Not My Work

This week has been jam packed, full of hard work, many people, and some serious rain. Overall there were a lot of peaches, Hermana Jacobson and I share our peach and our pit of the day every night right after comp prayer and there were several nights when it was hard to come up with a pit of the day. Not just because we were both so exhausted and ready to fall into bed but because it had been a peachy day, those are the best kind of days, when you have to really think hard to come up with a hard part of it. One of the days the only pit I could come up with was "When that house with 6 dogs had one of the dogs puke on the carpet and the other one wouldn't stop licking my leg... ew." The best part is that isn't even that abnormal, back home we would probably talk about that for days, here its just part of the normal day to day grind: dogs and yucky houses are everywhere yet they are always surrounded by good people. I really am so blessed to have met some amazing people out here, I have learned so much and can only hope I've influenced and taught something as well. Which leads me to want to share one of things I have really learned this week and am trying to remind myself is that it's NOT MY WORK.

Sometimes I get really caught up in the "what if's."  Well what if I would have said this different? Would they have wanted to come to church? What if I would have smiled bigger when they were closing the door? Would they have opened it wider and allowed us in? What if I get transferred before we get to teach them? Will she still want to be baptized? What if, what if, what if? As I read back over those I realize how selfish that sounds... "what if's" are selfish scenarios, this is Christ's work. It is Heavenly Father's will and it is done by His power. President Griffin always signs his emails with "His work... His way... by His power..."  I can't come between that, it's His. He'll provide a way. He'll help me know what to do, what to say, and where to go and when He does, I need to trust it. Trust Him, and if things don't go how I thought they should, hoped they would, or envisioned they could, well I need to just step back and realize who is the captain of this ship. I need to take my own advice and believe the testimony I love to share that "all things work together for good" (Romans 8:28). Anytime I remove myself from the equation I realize it's not my work, I'm just lucky to be able to get a glimpse of how Heavenly Father does His work, through perfectly imperfect people.  Hermana Jacobson has a friend that came home from her mission and confidently said she had zero baptisms. She had been a part of teaching several people who changed their lives and entered the waters of baptism, but she recognized that they were not hers they are His. I love that. It's so easy to get caught up in claim, numbers, attention, and praise. Everyone wants to be remembered, but that's not what life is about, we are here to remember what we already know: that we are children of a Heavenly Father. We lived with Him before this life and will live with Him again, we are here to learn and grow in families and figure out how to let our spirits be what controls our bodies instead of our passions, pleasures, and priorities. We are here to learn about Christ and believe in Him and believe Him and his promises. We are here with Him as our ultimate role model. And my favorite thing about this gospel and bettering ourselves is that as we do so we want to help others and as we help others we both learn and grow. There is nothing selfish about service and helping others come unto Christ... We all benefit as we do so. It's amazing and humbling, and His work and His glory.

Like I said we had a peachy week we were given some amazing opportunities to be a part of. I'd like to quickly share three.

Number one: our ward's beloved eternigator entered the baptismal font all in his own willingness this Saturday no one had to hog tie him and throw him in or trip him in, though they've been threatening to do so for two and a half YEARS!!! It's been a long journey getting him to this point... he's worked with over a dozen sets of missionaries and has been preparing little by little over that time. He stopped many of the habits he grew up with, asked many many thought provoking questions, has attended church over 80 times (that are recorded anyway... he's been more active than some of the members), he drives the four hours to the Nashville temple with his wife once a month and sits in the waiting room all day waiting for her to complete temple work. And now he is the newest member of the ward and in one years time can go into the upper rooms of the temple and be sealed to his sweet wife. It was so sweet to witness the ward coming together in support of him in his good ol' "dirty rotten, evil, cantankerous, bullheadex, stubborn, obstinate, and opinionated" self and witness as he covenanted to become a little more "clean, fresh, good, willing, voluntary, docile, obedient, and compassionate" (these quotes are first what his wife described him as being when they first met, than we came up with the second list of opposites that he is becoming, we even made signs and tool pics with him... Classic) His work... His way... by His power... NOT MINE.




Number two: we had received a referral from the Elders a week before conference, they set up an appointment with a woman whose fiancee had given her their number from a pass-along card. Unfortunately for them but fortunately for us she is on our half of the area so we get to visit with and teach her. It has been cool the way the Lord has been preparing her. She grew up in Palmyra New York she has been to some church history sites but doesn't know a lot about the church,  no problem we can help with that. Not going to lie our first couple of lessons were so awkward, they went fairly well just felt so uncomfortable. This past week though we read 2 Nephi 31 about the gospel of Jesus Christ, with an emphasis on baptism, we tied it into temples and long story short we committed her to baptism! We are preparing for May 20 as of right now, and we are so excited for her! It was so great to feel the spirit that was there and to not feel awkward, there was a discussion and it was less one sided and more conversational. Testifying that this is what is right in her life and promising that Heavenly Father and Christ are excited for her and we are too was so amazing. She and her fiancee came to church and Hermana Jacobson spoke and gave an awesome talk, and I sat down with them. They politely declined staying after sacrament which was a bummer but we are planning on heading over there again this week with hopefully a good followup lesson, there again though, His work... His way... by His power... NOT MINE.

Number three: we visited a less active geared up with our peppermint oil. We had a really good lesson with her surrounded by flies and roaches and a pit bull puppy that went to the bathroom on Jacobson's shoes. Later that night she called us and gave a us a referral. Her friend had called her in distress, her mom that helped take care of her kids left unexpectedly during the night and she is currently left alone with piling bills and crazy kids ages 7, 8, and 9. We went and met with her thinking that she was going to ask us for financial help, we can only provide spiritual help and somewhat surprisingly that's all she wanted, prayers. We prayed with her, talked with her kids, shared a Book of Mormon and told her we'd arrange for a ward member to pick them up for church. The kids were fighting over the picture of Christ we gave them and the Book of Mormon saying "I wanna read it! No I wanna read it!" It was kind of shocking but in a good way. We left and prayed prayed prayed that they would read and come to church. Our sweet ward member went to get pick her up but sadly ended up walking into the church alone. The little family had just woken up when she got there and weren't able to come. I was so bummed! It made me sad inside all day until in relief society we had a lesson on sharing the gospel and this sweet sister shared her experience driving to go pick them up. She shared that it had been a rough couple of days and she was praying that she could perk up and be a good example and have a happy attitude for this family so they would be excited for church. By the time she got to their house she was feeling a lot better and excited to walk up the driveway and stand in the rain outside their trailer until they came out. She said that she felt a connection with the mom and feels love for her and hopes they will come another time. She was grateful for the opportunity. I was awestruck that that was her experience, that's not what I had in mind but it's what Heavenly Father had in mind. His work... His way... by His power. NOT MINE.

I honestly just love being on a mission. I love Rockwood, I love my companion, I love our nasty moldy old house, I love the ward, I love the people that smoke cigarettes in our faces, I love the many people that have prophesied we are going to enter a nuclear world war (it's so weird being removed from world news but there are many people stirred up about something, all we can do is pray) I even love the crazy guy that brought a frog into his house mid lesson and then dropped it and it jumped up my dress, the same guy that came up to us in Walmart and said "What's up dude, I didn't know you could shop here, I thought you were like Mendenites and had to sew your own clothes..." I love the old man that wants us to find him a good Christian woman to marry, I love the paranoid woman that thinks a tree is going to crash through her house, I love the old woman that just had carpal tunnel surgery and always plays country music when we stop by and offer to help her with housework, I love the woman who when asked if a certain family lived there said "oh beep no they live in Chattanooga" and then slams the door, I love the two teen moms that want to talk more about God, I love the shirtless man in a wheelchair that is called the "Christmas Man" who puts together packages for kids in need for Christmas, I love the lady that talked to us for an hour about her suicidal niece that just got hauled off by the cops, I love the kid that runs past us while tracting screaming and looking for "Larry Butthead" apparently his cat,  I love you all who are reading this and hopefully smiling and most importantly I love my Savior, I learn more about Him each day and I know He is there and knows me perfectly. Turn to Him always and remember this is His work, it is done His way, always by His power. NOT OURS.
Love y'all
Have a blessed week!
Love,
Hermana Hall
                            Also,

I was thinking about the many things I've learned out here in Tennessee and the "culture shock" I have experienced and have decided to start a list of things that will help someone who is embarking on a mission especially one in Tennesee or I guess the south in general:

- You can say nearly anything as long as you follow it up with "Bless their heart" for example: "he is a blubbering idiot, but bless his heart" yep totally acceptable
-Shopping carts are called buggies
-Expect to see about 10 dead opossums in the road daily. I've heard a joke: "Why did the chicken cross the road? .... to show the opossum that it could be done"
-Expect to receive more advice about marriage and birthing children then ever before in your life. Everyone has an opinion about both of the two.
- The phrase "everyone and their dog" is so crazy true because I've been in two houses my entire mission that haven't owned a dog, two. That's it. Everyone and their dog means just about everyone.
-Peppermint oil under the nose to cope with unpleasant smells and scents
-I've also heard peppermint oil on the back of the neck to help feel cooler on hot days, will definitely be trying that one out in the summer
-Apparently creeping out into the intersection before making a left hand turn is a Utah thing and is illegal out here???
-Put a can of lysol in the car to spray clothes with before coming inside if you've been in a grungy house
-Divide personal study time into time slots have a set time amount for Bible study, Book of Mormon, Preach My Gospel, and/or other.
-Fold the corner of a pass-along card when leaving in a door, it stays in better and can go in outer glass doors
-A lot of people will say "I don't care to" that essentially means "I don't mind" it's an agreement not a dismissal
-Sticky notes are so awesome
-Always have cookie or muffin mixes in the cupboards for times when you want to take treats to people
-Investing five bucks for those canvas bins to put books and study materials in  is so worth it and they pack easy
-Wax melters really do help keep the house smelling nice
-Why pay to use car wash vacuums when you can use the one at your apartment with an extension cord?
-Many women should but don't wear bras
-There is an entire aisle in the store dedicated to sweet tea
-Both men and women have facial hair
-Forget y'all the one you need to know about is "you'uns" it's supposed to be something like you ings or young uns I think? We hear the phrase "you'uns aren't from here are ya?" ALL the time.
-sometimes it seems that EVERYONE smokes, some even roll their own cigarettes either by hand or a machine
-You can pickle just about anything
-There is a breed of cat that don't have tails, don't worry its not that their owners chopped them off but you never know
-Trailers are the norm houses are the exception
-Mac n' cheese is a side and almost considered a vegetable
-Cigarette butts are in buckets, vases, jars, cups, flower pots, boxes, Walmart sacks, on nearly every porch
-Toilets more often called "commodes"
-One of my all time favorite phrases is instead of saying "it's kind of like" they say "it's kindly like" and with the accent ah I love it!
-You can ask people to pray with you and it doesn't matter where you are sidewalks, doorsteps, parking lot, anywhere
-Often when you pray with people they'll hold hands and circle up with you
-Southern dessert classics: cobblers, pies, coconut cake, pineapple upside down cake
-Corn bread actually has kernels of corn in it

GOOD DOG, CARL!

'Nuff said...

Where'd All The Good People Go

There is a song by my man Jack Johnson that says (and I'm not sure if this is the exact wording, the "mission veil" really tampers with your memory) but it's something like: "Where'd all the good people go? I keep flipping channels and don't see them on the tv shows... Where'd all the good people go? We've got heaps and heaps of what we sow... Where'd all the good people go?" Well Jack, I think I have found where a lot of the good people have gone, and that is to Rockwood, Tennessee. Growing up my dad would always talk about his desire for his kids to recognize the fact that there are many people in the world that are good people, good good people, and that those good people aren't necessarily also Latter-Day Saints. I remember several hunting trips in different states, with different people who have different beliefs, yet their lives were examples of service and goodness. Are they perfect? Heavens no! But am I? Absolutely not! So much to my dad's relief and joy I can say that I have seen more in my nearly 5 months out (total 4 of which being in Tennessee...) I have met more good people, who aren't LDS, than I have ever before in my life. And I'd like to tell you about some of them and share some outrageously Tennessean stories to go with them. Consider this letter to be like a good Southern meal, you've got the meat of the story: the good people here and then some beans and/or corn, rolls, rice, potatoes, biscuits, gravy, okrah, etc: the funny and entertaining things on the side! I'll most likely even tie it all back spiritually which will be the icing on the Coconut cake!
First up, is a woman that I have mentioned before who has a husband going through some immense health problems and who is down not only in health but also in spirit. This woman and her husband are both members of our ward and for the past few weeks we have been going over once a week to help out on their farm. We actually went a twice this week... the first time we tore out more blackberry bushes along a fence line, which we have done before. However this time was even more exciting because instead of just loading up the briers in the bed of the truck and taking them to their burn pile we actually got to start the pile on fire and it was SO great! She even brought out s'more ingredients and we roasted s'mores over a bonfire. So fun! I'm finding that farm life is inspiring with plenty of good hard work, it's rewarding really. But this woman exemplifies inspiration and goodness by the life she lives and perspective she has. She frequently travels between Tennessee and Florida coaching a dairy farming team at a University down there. She is also the primary caregiver of her sickly husband, is maintaining their farm, AND still manages to continue to amaze us as she reaches out to many of the ward's widows as well as those she visit teaches. Every week, no matter what she is going through herself she is constantly reaching out. She has become one of my heroes. So like I was saying she first had us come help out clearing fence lines and then we came back a second time to help with none other than: castrating goats. MMMHMMM you read that right! I don't remember reading that as a part of my mission call but all I can say is: "Only in Tennessee!" Oh to have a video of Hermana Jacobson (who had never been on a true farm before) in the barn tackling goats and holding them for their sweet neighbor (who is a nonmember) to "band" while I was the syringe nurse, and gatekeeper. I would fill the syringe with antibiotics and bring it over to be given to the goats and then also make sure the gate stayed shut and when they were done I'd let them out and help make sure they were corraled. (I have no idea if this is even making sense I guess it was a had to be there thing) it was such an experience though, towards the end their neighbor looked at me and was like "alright girl you are a virgin goat catcher, git in there and catch yourself a goat" So I did! Ohhhh my goodness I so hope this is as entertaining reading as it is typing up, so many memories I love so much!!! We were able to have dinner at their home with their nonmember neighbor present, we shared with him the Prince of Peace video and talked a lot about forgiveness and peace. It was a solid lesson and he is a good good man. Hardworking, faithful in Christ, honest, imperfect, but continuing to become better. There are good people here.

Next, weekly we volunteer at a Food Pantry and help restock shelves with donation deliveries from local grocery stores. We showed the Prince of Peace video with the volunteers there and one man that manages the facility invited us to come have lunch at his church the next day. We agreed and went. First of all, it was so exciting to walk into that assembly hall and see a lot of familiar faces that we recognized from tracting!!! Personally I was NOT expecting that, but Heavenly Father is so good and loves helping paths cross, I am completely convinced of that. Second of all, we were able to sit and eat and chat with people of many different denominations, what the lunch was is a "Holy Week Lunch" each day leading to Easter a different local church comes in and makes a lunch meal the gathering place was this specific building but the people in attendance didn't necessarily all go there. But we got to know some new people and listened to a sermon relating Christ to Sweet Tea (this is after the fact that we got called out for obviously not being from here since we asked if we could have water instead of tea:) my earlier comment still stands: "Only in Tennessee!" But I'm not kidding y'all there are so many good people out here, the spirit of community is incredible and there is a lot of service that goes on. Yes there is a lot of insincerity, a lot of poverty, and to be blunt: a lot of drugs. But there is a lot of goodness and a WHOLE HEAPING LOAD OF FAITH! So much faith in Christ it inspires me daily to increase my faith. One more cool thing about this experience was being able to listen to some of their hymns one of which was none other than a personal family favorite: "The Old Rugged Cross" such a sweet tender mercy and really powerful. Once again, there is a lot of goodness in the world. There are good people here.

Finally, as we have been doing large amounts of knocking on doors sharing the Prince of Peace message there have been several times when we have been welcomed in because people "appreciate what we are doing" they sympathize that it would be brutal to be out in the increasing heat and humidity knocking on doors, getting them slammed in our faces, all while being a thousand miles away from home, trying to invite people closer to Christ. These people are so kind. We have had a man who was uninterested go to his garage and give us Powerades. Such a good man. Another woman has a best friend who is LDS, she is set in her Baptist beliefs but adores her friend and our church and the service we are doing and wanted to say a prayer with us, we gathered in prayer holding hands on her front porch and she offered a humbling and uplifting prayer. Such a good woman. Another couple allowed us to come and share our message even though they had just gotten back from the doctor because their son had strep, (yeah maybe wished we could've known that a tiny bit sooner but oh well that's what hand sanitizer is for;) they too admired our willingness to serve the Lord and invite people closer to Him. Such a good family. While making a visit to a local nursing home we shared the Prince of Peace with the landscaping crew across the parking lot, they were so friendly and complimentary to us and couldn't believe that our "mommies and daddies would allow us 19 year old young'uns to come out here for 18 months" they asked us how they could do that and my reply was: "through support and many prayers" I again for thank y'all for your continued prayers I truly need them and am grateful for them! But there again such a good group of guys. There are good people here.

My list could go on and on, but for the icing on the cake the last person I want to talk about is the greatest man of all. Our older brother, Jesus Christ. He is our Prince of Peace. He is our ultimate source of goodness. And though that song I mentioned at the beginning  says "where'd all the good people go?" we know "where He has gone." In the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price, and the words of modern day prophets we can read of: the prophesies of His coming, His birth, His ministry, His life, His suffering, His Atonement, His death, His resurrection, His continued life, His church, His guidance, His will, and His character. I am striving to come closer to Him than I ever have before. That is my ultimate mission goal: To become closer to my Savior than ever before, and to help others do the same as I do so. I love Tennessee (most days) I love my Savior (always) I know this is His restored church (more each day) and I am so eternally grateful for the love and support that comes my way from y'all back home (each and every day)

Hope you had a fabulous Easter!
If you ever wonder "Where'd all the good people go?" I'd invite you to look around you because they are there, and also look in the mirror because there is one staring back at you!
Love y'all and have a blessed week!
Love,
Hermana Hall

Any Guesses????????

Humbled by "A Little more Light"

This week as I have been working really hard, Heavenly Father has been teaching me that no matter how weak I am, what mistakes I make, what miscommunications I'm involved in, His work will still move forward. His children are His and He loves each one of them just as much as He loves me. 

There is a missionary that I really look up to that would always say "We aren't important enough to get in the way of one of Heavenly Father's children's salvation." That helps me not be so hard on myself if and when I mess up, or think I do... He will provide a way, always. Christ knows what it feels like to be on both ends of a miscommunication and wants to help resolve it. He is the Prince of Peace and can bring that peace into my life and into those I come in contact with. I am beyond convinced that I was called to the South to become more humble. I have referenced it before but Ether 12:27 has been ringing through my ears the past few days with a specific emphasis on the word humble. 

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be HUMBLE, and my grace is sufficient to all men that HUMBLE themselves before me; for if they HUMBLE themselves before me and have faith in me then will I make weak things become strong unto them." If faith is known to precede miracles I think it is safe to say humility precedes growth. I have had quite a few humbling experiences this week that have ultimately resulted in growth and learning opportunities and have helped me add a little more light into my life and the lives of others. That light being the light of knowledge, the light of the gospel, and the light of Christ.  

Our eternigator that is on date for baptism had his interview for baptism. Our district leader asked us if it was ok if he scheduled it, we were a little hesitant because there were a few things on his teaching record we wanted to clarify but ultimately decided they could go through with the interview before we had a followup lesson if it worked with both of their schedules. They scheduled a time and let us know when it was.  We hoped all would go well and were a little confused at  how we should reschedule our lesson plan but went ahead and made a backup plan. The morning before the interview our District Leader called us up and said he read in Preach My Gospel a section that talks about not scheduling an interview with someone you feel needs additional preparation. He suggested we might still go ahead with our previously planned lesson and he would try to reschedule the interview for next week. That sounded simple and like a good plan... Unfortunately it was too simple and too good to be true. What ended up happening is the elders apparently called and didn't receive a response so they texted our investigator's wife informing her of the change and went about their day. The problem was she didn't receive the text until her husband was already at the church waiting for his interview. Long story short we got mixed up in this crazy miscommunication and got chewed out for not being considerate and thinking that he wasn't prepared enough. Which wasn't the case... but we sat holding the phone on speaker mode and listened as she expressed her concerns, frustrations, and fears. Part of me was really defensive and wanted to stop and be like "Whoa whoa whoa you only know half the story..." But the other part of me (the side that won out, which I'm so glad for) was more considerate and decided to think about how the situation would look like from her shoes: 

-Her husband has been taking lessons for 2.5 years, two and a half YEARS!

- She wants the Priesthood in her home

-She knows he is a stubborn man

-She is fearful he will think that we don't want him in this church and will turn his back and leave it behind 

-She was thinking we thought he wasn't ready. 

-She doesn't believe that anyone who commits to baptism is ever completely convinced of everything about the gospel 

-She knows when he commits to something it is because he is ready and sincere and committed 

-She loves him 

And you know what she is absolutely right. Every one of her concerns and frustrations and fears were absolutely valid and absolutely right. It humbled me, to the point where I had no desire to fight back and prove our point but instead listen and humbly say we were sorry. Thankfully we were able to explain our position and help her understand that it wasn't that we didn't think he was ready or strong enough, we just wanted to make sure we had done as much as we could to prepare him. For heavens sakes we are 19 year old girls trying to manage people's salvations here! Yes we are called to be representatives of Christ but that in no way means we are perfect nooooooo way. She was able to better see the situation through our eyes and we were able to better see it through her eyes and through prayer and a swirling mixture of: fear, dread, hope, faith, and more prayers our investigator passed the interview and is continuing down the path to enter the waters of baptism. Woooo!!!! From this situation I learned three important and very humbling and enlightening lessons:

1- Communication is vital 

2- We baptize 8 year olds into the church, they understand a lot but knowledge and conversion is a lifelong pursuit 

3- Sometimes all you can do is pray, it's in His hands 

My prayer throughout the whole ordeal was simple "Please help me not to place blame on anyone, no matter what the outcome might be" if he was to turn back and not want to be baptized or have anything to do with the church and hate us I pleaded to be able to accept his agency and not place blame on anyone including myself and/or  Heavenly Father. I sat there thinking about how all I wanted was to talk to my mom or my best friend but that's just not realistic anymore I needed to talk to my Father who is becoming my best friend. Super humbling... super enlightening

We have been doing SO much tracting this week and trying to share the Prince of Peace video with as many people as possible. We were given 75 pass along cards to have handed out to 75 people by Easter. We only have about 15 left, it's been awesome. One day this week we did 8 hours of tracting and visiting with people. The sun was out, the experiences were great, and I have a faint tan line on my feet from my shoes... bring on those missionary tan lines I have heard so much about!!!! There was one day I want to specifically share about that really humbled me. We had been tracting through an appartment complex and hadn't had too much success. There was another street across town we had wanted for try and follow up with some people on so we headed out over there. As we were pulling out of the parking lot I had the feeling to go back and try the lower building. Unfortunately I ignored it and we drove to the other street... but Heavenly Father wasn't going to let me just shrug it off. I had that darn "First Prompting" talk by Elder Rasband pounding through my head, making me feel guilty and unsettled. We tried to follow up with the people we had planned, one yelled at us through the door, telling us to leave a card with our number on it (those always make me laugh:) the other was not there. And throught it all I still felt like we needed to go back to those appartments, the "what-if" situations that were playing through my mind were too much. We were walking back to the car and I turned to Hermana Jacobson and said "I'm really sorry but I feel like we need to go back to the appartments, specifically to the lower building" she was supportive and said that we should trust that feeling, so we went back. We parked the car next to the building, said a quick prayer, and hopped out just in time to see a woman and her son getting into their car, I had a moment of turmoil wondering if we needed to talk to them. Hermana Jacobson saved the day by being her cute friendly self and said "Hi! How are you doing today?" They said fine and told us that they were headed out to Walmart, then the lady looked directly at me and said, so who are you? I told her we were missionaries for  the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that we were out sharing an Easter message about Jesus Christ and His role as our Prince of Peace. She responded by saying: "Well, do you have some pamphlets or reading material for me? I live at appartment 61 if you want to come back another day I'd love to sit down and talk to you just stop by anytime but knock on the door lightly because my nephew will probably be sleeping..." I was floored, it never ceases to amaze me when people don't even give you the chance to offer or commit them to something, they do it themselves. I think that Heavenly Father loves to surprise us that way, He likes to show us that we are instruments in His hands and that He truly is preparing people. It's humbling, but the story doesn't end there. We left this lady with our card and said we'd come back again... she got in her car and drove away, I felt the unsurity and guilt melt away knowing that we had returned and was so glad we did. But we were still there still outside of that very building I had felt like we needed to return to, so we decided to knock all of the doors in it. The first 6 doors remained closed, the seventh however was opened by a 19 year old girl that agreed to watch the Prince of Peace video with us. Hermana Jacobson and I seemed to really click with this girl and through a few questions and statements she opened up and shared how she had graduated high school, been homeless, and now finds herself working at McDonald's, engaged, and 24 weeks pregnant. We were able to talk to her and offer words of encouragement and talk about having a better relationship with Christ. I love talking about the painting of Christ standing outside of a door His hand reaching up knocking at it. I always love pointing out that there is no doorknob on the door because it is on our side, it is up to us to let Him in. I have shared it many times the past few weeks but no one ever really knew what painting I was talking about, but this girl did! It was so great and humbling! We left her our card and promised to come back this next week. We aren't exactly sure where her intent is but I have no doubt that we were supposed to talk to her. If anything we added a little more light to her day. That's our constant saying around here. If you don't see much measureable success at least you added a "little more light" to their day that wouldn't have otherwise been there. Such a humbling thought.

I am so grateful to be out here in Tennessee learning so many things that I wouldn't have learned without being here at this time. I know that no matter how many times we fall short, or the natural man gets in the way, or we just flat out have a miscommunication that it never is extreme enough to get in the way of Heavenly Father's will. He is merciful and His son provides the way to forgiveness and the way back home. I am grateful for Christ and for the opportunity I have to find Him and get to know Him better and add "a little more light" into my own life as I not only read His words and the words of His prophets but also as I do His work and try to follow in His footsteps. The journey is not easy, but His never was. I love being a missionary, I LOVE adding "a little more light" into the lives of others. I love this Church and I love my Prince of Peace. 

As we get closer to Easter Sunday I would invite each of you to find one way to add "a little more light" into someone else's day and do it. I promise it will help humble you and help you see the Savior a little more clearly.  

He is always there, knocking at the door, let Him in and strive to help others do the same!

Happy almost Easter y'all! Decorate an easter egg for me and send a pic :)

Love,

Hermana Hall

Sights and hopefully no Sounds of spring.... Tennessee style

Specific Conference

I have officially decided that I don't think General Conference should be called that, I think it should be called SPECIFIC Conference because there were so many messages that felt specific to me. I received specific answers to specific questions. I also received specific promptings or thought of specific people who would benefit from a specific thing that was said. I love this Church and the leaders who keep it up and running. I love Christ who is the Prince of Peace (go on mormon.org or gospel library and watch the Easter initiative video... right now... or when you finish reading this:) I love being a missionary and being included in the 70,946 missionaries out laboring in this big and beautiful field.

I read the advice of a missionary friend who challenged all who read his email to take a list of questions to conference, I had one in mind but decided to make a list of some more, I ended up with 10. One by one as I listened and took notes I would draw *stars* next to sentences I wrote down that I felt like were my specific answers to my specific questions. I will tell you, I have more than ten stars. I had my questions answered... many of which in ways I wasn't expecting but my specific questions were answered, specifically. I feel so blessed to be cared about and receive another experience and another witness that Heavenly Father hears our prayers. His Son understands our questions, doubts, and insecurities, and the Holy Ghost can comfort and bring the peace of the Savior and the love of God into our lives. They want to help us! But we need to do our part and ASK. I love that that is the youth theme for this year, asking, that's what started the restoration, a young boy had a question and asked it, he received his answer, by name, by a feeling and an expanded vision. That's how we each find the truthfulness of the gospel, we ask. Trusting that Heavenly Father knows our name and will send a feeling that will answer our questions and expand our visions. That's what I'm out here sharing with the people of Tennessee. They too can have the experiencing of asking a SPECIFIC question and receiving a SPECIFIC answer.

That being said I would love to share with y'all some SPECIFIC experiences that I have had this past week that have specifically blessed my life and added to my growing testimony.

Transfers: I said see you later to my beloved trainer and friend Hermana Yauney. Helping her fold up her clothes and pack her bags was surreal and not my favorite. Loading her things up into a members truck and driving to Farragut, crammed in the back with the elders was also not my favorite. But at no point does it say in our call letters that we are going to settle in one area with one companion find one good rhythm that works for both of you and stay there for 18 months. Nope change is part of the deal, and change is good. Change is repentance, change is required in order to be better, change is what we all chose before we came here to earth. Thankfully for me my new companion Hermana Jacobson is SPECIFICALLY who I need to be companions with right now. I love her! She is so very hard working, has a deep and loving testimony, friendly personality, is complimentary, a dedicated planner, as exactly obedient as possible, and a team player. I am learning so much from her!!! I think that might be one of the many secrets to missionary work: be willing to learn as much as you teach. Like I said I'm learning SPECIFIC things and growing in SPECIFIC ways.

Prince of Peace: as mentioned before the new Easter initiative available on mormon.org and gospel library is so profound, so beautiful and y'all need to look it up. There are SPECIFIC parts that I absolutely love in and about it. Two lines "He can calm troubled seas... and troubled hearts" and "He can change water to wine" hit me hard every time. I know that Christ can heal what hurts He can change what we can't. He can calm the storms we face and the tribulation we feel. As the music builds and the video progresses my desire to share the message increases. Everytime we watch it I get so spiritually pumped up. It's amazing. I would invite each of you to go and watch it, and then write me what your SPECIFIC favorite part is. But please don't stop there. Please share it with someone else, text the link, link the link, post the link, print out a pass-along  card and pass it along. Get involved! Jump in and spread peace. This message is for all, it can be shared regardless of whether you have a tag over your heart or within your heart. We can ALL share this SPECIFIC message with SPECIFIC people who need it SPECIFICALLY.

Inspired Routes: Hermana Jacobson introduced me into this new idea of praying and choosing SPECIFIC streets and routes to tract. During my two transfers with Hermana Yauney we spent the majority of our time sorting through the ward roster and scheduling visits, and lessons, and trying to meet, talk to, and serve everyone on it on our side of the area (the Elders we share the area with have the other side). We were able to successfully do just that, there are still a few people left to see and quite a few to revisit but our new focus  (mine and Hermana Jacobson's) is to replenish our teaching pool and find new investigators. We were able to find 7 in the past few days. I want to share two SPECIFIC stories about two of these SPECIFIC investigators.
1. We pulled over prayed and each chose three streets that we would like to tract hoping one of them would be the same. One was, and we parked and walked to it. It was a one way street with some sidebusinesses and only one house. BUT that one house had one young mom, who is interested in learning more about our one true message. SPECIFIC road, SPECIFIC person, SPECIFIC message, SPECIFIC blessing.
2. We received a referral from the Elders, a woman had a received a card with their number on it from her fiancee and she wanted to learn more about our Church and receive a Book of Mormon  (doesn't get much better than that!) Unfortunately the address we had wasn't right and she didn't answer her phone, BUT like we learned in conference we need not fear "for perfect love casteth out all fear". We love this gospel message and want to share it and Heavenly Father loves His children and wanted us to share it with one of His daughters. He blessed me with the inspiration to change two letters in the street name which led us to the correct address where we were welcomed in and taught a lesson on the Restoration that was received shockingly well. Admittedly the lesson began rough, yiiiikes, Hermana Jacobson and I are still trying to figure out how to teach together...(different styles and a balance of experience and sharing, you know just goes back to that principle of change thing) however it didn't matter because the Spirit was there and there were commitments made to read from and pray about the Book of Mormon and meet with us again next week. I am excited to return! We also told this woman and her fiancee about general conference and after we returned to the church to watch it Elder Costa spoke about his experience as an investigator. I so hope they watched it. SPECIFIC prayers SPECIFIC guidance SPECIFIC blessings SPECIFIC people

Humor: a mission email isn't complete without a funny story so let me tell you a SPECIFIC one an adorable older single lady told us about when we were over at her house watching the Saturday morning session of conference. But first I need to just say how much I adore this lady! She is so cute, so sweet, so classy, and so dang hilarious!!!! So we were sitting at her kitchen counter enjoying an upside down pineapple cake she had made and we had just complimented her on her lovely home and incredible property and yard. You guys she literally lives in this adorable older style white classy southern house with a big porch on the main level and upstairs, it has a lake view AND a gazebo!!!! Ugh it is the stuff of dreams and her living there just makes it 10,000x better! So we are gushing about her home and yard and just her in general and then asked about her neighbors  (trying to sneak in a referral if she had one, someone near that would be open to hearing a message from us, classic missionary move:) and she thanks us and then shares how some of her neighbors don't like her. We of course are shocked, why in the world would anyone not like this woman?!!!? She then told us it was because she at one time got so annoyed with the neighbor dogs coming and doing business on her lawn that she started shooting them. And the neighbors were NOT happy. I just about fell out of my seat! I was NOT expecting that and Hermana Jacobson were biting our tongues to keep from laughing until this sweet lady said "Well do you know how horrible it is to walk outside barefoot and have dog poop squish between your toes?! And they always go right by my car door so if I'm not looking I track it into my car with me! OH I have just replaced so many car mats!" That did me in, I absolutely lost it! Trying to catch my breath I asked her what kind of gun she used, she couldn't remember but later called us and told us it was a "high powered pellet gun" Ohhh my my! I just love it out here!!!! Tennessee is SPECIFICALLY for me. I can't deny it and so I won't even try.

I hope y'all have had a fabulous week and enjoyed conference! I hope you watch the Prince of Peace video and share it with someone! I hope you embrace changes in your life and find routes that are inspired and will help you on your journey home, I hope you find humor and smile and laugh at least twice as many times as you frown. And I hope you look in your life and see SPECIFIC ways that the Lord blesses your SPECIFIC life.
I know He does, each and every day whether it is sunny or rainy. So like Elder Choi says: "Step out into the rain look up, and open your mouth and drink!"
Blessings are raining down all around us many of which are SPECIFICALLY for us so let's drink them up and look up and express thanks for them!
Love y'all!
Love,
Hermana Hall

Farewell Hermana Yauney 

Hola Hermana Jacobsen