week! This was a very big step for her and we are SO proud of her! She has gone through a lot of trials in her life but I know that as she turns to Christ she will find the peace that she is searching for :) We ask that you would please include her in your prayers this week as well. She has been struggling with her health and we are praying that she will be able to come to church so that she can be confirmed! 

As for the rest of this week, it has been good and busy! 

I cannot describe the transformation that I have seen in Jake and Winnie since their confirmation... it is absolutely incredible and so heart warming to see :) We have had the privileged of taking Winnie teaching with us almost every day this week and I must say she is just as good as having another companion! We might as well be put in a trio :D She has this wonderful ability to bring the spirit with here wherever she goes! In one of Dieters lessons we were talking about the spirit and Winnie jumped right in and explained to Dieter how she feels the spirit. She told him that she felt the spirit in the room as we taught and helped him to identify how he felt the spirit. She shared experiences from her own journey AND testified of blessings.... I pretty much just sat back and enjoyed. 

Her and Jake now have a competition on who can find the next investigator for us. Winnie asked us for 10 pass-along cards and 3 Books of Mormon. She explained that she was going to approach someone on the street the other day but she realized she didnt have a card.... I just about died! Like who are these people! This is just something I never thought I would witness but thank Heavenly Father each and ever day for the blessing it is to see Jake and Winnie and Dieter be changed by this gospel and desire to share it with others. Jake and Winnie are currently both experiencing the pure happiness that comes from sharing the gospel with others and sharing their experiences. In one of Dieters lessons Winnie warned him that once he got confirmed he would have this overwhelming desire to tell everyone about the church because that was what was happening to her :D

Thanks Winnie for the picture!!! "It's lauren when she's about to do a lesson but got a call, she answered it and started spinning around in her chair and playing with the window latch." This is so Sister Hall! Miss this girl!

We had our Christmas Zone Conference this past week as well and it was incredible! The spirit was extremely strong! Often times in preparation for our conferences President Scott asks all the missionaries to study something and then be prepared to bare their testimony on it. This time he asked us to study the birth of the Saviour. We were all sitting in the chapel and Pres. Scott gets up to invite the missionaries he has selected to share their testimonies. I sit back and get comfortable and then I hear my name... 

There is a tradition in the mission that every Christmas conference we get to play Preach My Gospel jeopardy a.k.a it is the only time of the year where the elders are aloud to act like 20 year old boys ahaha! It was absolutely terrifying, I have never seen such an intense game of jeopardy! The Elders were all yelling and chanting and thumping their chests. It is the first time one my mission that I didnt feel the spirit! But it was super fun! As a Kingston Zone we all got burger king crowns and walked in fashionably late. The president had a good laugh over it and everyone else booed us.

I hope everyone's week has been full of Christmas cheer! I really am grateful for all the emails and letters and packages people have been sending it really does go a long way! 

Line of the Week: So we took Winnie to an appointment. It was the first time we had met this guy and his place was rather smoky. We were just wrapping up the lesson when Winnie throws in the Word of Wisdom AND the Law of Chastity haha

Winnie after we leave the appointment: "I just wanted to throw down on the Word of Wisdom!"

Scripture of the week: Alma 37: 44-45

"For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

An now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promise land shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise."

A Haiku for You: 

Till we meet 

crowned with His glory

home at last 

Sister Hall

Look Jill I'm Flossing! #weeklyplanning #kingstoncrowns

Y.O.S.O

My Toes Might Be Frozen But The Spirit Sure Warms The Heart :)

My Toes Might Be Frozen But The Spirit Sure Warms The Heart :)

This one is going to be a shorter one folks cause there is just so much to do in the Christmas season, even for missionaries!!

FLASH back to OAKVILLE!

1. My daughter is my pride and joy and is an incredible missionary! Yet another of our investigators has gotten baptized! Her name is Jane and she is the one who is from the Philippines. We had been teaching her and her family and she was the one who was really quite but oh so sweet!

But first off just a few shout outs!

My mom did a little project for me for Christmas and went around asking all my friends and family to send write me little notes. Each day in December I get to read a new note. I wanted to thank Sister Fisher, Court, my gangsters ;), Jill, Jasmine, Alex, Nathan! Your kind words and support have put the biggest smile on my face and have made each day that much better! (how has she read that many already??? -J)

All the Christmas letters :D while taking this photo I was doing follow up calls with Elder Strobel... ah good times ;)

So I just have to say how much I LOVE the Christmas season! Thanks to a very caring mother and father our apatmentship has been jamming out to the Josh Groban Christmas CD which has made for some pretty good times. Contacting people on the streets has also been a lot of fun because the Christmas spirit seems to make people want to stop and talk with people and just be kind :)

We actually went carolling with all the YSA for Family Home Evening. It was pretty cute. While the YSA were singing Sister Laing and I would pass out cards to people on the street. Winnie became quite interested in what we were doing so I got her to help me contact a few people. It was SO sweet! By the end of the night Winnie was running after people on the street and I'd have to try and keep up with her ;)

Jake and Winnie are in the missionary spirit and have been asking us for Books of Mormon to give out to people in their gifts they give out for the holidays,.... who are these people!?? Once again it has been such a privilege to see their growth in the gospel! They are already excited to come out teaching with us and have been fellowshipping our less actives on their own! Saying that I love them both just doesn't seem to cut it.

Jake and Winnie had their confirmations this week. Confirmations are probably my favorite part of missionary work because I get to hear our Father in Heaven speak words of comfort and guidance to people who I care very much about. Winnie was just absolutely BEAMING after her confirmation. I later asked her how she felt and she said her heart was pounding, she got all hot and her head started hurting or something like that (she clarified that it was a good hurting though haha). She had the biggest smile on her face and couldn't stop bouncing in her seat. Later that day Sister Laing and I got to witness Jake get the priesthood and Oh man was that ever cool! Later that night Jake had us over for dinner and we asked him his thoughts on how the day had gone and he confided in us that when he got the priesthood he felt really good but also almost like a weight was put on his shoulders as well... like there was a greater responsibility on him... It is seriously freaky how in tune Jake is with the spirit!

Dieter is all ready and set to go for his baptism this Saturday! Ah I just adore him! He is one of the most incredible people I have ever met and will bring so many people to Christ! I know that Heavenly Father has big plans for him :)

Lines of the Week:

Talking to Winnie about enduring to the end

Winnie: "At this point I can kill temptation with my hands!"

In sunday school class

Jake: "Hey what time is it?"

Sister Laing shows him her watch

Jake: "We are late!!! I want to get my priesthood!"

Scripture of the Week: 3 Nephi 6: 14

"And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to e broken up; yea, insomuch that in the thirtieth year, the church was broken up in all the land save it were among a few of the Lamanites who were converted unto the true faith; and they would not depart from it, for they were firm, and steadfast, and immovable, willing with all diligence to keep the commandments of the Lord."

It finally snowed! For exercise in the morning we went out and had a snowball fight :)

Sister Waal and I dressed up in our Christmas outfits for the first snowfall!

The District :D This is right before we had a big old snowball fight

So I've never thought about what I could give the Saviour as a Christmas gift and I think that something the Saviour would very much appreciate is if we all were to share His message about His restored gospel to the people we love this season, SO that is my invitation to everyone. To give the Saviour a gift this Christmas season!

I love you all and hope you are staying warm!

YOSO <3

Sister Hall

PS Sister Fisher you have to email me! I need to talk with you! LOVE YA TO BITS!

A Loss Of Words

A Loss Of Words

Shout Outttts!!!!

Thank you so much to the Roberts family! I received your Christmas package this week and my roommates and I cannot wait till we get to open them all! We have even started looking up some of the scriptures and started guessing what they could be :)

Thank you to Nathan Summers for the care package! It has brought many smiles over this past week especially your favorite childhood toy ;) Sister Waal and I almost died laughing at the flaming hot Cheetos!

Thank you to Sister Bennett and Sister Begieneman for the wonderful baked goods!

MOM you are the greatest! You are so thoughtful and I am so excited to explore the package you got me :)

I am not quite sure what to say... words are failing me and I feel like I have been staring at this screen for years. Please bear with me as I try and describe the events of yesterday.

We have been working with Jake and Winnie for about 8 weeks and in just 8 weeks I have seen both of them completely transform. It has been the most incredible experience thus far on my mission. Jake showed up to church yesterday with the biggest smile on his face- it didn't take long to notice the gages in his ears were no longer there. I almost jumped up and down in the chapel with joy. He told us that it was our surprise on his baptism :) It is those little things that show to me that he is on the road to conversion, the fact that he is willing to take out his earrings... such a little thing but shows so much obedience! During sacrament meeting Winnie kept leaning over to me asking if she could just get baptized now... lets just say my cheeks started to hurt from smiling so much!

The rest of church seemed to drag on for.ev.er! Finally though we said the closing prayer in relief society. We rushed Winnie and Jake off so that they could get changed and waited as patiently as we could for everything to get settled. Winnie was jumping off the walls with excitement and Jake had a perma smile on :D

->fast forward to the baptisms

Jake was baptized first. He entered into the waters and when he came back out... oh man if you could have only seen the look on his face. It took him a moment to find his strength and then he just stood there in the water with a look, not of shock, but I can't think of another word to describe it.... it was almost as if he was feeling his baptism... After a few seconds he had once again the biggest smile on his face and then got out of the water. Then Winnie got her chance next. As she came out of the water she took a few seconds and then shook herself off like a dog. Oh how I love her :)  

After the actual baptism all of us missionaries sang Come Thou Fount (that was a good one ;)) and then Jake and Winnie got up to bear their testimonies. Oh my goodness. I almost started to cry.

Jake got up there and the first thing he said was that a few weeks ago he never thought in a million years he would be up here haha! But then he went on to talk about how the spirit was what kept making him want to come back to church, it was all the kind faces and warmth that he felt when he came to church. Latter on he described what it felt like to be baptized and used the word clarity. After he came out of the water everything was so clear. Any questions, doubts, fears all melted away. He felt joy and peace that this was right. Then he started to tear up.... oh my gosh... the change in him is incredible! Winnie also had a heartfelt testimony where she described how much happiness she has been able to find in this gospel and in knowing God. She also quoted president Uchdorf! WHAT WHAT! Once again we have the sweetest investigators! I am so excited to see what God will do with her! She will bring so many people joy just with her smile :D

The good news doesn't stop here either! Later that night all the YSA had a big old pot luck where Dieter stood up in front of everyone and asked Jake if he would do the honours of baptizing him....... AHHHHHHHHH!!!! Oh my goodness! and if that's not enough Jake will be known as Elder Kilcollins (sweetest last name ever!) in just a short year :D that's right! Jake has decided to serve a mission AND he will be using his priesthood just a week after receiving it to perform his FIRST baptism! BAH!

The joy I have received from serving in Kingston YSA is like no other joy I have ever felt. All of the YSA hold a dear place in my heart. We have all come so close together in these past 9 weeks. To see the growth that has taken place has been such a blessing for me. It is a testimony to me that this really is our Father in Heavens work and nothing can stop it.  

Our little YSA family:)

Winnie, Rachel (has a heart of gold and a way with investigators that makes them feel so welcome!), sis Laing, Taylor (Jakes friend who introduced him to the church), me, and Steph (she has saved us countless times in lessons with her amazing testimony AND she is the one going on a mission!!!)

I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a tool in the Lords hand and can testify that no greater joy can come than being in the service of God!

I love you all and thank you all for the emails and letters and packages! 

Quote Of The Week:

Elder Snelson: "We recorded ourselves singing this morning in companionship study.... we are going to ruin this baptism."

A haiku for you:

Oh the joy

That this sentence brings

He lives

Scripture of the Week: D&C 18: 10 & 15-16 

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;... 

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! 

And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will by your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!"

Sister Hall

Y.O.S.O <3

Jake and Winnie just this last Sunday!

IIIITTTTT'SSSS BAPTISM WEEK X2!

IIITTTTT'SSSS BAPTISM WEEK X2!

Alright, it's official, YSA work is the best work! AH! I have tasted of the fruit and I don't desire anything else! As you can probably tell we have had yet another incredible week out here in Stony Kingston YSA!

Jake and Winnie had better suit up this week cause this week is Baptism Week and it aint no time for amateurs haha.... but seriously the week before baptism is not to be messed around with as any missionary who has served and is serving can attest to. However I have all the confidence in the world that they will come out victorious on November 24th. Why you might ask? Simply because they have felt the spirit. They know exactly what God wants and expects of them and they are ready to rise to the occasion! I feel so privileged that the Lord chose Sister Laing and I to teach such choice children. I say choice children because they are seriously SO prepared! God loves them SO much and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for them on their own little journeys! 

Winnie has decided that she is going to go ahead and let her parents know about her decision which we are happy about because in the long run I feel that will help them to accept her choice sooner rather than if she had waited till a while after she took the plunge.
->side note- Winnie and Jake pulled a fast one on all us missionaries and some how got us to agree to be the musical number at their baptism.... arg! What I do for our investigators ;)

Anything to break ma fast! (After fast). Thanks Winnie for sending the picture!!

Chase came to church this week! It was so cute! He was really curious as to what a service would be like but at the same time he suffers from a bit of social anxiety because of his lack of sight which is totally understandable. So we had Steph organize a ride for him for Sunday and he rode in a car with a bunch of YSA. When he got to the church he came over to me and told me with the biggest smile on his face how enjoyable that ride was! He said everyone was so nice and informed us that he was pleasantly surprised thus far and hoped that the rest of church would go just as well.

Not gonna lie, I really hoped so too
Things proved to be going pretty well however when part way through sacrament meeting Chase leaned over to me with, once again, the biggest smile and said something along the lines of, "I don't know what it is but I feel something here. I can't wait for next week".... I had to do all I could not to jump up with excitement!

This week Sister Laing and I had the most spiritual lesson I have had yet on my mission.

There is something about Dieter... I haven't been able to quite put my finger on it, but all I know is that Heavenly Father has big plans for him and whenever we meet with him I just have the sense of urgency like Dieter needs to know something. So Dieter exemplifies the qualities of Christ. All he wants in life is to help others and for there to be peace between all people. The main thing that had been holding him back from agreeing to be baptized was that

1. He wanted to explore other churches

2. He was afraid of what the label "Mormon" would do

2. a) he wasn't sure if he could do the most good apart of the church or separate from the church.

Sister Laing and I pondered over these concerns and had the strongest prompting that we NEEDED to teach him the restoration. After the opening prayer I looked at Dieter and told him that the message we had for him today was a message from God, that this is something that God needed him to hear right now and that it would bring to light the answer of why there are so many Christian churches and how he can come to know for himself that this is Christ's one and only true church. Immediately we were all hit with the spirit and for the next 50 min Sister Laing and I unveiled how the purity of the gospel of Jesus Christ was lost after Christ's crucifixion but that through a living prophet called of God the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ was able to be restored to the earth once again. I have never taught with the spirit that strong. Dieter sat the whole time listening intently and we could see the spirit working within him. His countenance began to change and a new light of understanding came forth. Sister Laing ended off telling him that "Mormon" is a label people put on us, but that she never considered herself a "Mormon". She is a daughter of God and, he Dieter, is a son of God and what God wants for him is to follow His son Jesus Christ and to be baptized.... Oh man was it ever powerful! Needless to say Dieter will be baptized on December 7th :D

I am running way short on time so please forgive me!

Sister Hall

Our Sister Training leaders

The FUN BUN!

You're A Roller Coaster Baby I Swear

You're A Roller Coaster Baby I Swear

Boy oh boy what a week, what a week and where to begin!?

This week has been full of new experiences, ups and downs, worries and relief and a ton of spirit!

Probably the hardest thing about being a missionary is watching an investigator go through a trial of their faith. Never on my mission has my heart ached so much! I can assume that this is kinda how parents feel about their children when they go through tough times. You want to keep them under a rock and make sure nothing hurts them buuuuuuuuuuttttt then they wouldn't learn or grow....

"You never know how much faith you have until your faith is tried"

So I just have to say that Winnie is pretty incredible. It is so cool to see how the Lord has been preparing her to accept this message! She has so much faith that she doesn't know what to do with it! Sometimes I feel like Winnie is too good to be true and every time we teacher her I am bracing myself because I'm sure that this time she will bring up a concern, but the gospel just makes sense to her! It's awesome!

This week Winnie had an awesome testimony building experience for herself about the importance and blessings that come from scripture reading. So we were in a lesson with her and we had asked her how her reading was going. She sheepishly looked down and said she hadn't really been reading and explained how busy she had been with school. Man oh man could I ever relate to her on this one! I was able to share an experience of my own with Winnie about how in university I had noticed that I hadn't been reading my scriptures because of my busy school life. I decided that I would bring my scriptures to school and I started reading before I'd study and in between study breaks. When I did this I noticed that my mind was clearer and I was able to not only retain more but I also got more done. We challenged her try that out this week and report back to us. A few days latter Winnie came walking into institute with the biggest smile on her face. She told us about how just hours earlier she went into the library to write an essay and decided to start off by reading her scriptures... and BAM she finished her essay in record time! She told us about how she was able to hyper focus and how the words just seemed to flow out.

Coolest thing about being a missionary #22: being able to promise blessings to people and knowing Heavenly Father has your back

Jake is doing better than ever! You can tell that he is becoming converted to the gospel because of his desire to share the gospel with others. I feel like every time we go and teach him he has a new story to tell about someone he was talking to about the church. He is inviting his roommates to church and FHE and wants his family to hear about the gospel  *cough future missionary cough*! It makes me so proud to see him go out and share his beliefs and desire others to have the same blessings as he is receiving!

I also had the privilege of witnessing Jakes first blessing. Oh man. I'm not sure if I can describe how I felt as I listened to the words of comfort Heavenly Father had for Jake. The spirit was so strong and it filled me with joy, hope, comfort and a renewed faith. Everything good truly does come from God. After the blessing Jake just sat in the chair with his eyes closed and took a deep breath.

->I LOVE this! Every time Jake has an intense spiritual experience, this is how he reacts. It's almost like the spirit is strong that it takes him a moment to gather his strength and his thoughts.

This week we also got a new investigator named Chase. Chase is kinda legally blind... he sees colour but has to get wicked close to you to see any definition BUT he has really good style which threw me for a loop. Chase is also WAY cool as well! The first time we meet with him he brought a friend, sat us down and started asking us questions about what would happen if he joined the church. Sister Laing and I sat back and relaxed while he set expectations with us. He let us know that it was his intention to find a church to join that would fit in with his beliefs and that he will not waste our time. Sweet!

The Kingston missionaries in full force!

Elder Dewey is really scared of heights...good thing I've got his back

Well I've got to say that I have the best family in the whole world! I wanted to thank you all for the letter s you send every month! It puts the biggest smile on my face and I LOVE hearing about all my little cousins!

I hope you all have a great week and don't forget to smile!

Line of the Week: Teaching Chase and some how sports get brought up

Me: "Oh ya for sure! I actually played rugby."

Chase: "What you played rugby?! Oh well I guess I can see that.. you tend to wave your arms around when you talk so I could see you enjoying punching people."

->I just about died laughing!

Scripture of the Week: Alma 13:24

"For behold, angels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory."

A Haiku For You:

Not Giving It Up

Gaining MUCH more in return

the Best 18 months

Y.O.S.O

Sister Hall

Two Peas In A Pod

Two Peas In A Pod

So I've got some big news...... I'M STAYING IN KINGSTON!

->cue the happy dance :)

Actually our whole apartmentship is staying the same which is grrrreeeaaaat!

News from Oakville!

FIONA GOT BAPTISED!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost squealed with excitement! Ah, I remember the first time Sister Rogers and I knocked on her door some 8 odd weeks ago :) I feel so blessed to have had the privilege of teaching her and am overjoyed that she chose to get baptised! Missions seriously rock!

Shout out!!!

Happy Birthday Tyson! Your hockey team (still -J) sucks and you are going on a cruise without me!

As for our week, my cheeks are hurting from smiling so much haha we are seriously spoiled out here! There is no way that the mission can get better than this!

So to start off I want to tell you about our newest investigator named Dieter..... that's right ,we are teaching the next apostle! But like seriously he is going to be a prophet one day! So Dieter is a referral from Steph, who is seriously one of my favorite people to take teaching! She has been a member for a little less than a year, is putting in her papers to go on a mission AND is an incredible member missionary.... but like seriously where ever she goes she will tear it uppppp! Anyways so Dieter came to church last sunday. We talked with him a lot and gave him a Book of Mormon.... By Tuesday he had read ALL of 1 Nephi.... Who is this guy!? Also he bought us shirts. Can he get any better?!

Winnie and Jake are doing amazing :) they are both incredible and have actually started hanging out with each other! Say What?! This is actually the coolest thing ever and every missionary’s dream; to have their investigators become friends! A.K.A I am living the dream right now.

Winnie had some pretty cool experiences this week... well actually both Winnie AND Jake had some way cool experiences this week but I will start off with Winnie.

First of all I want to say that God really does answer prayers. Earlier in the week we had been talking with Winnie about her baptism and she raised some concerns about how her social life might change and confessed that she still felt tempted to drink when she went to parties (all legitimate concerns that we were very happy she brought up). I left that meeting feeling like Winnie still wasn't settled on the matter.

->fast forward a few days

We got a text on Saturday from Winnie telling us she would love to see us but that we would have to meet her at her house because she wasn't feeling very well. So we head over to Winnie's house and we are all sitting down and I ask her why she isn't feeling very well. She then confesses to us that she had her first drink last night in 3 weeks. She then looked at us with her big eyes and exclaimed that the weird thing was that it tasted SO bad!

->hahahahaha! I love it when Heavenly Father answers prayers!

 She continued to tell us that she felt sick the whole night and still felt like crap.. she couldn't even eat anything.

I had the biggest simile on my face as I explained to her that God has a wonderful way of answering our prayers. I told her that this was her sign from God that the Word of Wisdom is indeed one of his commandments and that he wants her to live it :)

Winnie was trying to explain how she felt so she drew me a picture.... I still don't get it.

Now onto Jake. Oh man, Jake never ceases to amaze me!

So I honestly do not know where to begin when it comes to this guy. For a while we have strongly felt impressed that we need to commit Jake to a baptismal date and that we would both see him baptized. Now the first time we committed Jake to a baptismal date was last week. We asked him if he would get baptized and he said he would buuuut not for a while... I jokingly said that we were thinking of a year from now and Jake got all excited and said "Ya that's doable!". I then laughed and said something along the lines of, "Ya right Jake! We feel impressed that in a month from now on November 24th you will be ready for baptism:)"

Jake did his nervous laugh and said no way.

But we were not discouraged because Jake is seriously one of the most prepared people I have ever met on my mission and the best part about it is he has no idea how elect he really is :)

Anyways so we are in a lesson with Jake and we are talking a little about some of his concerns. To be completely honest I'm not quite sure how it happened but the next thing I know Sister Waal, who was teaching with me, is telling Jake that the reason why he is feeling guilty is because he has already received his answer from God- that this is His church, that the word of wisdom is His commandment, and that He wants Jake to be baptised. WOW! Jake is a little taken aback. Sister Waal continues to inform Jake that he has some praying to do in regards to baptism. <- man I love her haha

At the end of the lesson we challenged Jake to pray about being baptized on November 24th and he agreed. We reassured him that God does want him to get baptized and that God will answer his prayers and to be on the look out for his answers. Later that night we got a text from Jake saying that he had finally let his mom know that he was wanting to get baptized. His mom told him that she loved him no matter what and supported him in his decision. His sister has agreed to have the missionaries over to learn more about the church. Needless to say Jake has received his answer and will be getting baptized on November 24th.

I seriously love this work. I have never been happier in my life than I have been out here helping people to receive the gospel and the eternal joy and peace that comes with it. This is God's work and nothing and no one will get in the way of it. He is so aware of his children's concerns and will and does answer their prayers if they are true and humble seekers of their answers.

Winnie and Jake! They are going to get baptised TOGETHER on November 24th! Nothing like working towards eternal life with God with a good friend!

I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who sees fit to bless me with such amazing people in my life like Winnie, Jake, Dieter, and Jess. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

YOSO! (you only serve once!)

Line of the Week:

In Jake’s lesson while talking about the Word of Wisdom (Jake was conflicted about giving up alcohol and his roommates Nick and Affrotastic were playing the devils advocate all week trying to convince him this was stupid)  

Nick The Agnostic friend sitting in on the lesson who had been saying for a week that Jake shouldn't stop drinking: "Jake you obviously want to give this a try so just do it!"

Sister Waal: "Ok Jake if you are looking for a sign that this is something God wants you to do, you just got it! Your Agnostic friend is telling YOU to quit drinking!"

Scripture of the Week: Alma 44: 4

"Now ye see that this is the true faith of God; yea, ye see that God will support, and keep, and preserve us, so long as we are faithful unto him, and unto our faith, and our religion; and never will the Lord suffer that we shall be destroyed except we should fall into transgression and deny our faith."

A Haiku for YOU:

Look forward

Steadfast faith in Christ
don't look back

Sister Hall

Sister HALL and I dressing up on Halloween!