Great Is The Work and Sacks Of Spiritual Bricks

Great Is The Work and Sacks Of Spiritual Bricks

So I hear now is the time to learn to swim out in Alberta eh! All week people have been coming up to me and asking how my family in little old Calgary has been doing, and its been killing me not knowing! I am glad however to know that you are all safe and sound! Know that we are all praying for you guys out here and we are thinking of you. 

The harvest is continuing out here in Ontario. This week we had 24 baptisms which brings us up to 52 in total :) The Lord has really been blessings us out here and I just wanted to thank everyone who has been praying for us!

As for this week its been pretty uneventful. A lot of our investigators weren't able to meet with us so we did our best to get in to teach less actives and ward members to gain referrals from them. 

We were able to see Angela and she has this great fire to find out if this church truly is God's church! She even said that she would die for this church if she found out it was true, she would tell everyone she knew so that they too could have the blessings! This touched my heart, the only concern we have is how she is going about finding her answer. She feels that knowledge is what will get her her answer so she has been researching on the internet, watching youtube videos and all sorts of things. She has also looked into the temple and now knows more about the temple than the average Laural/Priest.... Oh Boy. I'm not sure how to help her understand that it all comes down to faith and asking God. We have talked to her about that before and she has prayed and has had some pretty incredible experiences, but she seems to have forgotten them. 

We were also able to see my dear old Sammy and he has taught me a lot about our church! Here are some fun things that I learned this week or as I like to call it: "The Gospel According to Sammy" 

1. Joseph Smith is actually a prophet of the Jews 

2. Joseph Smith was killed by Jews

3. There was no apostasy because God's spirit was on the earth and lead men 

4. There is no real difference between the Catholic and LDS church 

Sammy and I got into quite the debate last time we met, it was friendly aaaand drove the spirit away... I have repented since and promise to be better next time. 

I have been struggling this week to teach people and not lessons... Cartch you need to email me and teach me your ways! (but seriously shoot me an email pronto)

I got the sweetest surprise on Sunday! Some strangers came to see me at church aka Grandma and Grandpa Davidson + Heather, Ben and their 2 angels (who live just beyond my boundaries)! Such a sweet surprise- it was wonderful to see them! I am so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who are so supportive :)  (And the family back home was SO THRILLED to hear that Sister Hall was doing well from reliable sources!! -J)

Sweet Surprise!!

Best family ever!!! Love these guys!

Dad, your talk was honestly good ;) haha but really I loved how you compared to it the compass and how it is between us and the Lord!

We had the privileged of watching the Leadership broadcast last night and it was simply amazing! OH my gosh I felt so inspired! I pray and hope that everyone who watched that will take what they learned and apply it into there lives. God is gathering Israel as we speak. It is happening now accross the world. God is sending forth His gospel to all corners and never has there been as big of a missionary force as there is now. It is up to bishops, members and ward councils to direct His missionary effort. The missionaries are there for your use! Don't put them to waste! Sister Ogden and I are working on how to help the members do missionary work and these are some things we have come up with

-invite friends over when feeding the missionaries

-invite people to come to family home evening

-when people ask you what you did on the weekend say you went to church

-get passalong cards from the missionaries and hand them out to friends

These are just a few things that you can do, but there is SO much more! PLEASE, use the missionaries, let your friends know what a blessing this gospel has been in your life, and if you are worried that you will lose friendships over this, well they probably weren't the greatest friends to begin with.

The work is great, and it requires everyones effort. The Lord promises blessings and promises to put the words He would have you speak in your mouth. He promisses to put the people He has prepaired in your path. Take Him on this promise, pray and ask for that missionary experience and I can promise you as a representative of Jesus Christ that if you do this in faith, the Lord will provide. He will put someone in your path, He will give you the words to speak, He will not let you fail. This is His work and nothing will stand in its way.

Be good, open your mouths, share the gospel, make your Father proud.

Line of The Week: 

A conversation over text with my Distric Leader   

Me: "I want to hit Sammy with a sack of spiritual bricks"

Elder Williams: "We are using ours right now, but you can borrow it next week if you want?"

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

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

And if it so be that you should lair 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!"

A Huiku for You:

Gods Purpose

Salvation of Souls

Help Needed

Sister Hall

Holy Priesthood Batman!

Holy Priesthood Batman!

Harvest Update! 

Right now we are at 28 baptisms for June

We have about 54 Investigators with a baptisimal date for June 23 and 36 for June 30th

We will need to average about 16 or so baptisms a week now to reach our goal. Pretty exciting Eh!

Now for this week. Phew! It was been a good old hard week! Lots of working and talking :)

Let's start off with some highlights 

-Sammy came to church!!!!!!!!!! Haza for Israel! Oh my gosh we have been trying to get Sammy to church for AGES!!! Problem is he doesnt drive and he refuses a ride from everyone. Luckily Sister Taylor is as stubborn as Sammy and wouldn't take no for an answer :D. We are hoping this week to set him with a baptismal date for June 30th 

-I Got a certain someones wedding invitation! FINALLY! And can I just say I have the MOST beautiful sister evvvvvvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrrrr! Good Grief it's just plain crazy! I know the invitation says to RSVP by June 6th, but you were late in getting me one so here is my RSVP: Will be there in Cardboard (they have a cardboard cut out of me hahahaha!) soooo clever I am (Baaahahaha and she is VERY cute in cardboard too! -J)

SHE IS SO PRETTY!!!

-Tony is a guy we met on the street this week. We saw him walking towards us and I was trying to figure out how I was going to approach him and soon enough he is right in front of us (funny how that always happens...) so we stop him and I blurt out, "What's most important to you in your life?!" haha smooth I know... His response sends me for a loop and I wonder if he is mocking me cause he says Jesus Christ. Thankfully Sister Ogden is not has suspicious as I am and asks him why. He has a legitimate reason and THEN says these sweet sweet words "Actually I'm thinking about being baptized, I've never done it before and I think I should." ->please give me a second to pick my jaw up off the ground! I jump on that and get his number and talk about our purpose as missionaries. 

Unfortunately we have not yet been able to get a hold of him but as that guy says in that movie my dad made me watch "Never give up Never Surrender!" (Galaxy Quest! -J)

-We had Zone conference! YUSSSSSSSSSSS! I have come to the conclusion that zone conference is better than birthdays and Halloween combined! This time President Scott "explained" the priesthood and church government.... it is sufficient to say that I am a female because there is in no way shape or form that I can handle nor understand the priesthood. Every time the president opened his mouth another nuclear bomb would go off in my head and my mind would be blown again.  Haha it was SO funny looking around at all the sisters during his presentation. They all had the same confused and dazed look and all the Elders were sitting forward in their sets trying so hard to piece together this power they hold.

I had another Bizzar moment this week and this one is all about Christine.

So Christine is a girl we ran into on the street who said we could come by and see her.
Side note -> people tend to underestimate the seriousness of missionaries when the we say we will come by tomorrow and this specific time to see them. They always get this really surprised face when they see us knocking on their door. It's priceless! 

Anyways, Christine is no different. I think she assumed she would never see us again, but here we are on her door step haha. She lets us in and we find out that she had been reading some of the Book of Mormon that we left her with. We do a little talking to get a feel for her religious background and such and she asks for the church address because she wanted to come check it out on Sunday and then next thing you know she is wrapping up the conversation thanking us for coming to see her.... We had been there for 10 min. 

In my head: "Oh no, You can NOT get rid of me that easily!"

So I ask her if she has 20 min for us to talk with her a little about our beliefs etc... and she says yes.
In my head: "Awesome, restoration of the gospel here we come!"

So we start talking with her about how God is her Loving Heavenly Father. We talk for MAYBE 8 min and she starts thanking us again for coming over and starts hinting at us leaving. I refuse to leave without sending a baptismal invitation her way so without further adue(?)....
Me: "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God"

Christine: "Ya"

Me:"We will be holding a baptismal service on June 30th. Will you prepare yourself to be baptized for that date." 

Christine: "Ya, let me just right that down."

Me:.... awesome... We'll see you at church....?

->what the heck just happened?! 

So that was my week out here in Oakville!

Special shout out to me Paps! You are da best and thank you so much for having the Priesthood :) I miss you a butt load, and I made you breakfast in bed and then ate your breakfast in bed.... but it's the thought that counts ;) 

Dad, what the junk is this stuff?! And yes, I eat it..

Line of the Week: we are at a members home for dinner 

Brother Taylor: "So what did you guys do to prepare for your mission?"

Sister Tofa: "I went out with the missionaries and studied my scriptures and took some classes..."

Brother Taylor: "What about you sister Hall?"

Me: "I watched the best 2 years with my sister who has never served a mission..." (We learned a lot! -J)

Scripture of the Week: Nephi 16: 29

"By small means the Lord can bring about great things." 

A Haiku for You: 

Dadies little Girl

Through thick and thin always there

Te Amo Padre

Sister Hall

Mercy me! And it was only $40 ;)

Worse Than A Jehovas Witness

Worse Than A Jehovas Witness

What A Weeeeek! First off a few thank yous are in order! First to the Reeds for the birthday gift and card! I absolutely love the scarf and I have already eaten all the candies :s hahaha! Next to the Summers for all their letters! You dont know how much it means to know that you all are supporting me :) I am currently working on a letter for you guys! As for my fam jam, thank you for all the birthday wishes! I loved the picture of the horse from Sara haha it made me laugh! I love the hymn of the week from Sandra and the advice on not burning wool socks as well as Dans little picture and message (keep it up Dan, I just about die laughing every time). Thank you to the Bennetts for the card! In response to the singing in a lesson, I'm not sure if that would invite the spirit or detract from it, but I like the idea of singing my testimony to O Canada maybe on the 1st of July... Last but certainly not least, I must thank my dear cousin Naomi for her beautiful cards! They are always so colourful and has such good printing! :D

The Radkes celebrated my birthday with me! Coolest family in Oakville! 

As for this week, lots have happened. I went on an exchange with my Sister Training Leader, Sister Tofa, and headed over to Brampton. Holy moley did we ever have fun together! Oh my gosh I just adore Sister Tofa! She is from Australia (originally from New Zealand) AND she laughs at ALL my jokes! We have a lot in common, her and I. We are both really good at doing things in the dark (the power went completely out for 24 hours... -_-), we LOVE rugby, we enjoy talking to people on the street and getting shut down hard, and we are both easy going. It was a really cool experience getting to serve with her. We have already made plans for me to go over and live with her in Australia. We went and taught a man named Brupinder and I got the privilege to commit him and teach him about the Word of Wisdom AND the Law of Chastity! Yayaya..yaya..ya.... thank you SO much Sister Tofa hahaha! lol I'm over reacting, surprise, it was actually really awesome. We tackled the word of wisdom first and then dove right into chastity. In the end we were able to commit him to live both and all is well in the kingdom :) 

Sister Tofa <3

ANGELA CAME TO CHURCH!!! AHHHHHHH! Ok for those of you who have not served a mission, sometimes *cough 99% of the time* the hardest thing is actually getting your investigators to come to church. Angela has this habit of sleeping in till 10ish in the morning so we made a game plan with her, that we were going to knock on her door at 8:30 and get her up.... flawless right!? WRONG! haha last week we had a member go and do this and he stood outside for 15 min.... But this time we had Angela pray that Heavenly Father would help her wake up anddddddd HE DID! lol she woke up to the 2nd doorbell :) and wham bam uncle sam, she is at church!

This past weekend I was thinking a lot about Sharon. I was really nervous that she would not want to see us again blah blah blah.... anyways I put off calling her until Thursday when I bit the bullet and gave her a call... First thing she said. It's about time you called! (palm in face moment right there). Apparently all weekend she couldnt stop thinking about the 2 missionaries who knocked on her door and she was excited to see us again. So we made an appointment to go and see her and her daughter on saturday.The lesson went great! Once again it is more of a conversation with her. She asks lots of questions and we talk about what she has always believed and then throw some sweet gospel truths on her. 

For Example: She asked us what our take on with baby baptisms was (her church baptizes babies). We opened up to Moroni 8 and discussed the doctrine and she totally agreed with us. Then the question of when we should baptize came up so we told her about the revelation Joseph Smith received about 8 years old being the time to baptize. Her daughter laughed and explained that 8 was her moms favorite age because thats when her kids personalities always changed.... 

->supper cool cause thats straight up doctrine! 

We talked a lot on the plan of salvation, where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. I asked her a lot about what her church teaches on these topics and was surprised to find that they dont really talk much about them. It was cool to be able to clear up some of those unknowns, like where we came from. Sharon felt like we lived with God before we came here, but no one could ever tell her for sure.

->cool side story: Her daughter when she was a kid, talked about how before she came to earth, she lived with God and she chose them as parents.... being able to affirm what her daughter said was incredible and the spirit was so strong! 

 We talked a little on the steps we need to take to get back to our Father in Heaven (faith in Jesus Christ, Repentance, Baptism, Receive the Holy Ghost, Endure to the End) and focused in on baptism. We reviewed the great apostasy, priesthood, and Joseph Smith and helped her to realize that one needed to be baptized by someone holding the proper priesthood authority and then invited her to do the same..... she said she needed to learn more, but that if she found out it was true, she would be baptized.... WHAT WHAT! haha Man do I ever love Sharon! I laugh that one of the first things she said to us was "well you can come in and talk, but i cant promise I will convert..." look at what the spirit and the truth can do! 

->I forgot to mention the fact that she went out and bought us more treats! These little individual cheese cakes for when we had our little talk.... seriously can she get any better?!

I have some really great news for ya'll, I would make a GREAT Gypsie wife! Haha let me explain this one. Last week Sister Ogden and I were looking for a previous investigator and came across this Polish family. The poor mother is going through a lot of health problems and apparently her son is into drugs. We said that we would come back with a Polish Book of Mormon and "talk" (here English is limited) with her more. So this week we came back to see her. She was very pleased to see us and we sat down and gave her the Book of Mormon.... we then find out that she also cant read... temporary set back, right haha... We try and talk with her about the gospel, but our words are too big and we are getting no where, your conversation boils down to "Jesus Christ, Good" and she will nod her head and cry and make hand gestures. We sit there not knowing what to say, I chuckle and think about how Jill was convinced I'd go to Poland and immediately start praying for the gift of tongues (I knew it!!-J). My prayers were answered too, but not in the way I expected, cue her son Marco who speaks English and Polish! We start talking with him about our church, and he is very interested since he has had a lot of problems in his life due to the influences of Satan and really wants to get closer to Christ. We invite them to come to church and they say they will. Then we find out they are actually Polish Gypsies from the Romanoff line

My First thought: Whens your next wedding!
Next thought: SWEET! I am teaching Gypsies!   

Then Marco went on to compliment us Mormons on the way we dress. Apparently we dress the "right way" and we would make good gypsie wives who treat their body with respect!

So we are teaching this less active named John. He is 21 and for the last few years has taken a different path in his life and due to some events, it's caused him to rethink some of his choices. He is meeting with us now, because he wants to find happiness. The things he was doing in his life, drinking, drugs, money etc... they were not bringing him happiness. I want to bear my testimony of the gospel and how it is the only way to find lasting happiness. In the world today happiness is based on how much money you make, the cloths you wear, the kind of body you have, the car you drive... all these things are temporary. I meet tons of people every day and they are all looking for something. They are all looking to fill. Family, friends, and the gospel of Jesus Christ are what will last beyond death. They are the things that should matter most and I can promise that if you make them a priority in your life, you will indeed find lasting happiness. This does not do justice to the entirety of how I feel regarding this topic, but it will have to do for now. 

Be good! 

Line of the Week: 

Me: "Hi, how are you guys doing?"

Lady: "What are you guys selling!!!?"

Me".... Happiness :)"

Lady: "Oh, your a preacher! What are you, a Jehovah Witness!?"

Me: "Actually we are from the Church of...."

Lady: (realizing what I'm saying) "Thats worse than a Jehovah Witness!"

->starts to walk away

Me: "Well that's a new one... God Bless!"    

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 6: 20-21

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

A Haiku for You:

Happiness

Gospel brings truth and light

Choice is yours 

Sister Hall

Glorious!

Harvest Time!

Harvest Time   And HAPPY BIRTHDAY today Sister Hall!!

Oh. My. GOSH! It's JUNE!!!!! Where has the time gone?! For those of you who do not know, June is a VERY special month. See June is Harvest month and our mission has a goal of getting 60 baptisms in June.... and that is a butt load of baptisms =) Lots of miracles will happen, I can just feel it! 

This week has been full of ups and downs, but the ups are wayyyyyyyyy cooler than the downs, so I'm just going to fill you in on the ups.

So while walking around the water front, we are talking with people and we come across this big Mexican man whose name is Carlos. So we stop to talk with Carlos and find out that just this morning he had a conversation asking God why God had given up on him, and then these missionaries come along! Can you say inspired!??? So we start talking with Carlos, and Carlos is just going through the ringer right now. He is being sued, he got caught for drinking and driving and was in jail, his girlfriend cheated on him with his brother and is pregnant and they dont know who the father is, he got into an accident, and he is an ex-gang member.... While complaining to us for a good 10 minuets, all I could think of was, "And you blame God for the stuff you are going through?" So I politely interrupt him and explain to him that God can only bless us if we are willing to follow His commandments, and you have made some decisions in your life that makes it hard for Him to bless you. Our message will help you to find happiness and help you to make good changes in your life. When can we come over? haha we are seeing him this tuesday.

We are now friends with the guy that owns a fish and chips (and hotdog) shack/stand by the beach. *SCORE* We talked with him a little about God and our church and gave him an Arabic book of Mormon and he said to come by any time and he will give us free fries!

Sammy (who we have been working with for a couple weeks) still won't come out to church with us... stubborn man he is. The reason why he won't come out is because he doesnt want to be a burden and he is weary of strangers taking him. Thankfully we have the Kay's coming with us to teach him and they have offered to drive him, however he still said no. Then we find out the Sammy used to be a concert pianist and really LOVES music, so brother Kay decides to use this to our advantage and asks Sammy if he will come to church if  the sister missionaries do a musical number in church. *my jaw drops* Then Sammy says HE will play the pianno for our musical number and to get him the sheet music! ->gahhhhh <- I look Sammy dead in the eyes and tell him if he comes to church then I will sing....

Oh the things I will do to get an investigator to church -_-  (That truly is a miracle!!-J)

This experience is for Justin :) SO we have an investigator who happens to be Muslim and the missionaries have been trying to get her to read her Book of Mormon for a few months now and she hasn't been AND they haven't been reading with her *gasp*! So Sister Ogden and I go in and I ask her :

"Angela, why do we ask you to read the Book of Mormon?"

Angela: "Tuthfully I do not understand."

Me: "AH, well lets change that! Can you go grab your Arabic Book of Mormon?"

->she runs to grab her Book of Mormon

I then have her read the introduction out loud in her own language and at the end of each paragraph we talk about what happens and why it would be important to read the Book of Mormon.

Cue the Light bulb! 

She finally got it! She looks at me and says this makes so much more sense! And the next time we go and see her I ask her how her Book of Mormon reading has gone and she says its been great! She has read 5 chapters and said she couldn't put it down because the story of Nephi was so interesting!

I have saved my favorite experience this week for last...

Sister Ogden and I went to an appointment, but they werent there so we decided to tract 5 houses to the left and 5 to the right. We knock on the first door and this women answered it. We start talking with her, asking her how she is doing, blah blah blah, and then she realizes we are Mormon. She starts asking about the usual stereotypes and we set her straight and then she asks us what we do. I start talking and am getting into Joseph Smith and straight up recite the first vision right there on her door step! The spirit was SO strong and I looked her dead in the eyes the whole time! You could tell she could feel something because after I bore my testimony she said.... "Well I can't promise you that I will convert, but if you want to come in for a drink and talk you are more than welcome." SHE LET US IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Haza! We went in and she gave us some water and some cookies and we just talked. We talked about religion, we talked about families and raising kids, we talked about what we think happens after we die and then we got to the good stuff. She then asks the questions all missionaries pray people will ask "What makes your religion different?" Cue the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith! We explained the Book of Mormon, she asked questions, we answered and it was just awesome! We invited her to read and pray for herself to know if it was true and she said she would. We got her number and said we would call sometime and try to come back to see how things went and then we had to skidatel. It was the coolest experience! She was just so nice and open about what we talked about and it just felt so natural AND she gave us cookies! A beautiful day in the kingdom indeed =)

Birthday jog jump!!

Pre- present opening!

Post present opening!

Birthday Pancakes!

I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes! It was wonderful to hear from you all and I really appreciate the thoughts and kind wishes!
Mom & Dad you are the greatest and I LOVE the package and the skirts! I really appreciate all the thought you put into it and i just love you guys so much! :) 

Proof!

Jill thanks so much for the shirts and the necklace! I am wearing the coral shirt and the necklace right now... here Ill take a picture... there, some proof :) 

Chris and Kerry THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!! I Adore the card and the gift is FAR too generous! 

Grandma and Grandpa, You guys are too cute and thank you so much for the gift as well! I really apprciate all you have done for me! 

The Bennetts, you guys are awesome! I loved the confetti! and threw it everywhere! haha my companion thought it was less funny hahaha!

Vanessa & Melissa, you guys are da best and I miss you guys! 

Alex Williams you are sweet as the day is long and I cannot wait to watch Duck Dynasty with you!

Line of the Week: "When I think of the harvest I get all anxious and nervous and excited!..... kinda like my first date..." 

Scripture of the Week:   Issiah 41:10 

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am they God: I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

A Huku for you:
Harvest Time 

The Field Is All White 

June Is Here 

I LOVE YOU ALL! 

And Jill, please stop puking and get better :)

Love Sister Hall

So we go outside to write letters.... and sister Ogden whips this out. so precious hahaha

Charlie St. Cloud...