Celestial Grass

Celestial Grass

Another great week in the Kingdom folks!

So this week has been a busy one like all the others and we're facing new challenges like always.

Question of the Week! 

How do you explain to an 80 year old that they must be humble and submissive like a child!? 
We are having a hard time teaching Sammy right now, see Sammy is pretty old and is fairly set in his ways. When sister Rogers and I try and teach him he tends to be more argumentative than anything. For example Sammy asked if babies shouldnt be baptized, then at what age should they be. We explained to him about the revelation given to Joseph Smith on the age of accountability being 8 years old and he disagreed with us.... his reasoning being that one time he thought he read an article in a religious magazine about the age actually being 7...... -_- We have no idea what to do about this. Sammy will never understand the gospel if he keeps his mind closed and these blinders on. Plus it's really hard to teach and feel the spirit when he is coming up with all these obscure reasons why something isnt true. 

He is such an interesting investigator, Sammy is. He wants to know the truth, he believes the Book of Mormon is scripture and he wants to continue to learn BUT he argues with us when we try and teach him, he still doesnt believe Joseph Smith was a prophet and he still doesn't know why he would need to be baptized again. I don't know if all these concerns are stemming from his insecurities about what his family might think or if this is just what Sammy is like but either way I feel like smacking my head on a brick building. Charity and LOVE :D

My thoughts about teaching a family before I had taught one: "Man, that would be SO much fun and SOOOOOOO easy! :D"

My thoughts after teaching families: "Heeelllp meeeeeeee!"

Haha so I've learned the valuable lesson that while teaching a family is one of the most rewarding experiences on a mission, it is also one of the MOST difficult. This little gem came to my attention after Chauncey (age 8) fell asleep in one of our lessons. Sister Rogers and I have now taken to using big hand actions and funny voices when reading the scriptures with the girls... sometimes they look at us like we are crazy, but at least they arent asleep right?! Haha one particularity fond moment was when we were reading in 1 Nephi 1:6. This is where Lehi is praying and suddenly there is a pillar of FIRE!!!! (cue sound effects and wild hand motions!) While this tactic of getting their attention may seem flawless, we are a little worried that they will soon get board of our sound effects and cool voices so if anyone has some good ideas for teaching children with objects and such send them Oakvilles way :)

While tracting this week I came across the holy grail of lawns! Oh my goodness Dad, I could have sworn the grass was fake, in fact I actually asked the guy if I could touch his grass to make sure it was real! It was perfectly manicured, emerald green and perfectly cut without a blade out of place. The first thought that came to my mind was, "This must be what the grass looks like in the celestial kingdom!" I figured I had best learn from Walter what he did to get his grass like this so I could pass the information on to you.

The Formula of Celestial Grass By Walter 

1. Mow you lawn 3 x a week WITH an old school lawn mower 

2. Water frequently with water 

3. Make a concoction of beer, listerine, and coke (but not moms diet coke, the Real stuff) and pour on lawn

..... I cant remember the rest... he caught me off guard with that last one

Anyways, that's all for now!

Line of the week:

Me in utter amazement: "Is your grass real?!"

Walter: "Sure is!"

Me: "... I dont know if I believe you.... can I touch your grass?"

Walter: "Haha, sure!"

Me: "... oh my gosh.... sister Rogers, it is real!"

Rogers: 'No way! Let me feel!"

Scripture of the week: D&C 6:20

"...Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my love." 

A Haiku For You

remember

righteousness prevails 

God Loves You 

Sister Hall

Destination Eternal Bliss

Destination Eternal Bliss

Ok this time when you read my letter you have got to listen to Come, Come, Ye Saints by Libbie Linton (you know what to do Jill ;)) http://grooveshark.com/#!/search/song?q=Libbie+Linton+Come%2C+Come%2C+Ye+Saints

So this week we spent some time doing something I like to call "first week of transfer clean out" or in other words we take a look at our investigators, see who is progressing and who is not and create a course of action from there. As a result our teaching pool has gotten a little smaller, but I know that God is looking out for us!

We are teaching a family right now who are from Congo. The mothers name is Vivian and she has two girls Chauncy (8) and Allegra (10). They had previously been taught by missionaries about a year ago but had to be dropped due to Vivian not keeping commitments. The first time we knocked on her door, Vivian answers the door looks at us and says
"I know I need to be baptized I just dont know when..."

In my head: "Well how 'bout now?!" haha

Her girls are amazing and they really want to get baptized, but we are facing the same problem with Vivian as the other missionaries. She knows she needs to be baptized and she wants that for her family, BUT that want is not strong enough to motivate her to do things like keep appointments with us and come to church.... It's SO close for her yet so far.... the one thing separating herself for eternal salvation is her lack of motivation... that darn agency, getting in the way of the work again ;) 

A Tender Moment With Sam

I wish I could explain to you what a gift Sam has been to sister Rogers and I, but words seem to escape me. As golden as Sam is, Rogers and I had one small concern that we thought might keep Sam from being baptized and that was a lack of support from family and friends. Well as we have been teaching Sam her son Jordan (18) has been joining in on discussions. In the beginning he was put off by the fact that his mom was thinking of changing religions and he was more argumentative with us than anything, but he continued to join in on conversations so we figured he must be enjoying something. Anyways, we saw Sam and Jordan on Wednesday and invited Jordan to come to church with Sam. He thought about it for a few seconds and then said possibly. Fast forward to Sunday and low and behold here comes Jordan and Sam. 

-> actually it was a really funny story. Rogers and I are fast walking around the building from door to door trying to figure out which door Sam will walk through. The members are chuckling at us and next thing you know I see Sam and Jordan and Grace walking up, but I dont want them to think we have been creepily waiting for them this whole time so I grab Sister Rogers and run around the corner to make it look like we were just walking around and happen to run into them on their way in. The members watching are now busting a gut. 

Anyways, back to the story! So Jordan comes to church and we are SO excited to see him! He is still skeptical and his mom may have had to bribe him, BUT he is here and he had a smile on his face! So sacrament meeting goes great and we are now in Sunday school and are discussing the WOW (word of wisdom) both Jordan and Sam are throwing out their comments and everything is great. Then we head into the 3rd hour. We are sitting next to Sam and are having a lesson on donating to funds in the church. Sam gets up to leave (I assume she is going to the washroom) which is perfect because I had been wanting to get Sam alone so that we can talk about her baptismal date. We wait about a minute before we follow after her and end up running into her in the hallway, not anywhere near the washroom. In her hand is a tithing envelope... I think she saw me staring at it because after a lengthy silence she smiles and says, "Sister Hall, I hope its ok I left Relief Society! Rebecca let me know where the tithing slips were and I just wanted to run out and get one so that I could pay my tithing." 

We havent even taught her about tithing yet. 

I looked at her and just gave her a hug. 

Then we went into a room so that we could talk. She looked at us and tears started to well up in her eyes. She expressed to us gratitude that we brought this gospel to her. She has never felt the spirit so strong and she has never felt so "right." Then our wonderful beautiful Sam brought up her baptism. She said, "As I was sitting in the class room the teacher brought up baptism and I felt that baptism for me would be a way of regaining my innocence. It is the fresh start that I have been looking for since I was a girl." At this point we are all tearing up and the spirit is so strong you could cut it with a knife. I looked at Sam and saw her the way our Father in Heaven sees her; one of His precious daughters. I could literally feel the love that He has for her. Then we set her with a baptismal date for September 8th :D I cannot wait! 

To top it all off we were talking to Jordan after church and he had the biggest smile on his face. He told us about how people had been thanking him for all the comments he gave in class and how everyone was so nice and welcoming. We asked him if he would come back next week and he said he couldnt see why not. Sam was beaming! 

A mission is better than all the concerts, birthdays and vacations I've ever been to/had/on all combined into one And THAT is saying something! 

Sam was a member referral.... go out and share the gospel with your friends, be a good example! You never know who of your friends might be searching for this restored gospel. 

Line of The Week: 

In the car with Sister Rogers 

Me: "Who is someone you would die to meet?"

Rogers: "Eminem!"

Me: "What?! You're SO white.."

Rogers: "Oh my goodness! I LOVE eminem!"

Me: "Hmmm... you dont look like an eminem girl."

Rogers: "I feeel like an Eminem girl"

Scripture of the week: 1 Nephi 4:6 

"I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do."

A Haiku for You: 

perspective 

it is up to You

glass half full

Sister Hall

Last P-day our Elders wanted to go to Toys R Us.... This is what they got.... 

Next thing you know we are in a church gym and I am defending myself with a racket 

Nearer My God To Thee

Nearer My God To Thee

Transfer calls came last night and guess what............ I'M STAYING! And my baby is staying with me :) Sister Rogers and I are not done here in Oakville and boy am I ever glad because the work is just starting to get going over here.

Ok so while you read this letter you need to listen to this song... http://youtu.be/i7Cdmm3g7_k Nearer My God To Thee by Kyle Henderson. It is from the album Nearer: A New Collection Of Favorite Hymns. You will all love it, listen to it!

I want to apologize real quick for how short this letter will be. We are going to go explore some caves as a district so I've got to keep things a little shorter :)

Best district ever:)

First off I'd like to reflect with you guys and share some of the things I have learned this past transfer

-The Lord really does qualify those He calls

-They shouldn't call us trainers but more of guides

-You've got to do something on p-day or else you're going to go crazy

-When you give everything over to the Lord and totally surrender yourself He blesses you 10 fold

-Sometimes you've got to let people fail for them to learn 

-When your companion wakes you up at 3:30 telling you we have to check the apartment for an intruder.. just go along with it 

-My dad wasn't joking when he said you cannot change a man 

-God is always listening and watching but He will answer prayers in His own way in His own time. It may not make sense at the time but rest assured He knows best and in due time it will all make sense 

-Go to the washroom before you leave the apartment, like ALWAYS! Even if you don't think you have to go. (same goes for road trips, right Dad?!)

-Discouragement leads to a weakening of faith. If you let yourself get discouraged, you are letting Satan win. Trust in God, trust that everything will work out because it will

-Sound effects make missionary work That much better

-my job is to preach the gospel NOT to convert people 

-The Lord will never forsake or abandon anyone. You may abandon Him, but He will never abandon you. You never need to feel that you are alone.

I have been very blessed these past 4 weeks. As Sister Rogers and I have consecrated ourselves to this work we have seen the work explode over here in Oakville. So I didnt know this before, but Oakville has been struggling missionary work wise for a few years now. As a ward they havent had a lot of baptisms and the missionaries havent been able to see much success, however things are starting to turn around. We are currently teaching 5ish families and 6 other individuals and we have 7 investigators with baptismal dates. For the past 4 weeks we have also hit standards which is something this area hasnt been able to do in at least 6 months. Now I am not telling you this to boast because all these little miracles we have witnessed are all tender mercies from our Heavenly Father. This is just a testimony to me that He is watching and that when we give to Him all we have, our minds our hearts our will, He truly does bless us.

Scripture of the week: Mormon 8: 38 

"...Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that over misery which never dies- because of the praise of the world?"

A Haiku for You: 

discourage

enemy to Faith 

Trust In God 

Anyways as my beloved Sammy would say "I loved you too too much! You are my children!" 

Sister Hall

Collapsing Boys and New Friends

Collapsing Boys and New Friends

Shout Outs!!!!!!!!!!

I got a letter from Tory asking me for some advice about going into Junior High and let me tell you Tory, you came to the right missionary! There is the best advice I can give you

1. Find a good group of guys who play football at lunch and be their best friend

2. If you need a break from class take a long walk to the water fountain 

3. You are going to find that a lot of your class mates are going to start acting REALLY weird... dont worry, its just their crazy hormones...

4. A real friend accepts you for who you are and doesnt try and change you. If your friends start pressuring you into doing things you dont want to do, ditch them! 

Kerry Roberts I got all the pictures you sent me and I keep them in my purse and show random people on the street haha! They are wonderful and I love them SO much! I've also found a few potential wives for Justin... you are welcome ;)

I got your package mom and oh my gosh you are THE greatest! It put such a smile on Sister Rogers and mine faces and we shared all the goodies with my district. The elders say THANK YOU! I also adored the theme to this package :) I told Sam about it and she just about died. Her and her daughters song is "you are my sunshine" so she thought your package idea was top notch!

My Sunshine package!!

So Dad... your ward has the best missionaries in the world eh?! Haha I can take that! The Lord has done a wonderful job of humbling me on my mission. Sister Rogers and I are actually trying to brainstorm some more effective ways to work with the ward council and our ward mission leader so PLEASE tell me what these missionaries are doing that is so effective! Ask them for some good advice fOR Sister Hall :)

Alright folks, let me fill you in on this weeks adventures!

First off, some of you may not know, but I really wanted to serve in Africa somewhere where it was really dangerous and where there were lots of gangs.... needless to say, my mom no doubt pleaded with Heavenly Father to send me anywhere but there. And here I am in Oakville, one of the richest areas in Ontario haha! But alas, after much searching, Sister Rogers and I have found the rougher part of town and now have an investigator named Steve! He is an alcoholic who has a hole in his heart that needs to be filled. The fiRst time we meet with Steve, him and his buddies were sitting outside and we asked if we could share a message with them. They welcomed us in and we started talking about how they could find greater happiness! We were happily chatting when Steve randomly jumped up and told me to stand up... I slowly got up and he proceeded to give me a hug.... BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sister Rogers almost died laughing at the expression on my face! After she told me my eyes were about as big as golf balls and I looked like I was about to vomit or something haha. 
Needless to say, it will take some work, but we have already seen him 3 times and have him with a date for september 22nd. We havent been able to see him sober yet, but we are hopeful! 

-->Side note: dont fret mother, I dont actually go looking for trouble ;) 

Steve is in the middle, Wayne is to the left and the other guy is from Newfoundland! 

As for our other investigators....
Sam never ceases to amazing me :) She came to church this week and LOVED it, she even cried during sacrament meeting
Sammy also came to church this sunday and got a priesthood blessing for his health. He enjoyed church and has got a few old men friends now which is really nice 

Mario we havent gotten to see for a little over a week now because he went away for the weekend :( 

FLASH BACK 

Does anyone remember me talking about the less active 21 year old named John???? He really made an impression on me even though we only got to see him twice before handing him over to the YSA elders. Anyways, I had been thinking about him lately and was wondering what had ever happened to him so Sister Rogers and I decided to give him a call. He was happy to hear from us and when we asked him if he had been seeing the missionaries we were unimpressed to hear that there hadnt been any contact except a phone call -___- Boys..... I decided to take matters into my own hands (this is so Sister Hall! -J) and set up a time that we could meet with John again. We got to see him a few days later and we asked how things had been going. We talk with him a little about where he sees his life going. He admitted to us that his life wasn't turning out the way he had envisioned it and it was due to the poor decisions he had made in his life. 

Sister Halls insights: While listening to John, it became so clear to me how much Heavenly Father is trying to help him.The spirit has helped him to realize
1. the worldly things arent bringing him happiness
2. the difference between the happiness that people in the church have compared to others
3. and in just a few minuets John went from not knowing if there is a God to looking me in the eye and telling me there is no way there isnt a God.... (literally, I asked him if he believed in God and he said he wasnt sure and a few minuets later after talking some more, he told me there was no way there wasnt one... he could just feel something)

In the end I told John that I was going to call his elders and we were going to make an appointment right then and there for them to see him. He paused for a few seconds and then said, "Man when you said that, I just got this really warm feeling like this is what I need to do." 

Before we left I got John to write down his email for me and I told him that when I got off my mission I was going to look him up and see how he's doing. He seemed to appreciate that :) 

This is John, he will do great things.

BIG NEWS: I had my first King Lamoni experience... let me explain

So on Sunday we had a dinner with the Tiemen family. They are awesome! Brother Tiemen has a sense of humor like Uncle James so I really enjoy watching him banter with his 4 little boys. Anyways, while having dinner I mentioned that one of my goals on my mission was to have someone so overcome by the spirit, that they pass out for a few days. They all had a good laugh over it and we continued to eat. About 30 minuets later we finish up dinner, I share a spiritual thought, and conclude in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.... Next thing I know their oldest son collapses! We are all confused and then realize that he was SO over come by the spirit that he passed out! Hahaha needless to say he is my new favourite.

Line of the week: So we are talking with Steve and some of his slightly intoxicated friends and out of no where we get this question.....

Wayne: "Here is the real question, where are Adam and Eves Belly buttons?! They came from God, right out of the air! They can't have belly buttons..."

Rogers & Hall: ".............."

Scripture of the week: Alma 13: 27-28

"And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart, yea, with great anxiety even unto pain, that ye would hearken unto my words, and cast off your sins, and not procrastinate the day of your repentance.

But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;...."

A Haiku for You: 

over come

No one left untouched

Gods knows all

You are all beautiful sons and daughters of God, go out and act like it :D 

Sister Hall

Give Away Give Away :)

CURRENT ADDRESS: Send Sister Hall a letter!!!

2381 Marine Dr, B2
Oakville, ON, Canada
L6L-6R4

Give Away Give Away :)

Another week in the mission flying by!

So some good news all around with our investigators! I'll start in order from longest taught to most recent :)

Sammy: So we went in to see Sammy this week and got to the root of the problem with baptism... He is afraid his family will hate him! awwwwwwweeeee! The poor guy is so old and with his health going down hill, his family is all that he's got. I'm not sure how to help him through this little trial... my thoughts were along the lines of building up his faith and just helping him to realize the blessings that the Lord has in store for him. Sharing is caring so if anyone has any ideas on what we could share with Sammy send some love this way!

Mario: Well Mario has had a really, really, really tough week- just with personal stuff. He is in the process of separating from his wife and things took a turn for the worst this week due to a poor life choice on Marios part. It's interesting though to see how trials can trigger a desire to change/a reflection on your life. In this case this things worked out well for us because Mario is recognizing that his life is changing and that will make it easier for him to live some of the commandments. Despite what he went through this week, he still came out to church on sunday! He wasn't going to, but when I told him that I was going to be speaking and that I needed his support He told me he would be there without a doubt. And he was :) After sacrament meeting he said he needed to head out, but we got to talk to him for a little in the parking lot and he mentioned how the timing of everything in his life has been "weird". Let me tell expand a little for you

1. The day he gets out of the hospital is the first time we meet. I approached him on the street and told him I could help him figure out if there was a life after death. 

2. Wednesday night I call Mario and find out he has had a really tough day. I advise him to read his Book of Mormon to de-stress instead of what he tells me he normally does 

3. I call Mario Friday right after something else big happens (I'm being vague because, well this isnt my stuff to be sharing) 

It was a heart warming experience to see Mario describe how much we have impacted his life, and how us meeting was not just by chance. I can only hope that he remembers this and can see how much God wants to help him right now.

Sam: Oh Sam, how I LOVE her! Teaching her is just such a treat because she actively participates in the discussion AND she agrees with everything we teach (I love it when people agree with me haha). There isnt much more on Sam, she is doing great and came out to a relief society activity on friday. She is super social and made a ton of new friends and said she had an amazing time! Now we just have to get the rest of her kids and husband in on the discussions and we will be golden haha.

Looking down on Gotham City (they filmed batman down there!) 

This week we got to go on exchanges with our sister training leaders! This time I stayed in Oakville with Sister Arksey and Sister Rogers went to Brampton with Sister Tofua. It was yet another spiritually uplifting experience and Sister Arksey and I had maybe a little too much fun ;) Pretty much all the appointments I had made fell through so Arksey and I did a lot of tracting and OYM (talking with people on the street). It was a lot of fun though and I learned a ton from Sister Arksey. She asks for referrals from EVERYONE and I can see why because we ended up getting 3 referrals from random strangers on the street. Score! At the end of the day the person you exchange with gives you something they think you need to work on. Sister Arksey told me she didn't normally invite missionaries to do this, but she felt like it would really help me to "fulfill leadership positions in the mission...". She told me to go that extra step and become even more consecrated, so to do things like not taking the allotted hour breaks for eating, to walk with more purpose etc.... I took her up on her challenge and Sister Rogers and I have seen the blessings! Thursday we only took 20 min to eat and then headed out to OYM and we got 2 appointments and one of them turned into a new investigator! 

I guess the moral of the story is the more you give to God, the more he blesses you

Ok so this is up on a hill and it is a GIANT cross that lights up at night... SO creepy! 

Scripture of the Week: Matthew 10: 39 

"He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." 

Line of the week: Out tracting with Sister Arksey and we meet a 14 year old with a British Accent. I have no idea what I was thinking, but the girl and Sister Arksey had a good laugh and she took a Book of Mormon 

Me: "Oh my goodness I love your accent!"

Girl: "Thanks!!"

Me: "I swear I could close my eyes and I feel like I'm at Hogwarts!"

A Haiku for You:

hope given

my Redeemer lives 

tell the world 

Sister Hall

Elder Murdock and Burgason with our turtle named Wilford 

This is our district! We went on a hike to a waterfall... this is called the Devils Punchbowl...hahah!

Living For The Eternities Not The Moment

Living For The Eternities Not The Moment

Shout OUTs!

Nathan Summers, I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your letter this week haha! Printing out my blog and writing your comments on the things I wrote kept Sister Rogers and I entertained for a good long while and your Haiku was great! 

Thank you Sister Bennett for the pictures you sent of Jill's shower! I felt like I was there and it means a lot that you are so diligent in including me in all the festivities! 

AMBER YOU GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!! BAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I got your wedding invitation about a week ago and I pretty much screamed in front of the whole zone haha! I wish I could have been there, but I am SO happy for you 2 :D PLEASE send some pictures when you have time and give let me know how everything was! 

AH! Amber Pedlar!!!! :D

Alright so this week was nothing less of spiritually draining.... IT WAS AWESOME! 

I will start out with our new investigator named Sam. She is a referral from the Choi's in our ward and we had the opportunity this week to teach Sam at the Choi's house. Sam has had a pretty rough life but it is incredible the person she has become. Sister Rogers always says, "Trials can make you bitter or better," and Sam has definitely become better. We sat down with Sam and we started to do a "how to begin teaching" with her, which is essentially getting to know her and we were blown away by her story. Sister Rogers started to tear up and bore her testimony of the love that Heavenly Father has for her and how proud He is of her and the spirit just hit us like a ton of bricks and Sam even started to tear up! We proceeded to teach her about the restoration of Christ's church and holy crow, I dont think I've ever taught someone so prepared! It all made sense to her! After we recited the first vision we asked her how she felt and she paused and said that she has never felt anything like this before. She felt something different when we came into the house and it was similar to this feeling, but it was magnified 10 fold. She described it as someone pouring warm liquid down her throat and having it fill her whole body. We helped her to identify that feeling as the Holy Ghost and told her that was God's way of telling her that what we are telling her is true. She started to tear up a bit again, the spirit was just so strong. At the end of the lesson we invited her to be baptized and she accepted. She also agreed to work towards August 11th as a baptismal date. Unfortunately she wasn't able to come to church this week cause the ride we had gotten for her cancelled last minuet so we will have to push her date back, but that doesn't really matter :) 

We taught Sammy again... and it became clear to us that he just is not ready for baptism. I am at a loss right now as to what we can do to help him... its frustrating, but I know that that is my natural man coming out and I should have much more patients.... I am working on it haha. Sammy always calls us his children, but sometimes I think of it as the other way around and he is actually preparing me for motherhood haha! We have set him with another date for August 25th and will be trying to figure out what we need to change to help him feel the message of the restoration is truth.

Now for Mario :) Sister Ogden and I talked with Mario outside his house about.... 4 weeks ago and he agreed to let us come over and talk with him about life after death. Mario is just about the nicest, selfless guy I know. Him and I have an easy relationship and joke around more than I do with any other investigator I've had, but I never really felt like he was invested in the discussions... or had that desire to change his life. So this week we took Sister Taylor with us to teach Mario the restoration and I guess you could say the purpose of this lesson was a DTR (determine the relationship... haha I'm having flash backs to when Jill and Tyson were dating bahaha). At the start of the lesson I invited him to say the closing prayer and he said next time he would (he has been saying that for the past few lessons -_-) I wasnt going to have any of that so I challenged him to a rock paper scissors battle and if I won he would have to say the prayer. He readily agreed and we began our battle!  

Round 1:
Mario - paper 

Sister Hall- Scissors!

Round 2:

Mario- Scissors

Sister Hall- paper.......

Round 3:

Mario- rock

Sister Hall-............PAPER!!!

AH HA! Who's on the Lords side Who!!! HAza for Israel! 

Anyways I won and we began our lesson. We talked with him about prophets and really got Mario involved in the discussion! We asked him how important he thought prophets were on a scale of 1-10 and he said an 8 and I just looked at him... then he changed his answer to a 10, apparently because of the face I gave him (haha), but then we asked him why he thought it was an 8. He told us and gave the analogy of the telephone game and how messages can get skewed, and we helped him to understand why exactly prophets were important using that analogy! That prophets kept the purity of the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! A few minuets latter something miraculous happened 

Me: "Mario, why was it SO important then for God to call another prophet?!"

Mario: "Well because prophets are the ones with the authority to baptize and without a prophet people couldn't be baptized.. and you need to be baptized to return to live with God..."

I just about passed out but instead may or may not have given Mario a high five across the table...

------>----> fast forward to the end of the lesson ------->------>

We laid it all out on the table. God has called another prophet in these latter days. We asked him what he thought of this, and he said that it would be nice, but how do you know... The member we brought, Sister Taylor, looked at Mario and told him that God loves us just the same as he loves his children in the Bible. So much so that he has again called a prophet... I dont remember what else she said, but I looked over at Mario and he was wiping away tears. I looked at Mario and invited him to follow the example of his Savior and to be baptized and he said yes. He is now working towards a baptismal date of August 18th :) This is what he said to us after we agreed on a date:
"You guys are just so happy. Every time I see you, you have a smile on your face. I want that in my life." 
I have never experienced joy like this before. Seeing people come unto Christ and make changes in their life to find greater happiness and joy.... there is nothing else like it. True happiness really does come from serving our fellow men and following Christ. It reminds me a lot of something Ben said a little while ago in one of his letters about how we have artificially created happiness, but true happiness lies in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We told him there were going to be somethings in his life that he would have to change and do to get his answer and to find that happiness and he acknowledged that. One of the things that we said he would need to do is come to church so we invited him to come and without hesitation he said he would. When Sunday rolled around Sister Rogers and I stood in the parking lot and watched as Mario and his son Scotty drove into the parking lot. We walked them inside and had a great sacrament meeting.

I love you all :) Go out and be happy! 

Line of the Week: So sister Rogers and I are working on our door approach so that we can actually get inside to teach people... Apparently we got pretty good at it cause when two 15 year old girls answered the door and said we could come in and share a message, this is how sister Rogers reacted..

Sister Rogers as soon as she sits down, talking faster than the speed of light and giving NO time for anyone to respond to her questions: "So you dance? Thats awesome I dance too! So do you think God can call a prophet today? Well He has! What can a prophet do for you?" 

The two girls awkwardly sitting next to us on the couch: "............."

Me -> face in palm 

Scripture of the week: 3 Nephi 27: 20

"Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day."

A Haiku for You:

The Lords Time 

Patients Charity

Treasures Found 

Sister Hall

The Good Life

The Good Life   (I had to go find a Starbucks to post this from as my apt still doesn't have internet!!)

ALLLOOOOHHHA! Holly molly is it ever HOT out here! Oh my gosh I feel like melting on the sidewalk each time I go out side!

Before I get into the details of my week, I'd like to give a quick shout out to my wonderful Auntie Wendy for the super thoughtful gift you sent me for my birthday! I would be lying if I said I didn't squeal a little when I opened it ;) Also I want to let Auntie Sue know that I got the peanut butter balls! Thank you SO much for sending them out to me! I was so touched by how thoughtful that was and ate them all within 24 hours... oops hahahaha! I've also been thinking about Clare a lot over these past few weeks. I love her so much and I often look back on the days I spent with her. It is amazing how many lessons I've learned from that little girl :) She truly is a gift from God! I cant wait to spend more time with her when I get home and I'm always praying for her!

This is a brand new family that just moved into the ward. They are the Cunningham's and I LOVE them! We already have them fellowship our favorite part member family the Yips haha :) These are some of there kids Austin and Haley. Mom notice the rocket sticker on Austins shirt :)

As for my week I ended up spending a lot of time on my knees giving thanks to God for all of the blessings he is giving Sister Rogers and I. I didn't include this in my letter home last week, but not only were we dropped by Angela but we were also dropped by Laura and Heather. Needless to say I got a little stressed, but something my trainer Sister Williams told me, stood out in my mind. She said, "When people decide not meet with us anymore, that's just God's way of making room for those who are ready to receive the blessings of the gospel." I latched onto that and started to do some work. These are some of the blessings we have seen this week:

First off is SAMMY: So Sister Rogers and I are in the car heading over to our appointment with Sammy and I look over at sister Rogers and say,"We are going to invite Sammy to be baptized on July 28th tonight."

Sister Rogers stops what she is doing, analyzes my face to see if I'm kidding, decides I'm serious, takes a deep breath and says... "Awesome!" hahaha! Dear sweet Sister Rogers!

Our game plan with Sammy that night was to help him understand baptism. In the past when we have invited Sammy to be baptized he has come up with a host of reasons why not to be baptized. But tonight I just had this really good feeling that everything was going to be alright. So we started out the lesson reviewing what we had talked about before (the great apostasy) and good news, He Still Agrees With Us! haha. Then I opened up the scriptures to 3Nephi 11: 21-26. This is the part in the Book Of Mormon where Christ has come to visit the people in the Americas and is teaching them the proper way to be baptized. We begin to read through the verses and pause at the end of them to discuss each principle that Christ is teaching us. So far so good, Sammy is following along. Sister Rogers then says something profound, she mentions to Sammy that after he is baptized, he himself will be able to hold the priesthood.... BAMMM! We have Sammy's full attention haha. We talk a little more about this and the spirit just fills the room. There is no more debate, just this thirst to learn more. In the end we invited him to be baptized and he said YES! I challenged him to prepare for baptism for the 28th and he was more resistant. It took some talking through, but in the end he agreed to prepare himself for that date. We still have some work to do, Sammy still believes Joseph Smith was a Saint and not a prophet, and getting him out to church has been REALLY difficult, especially with his health problems, but the desire is beginning to grow within him!

The blessings didn't end here either. We have been really working with our members to share the gospel with their friends, but as any missionary can tell you, this isn't always the easiest task. It can be really scary sharing something so special to you with someone you really care about. Worries of offending people, not wanting to change a relationship etc.. always interfere with the actual sharing of the gospel. However this week we received 3 member referrals! 

1. Brother Goodrich shared the gospel with his co-worker Monica who then expressed the desire to learn more. So Bro. Goodrich called us up and we ended up meeting with Monica just this week at the Goodrich's home. As we were getting to know Monica she expressed to us the desire to fill an emptiness in her heart. She has a nice house, a fiancée, a great  job that she loves, essentially she has it all, but she feels like there is a small part of her that is incomplete. We shared with her the plan of salvation, or God's plan of happiness for all of His children. As we explained to her that before we came to earth we all lived with God and were part of his family, you could just see this change in Monica. We continued to talk about how God loves us so much that He has provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sins and become pure and clean, through the sacrifice of His son Jesus Christ. We talked about how after this life we will be judged according to our works here on life and how if we remain faithful to the end, we can attain exaltation (living with God in a state of never ending happiness as a family.) This message brings peace and purpose to our lives and I could see Monica begin to change as she came to realize Gods plan for her. We have a meeting with her again today and I cant wait to see her!

2. Rebecca Choi gave us a referral for her friend Sam who actually recently came to Eddie Choi's (Rebeccas husband's) baptism. Apparently Sam has been asking questions about the church for a while, which is supper exciting! We get to meet with Sam on Wednesday :)

3. Sister Cabrera has a really good friend Marisol who has had a pretty tough life and for years Sis. Cabrera has felt that she needs to share the gospel with her, but hasn't been able to get the courage to ask her friend to meet with the missionaries- that is until last week! Woot Woot! We challenged Sis. Cabrera to extend the invitation to Marisol and her friend agreed!

These 3 referrals truly are a miracle. Up to this point on my mission I have never actually been able to scheduled an appointment with a member referral, let alone have the members actually put the effort in to make the appointment! It is just incredible...

I know that Heavenly Father is mindful of all His children. He loves each and everyone of us. He will always be there to support us all we have to do is Trust in him.

Also Elder Jerowsky, the people in Oakville love you haha (The Guveras and Nuscas)

So I really liked those 2 colours together, but i couldnt wear 2 shirts.... so sister rogers said she would wear one :D

Line of the Week:

11:45 pm Sister Rogers sits bolt up right in bed

Rogers: "Do we have to kneel to pray for our investigators?"

Me: "What the..."

Rogers gets out of bed and kneels down and starts to mumble something

Me: "....get back in bed Sis. Rogers, your dreaming."

Sister Rogers gets back in bed and goes to sleep hahaha!

Scripture of the Week: 2 nephi 2: 25

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."

A Haiku for You:

He is there

Heavenly Father

perspective

 Sister Hall

please include this in my email home too

During our life we know that the Lord gives us challenges and opportunities to grow and stretch in various ways so that he can shape and mold us into what he wants us to become. During our mission experience that process is compressed and magnified significantly. We often refer to this process as the refiner’s fire. It is revealing to understand the origin of the term refiner’s fire.It originated with the process of refining silver. A refiner is a person who uses extreme heat or fire to separate the silver from the other material that pollutes the purity of the silver. This is done by heating the entire mix of materials so that it becomes a hot liquid mass. As the silver is heated the impurities float to the top and the master silver smith removes them. He then turns up the heat again to bring more impurities to the top. He continues this process until all the impurities have been removed. During this time he must always watch the silver, for if it is heated too much it will be destroyed. As we reflect on this process in our lives we see that the Savior is the great refiner. See Isa. 1:25;48:10;Zech. 13:9;Mal. 3:2–3.

Of this refining process Elder Dallin H. Oaks made the following observation, “So much of our lives are like the process of refining silver. Father Lehi promised his son Jacob that God would ‘consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain’ (2 Nephi 2:2). The Prophet Joseph was promised that ‘thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high’ (D&C 121:7–8). Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call ‘the furnace of affliction’ (Isaiah 48:10; 1 Nephi 20:10).Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquillity. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.”

From time to time as we experience stress, fatigue, and discouragement remember that we are in the refiner’s fire and that sometimes the master refiner has to turn up the heat to refine and purify us. Embrace that time so that he can remove the impurities from our lives and we can learn all that he has prepared to teach us.

This one is for Jill! Notice the hockey glove hahaha