Simplify, Focus, Give Thanks, and Spread Light

On lds.org a few months ago there was a training for the area seventies I believe... and one of the major focuses of it was in regards to Sabbath Day Observance. In one of the training videos Elder Bednar talked about how in the Church there is a continued emphasis of "simplifying and focusing" the work.

After watching this video in Ward Council and having a later discussion on it in a fifth Sunday meeting Sister See and I prayerfully considered how we could apply this principle into our own work efforts and area of Greeneville, TN. We both felt prompted that the Lord needed us to simplify and focus our efforts. You see previous to this we had had 9 people on date for baptism, but only one or two would come to church. We were pulling in 10 investigators weekly but they would pile up and not be seen again for weeks or months. We were swamped with people and nothing was moving. (Now I know that this is an excellent problem to have, more people than we know what to do with I see that I promise) but nothing was happening and so the Lord stepped in and within one week 7 of those investigators who were preparing to be baptized or maybe not really preparing but accepted a baptsimal date they either told us they weren't interested (dropped us) or stopped responding to our efforts to follow up with them (so we dropped them). Which means our grand total of people preparing for baptism went down to 2. It was evident that once again it's not about numbers, it's about His children.  We are deciding to FOCUS in on the members and have more of them coming on team-up lesson appointments with us and having them invite the investigators to church. And we have simplified our goal for new investigators to 7, one a day, but it is a minimum of 7 a week. Already we have been so blessed as we have done this. The amount of stress I had been carrying around trying to manage all the chaos of too many people has begun to melt away. I have SUCH  a testimony of simplifying and focusing. It is the Lord's way. He works simply and is focused on individuals. I absolutely love it.

Ok onto the next soapbox...
We were able to go and serve meals for those in need on Thanksgiving day at a local church. Members of many local congregations and denominations gather together yearly to donate, deliver and assemble meals to those in need across Greene County. It was amazing to be a part of. Sister See and I dipped gravy into Styrofoam cups for almost three hours and I made it out of there with only a few minor burns that didn't end up blistering sooo definitely blessed:). We met some nice local southern women who talked to us alllll about their families, their faith, and their southern upbringing. Turns out later we found that one of the women we worked with is the mother of one of our investigators. It's a small world out here lemme tell ya! But it was SUCH a great way to kick off our Thanksgiving Day! I absolutely loved it! I want to continue making service a part of my Thanksgiving Day as I think about the future Thanksgivings I'll have. It's also amazing because the "Just Serve" program the church has implemented can help service opportunities become available literally at our fingertips. I love the feeling of reaching out and helping others rather than reaching inward and helping ourselves, it really is Christlike to give and to serve, and it is Christ who taught "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35. After service we were able to go to two member families homes for actual dinner, they both had nonmember family present and it was great to be able to talk to them and to feel at home with a newfound family away from my own. I love the way the gospel unites people of all types and backgrounds, ages and stages. And you know what made me so excited to see at both of the houses we went to? GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE! Yup Mom you read that right, I'm sure 10 years ago you would've never guessed that I would be so excited to pile that on my plate, well missions do crazy things to your mind, heart, and stomach apparently;)

Alright finally to wrap up I want to share a little bit about the Christmas Initiative going on in the Church right now. I hope y'all have heard about it! It's called "Light the World" and it is POWERFUL!!! We have been sharing it with all that we see. And we have had some cool experiences with it. I'd like to share two. One of which happened today!
#1 We were asked to come share about missionary work in primary because their theme this month is "I Can Choose To Be A Missionary Now!" We discussed what we could do to involve the kids and not have it be the standard, do the basics to prepare: read scriptures, pray, keep the commandments, go to church. Which is so true, we need to do that and it is the best way to prepare. BUT, we decided to take a little different approach. We showed them the light the world video. And they loved it! We asked them what their favorite part was and they said, "Jesus!" Then we asked if each of the oldest member of each of their families would come up and we gave each one of them a pass-along card. We told them that they can be a missionary right now as they take this card and talk to their families about who to give it to. We asked them who they thought they could give it to and their answers blew me away: "My nephews who don't come to church!" "My next door neighbor!" "My friend at school!" "My cousin!" These kids are so missionary minded, oh my goodness! It took me back to my primary teaching days before I left on my mission, oh how I truly loved primary, they tried my patience but they also warmed my heart. Ugh I love little kids they truly do light the world!!!!
#2 We went to subway to eat lunch and there was this girl there that we decided to give a Light the World card to. Well it turns out she is a friend of a member in the ward and has been to church many times and even met with missionaries but not for a while since she got a new job. Oh my goodness she is so amazing! She gave us all her info and we plan to have a lesson with her this Saturday if she is off work and she wants to come to church Sunday. Wow any coincidence that happened NOOOO!!!! And the beauty is reaching out and spreading light to others really just allows more light to shine in your own life!!!

So my challenge for y'all is to find some missionaries and get a pass along card. And then give it to someone. Regardless of if they are members already or not. It might be a cashier at a grocery store, a waiter at a restaurant, a neighbor, a friend, a nephew that doesn't go to church. Some how some way, show them light the world. Watch it yoursefl (it's family night, perfect timing) and then share it with others. AND GET INVOLVED! Because guess what it isn't just a video it is a calendar of 25 ways to spread light during the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Because y'all this world could use a little more light, and there are people all around us every day that can use a LOT more of your personal light! And guess what? All of the acts of service are all very SIMPLE AND FOCUSED, and show our Gratitude for our Savior. Who said "I am the light of the world" John 8:12 but who also said "Ye are the light of the world." Matthew 5: 14

Let's move forward together simplifying and focusing our efforts, giving thanks, and spreading light!!!!!

#lighttheworld

25 ways over 25 days.
Let it begin today. Let it begin with you.
Love y'all!
Love,
Hermana Hall


FYI......                                     Words to live by....



                The Hills Are Alive.... in Tennessee

     Happy Thanks for Giving!

Here's hoping there aren't any ticks a dentro!
--
Hermana Hall

What Could I Have Done More For My VIneyard?

The 22nd marks the day one year ago I said "See you later" to my family and hustled through security before looking back to see my dad wave and Bridge jump up and down to say bye. (Sorry Mom I couldn't see you because of your height but it was probably for the best because the tears were already flowing and I didn't want them to increase into sobs). I remember wiping my eyes and looking over to see this sweet family staring at me and offering sweet smiles and looks of understanding knowing completely well what I was doing: leaving on a mission. They gave me the courage to put on my brave face and go to my terminal and gate (that autocorrected to fate, how fitting;) but I walked to the gate met up with some other missionaries and my life hasn't been the same since. 

It's hard to believe that's been about a year ago. I'll admit it there have been days I've doubted that time would actually pass... that I would actually make it out of Mexico alive... that I would survive the adventures and misfortunes of Tennesse... that one day I really will make it to 6 months and then a year, and then a mission. But guess what? 6 months went by, and now a year has gone by, and soon my mission will have gone by as well. I've heard it said, one of those famous mission quotes, "For sisters: the first 6 months drag, the second 6 fly, and the last 6 you don't even remember" I can attest to the first the first 6 felt so much slower than the second 6, and I can see how the last 6 just might pass in a blur. I'm currently companions with Sister See and she goes home at the end of December, it's interesting to watch her prepare and hear about how fast it really has gone. But just like anything in life it's what you make it right?

I received a letter just this morning congratulating me on my year mark. In it it was mentioned that now as my time dwindles that there probably is much that I still want to do. It caused me to reflect on a few things. First, they are right! I am glad that I have another 6 months to learn and grow and meet more people and develop more relationships as well as deepen my understanding of and love for the gospel and help others to do the same. In that respect I still have much to do. However I have come to realize that those very things I am hoping to do aren't limited to months... they are lifelong quests; neverending aspects of discipleship. For the rest of my life I will continue to learn and grow and meet more people and develop more relationships. If I continue doing what is right and focus on having what Elder Oaks taught at the Face2Face last night, "holy habits, and righteous routines" then I will continue to deepen my understanding of and love for the gospel and I will help others to do the same. So those things that still I want to do go far beyond my last 6 months of my mission.

This pondering also lead me to recall and remember the advice my dad gave me as I left, and continues to give me periodically... he said, "Serve with no regrets!" That's really my ultimate goal, is to go home with no regrets. And not when I go home, home, to Utah. No I want to have no regrets every day when I go home.

I'll try to explain this through a recent experience. I don't know if anyone has been wondering about our "long-hair" turned "short-hair" investigator, but I haven't really mentioned him lately because we haven't been able to find him. We had a lesson with him at a member's home, to which some struggles and addictions he is struggling with came into light. After that we had one conversation with him over text where he said he might be there at church that weekend, and then he dropped off the grid. To say we were devastated doesn't do it justice... I'm not saying we sobbed, but the pain of this situation is pure heartache. I feel like I have really come to feel understand what heartache is while on a mission. It started out as a longing for home, family, and friends... but it has turned into a reaction to loss. Loss of faith, loss of desire, loss of interest, loss of sincerity, loss of intent, loss of hope, loss of happiness. Hearing about or seeing people lose what they once had or were working towards really just makes your heart ache. And this is what we have experienced with this guy. A nice big heartache. Just last night in a last ditch effort we wrote him a lettter sharing with him that we cared about him, we know he is never ever ever "too far gone" that with Christ there is no such thing. And then we dropped it off at his house with a treat. Now mind you before this we have called, we have left messages, texted, messaged him on facebook, left notes, and dropped by. All to no avail. He is lost. It is so heartbreaking.

 But guess what? There is a lesson to be learned... ALWAYS! After we got back home from dropping off the letter Sister See and I had a long conversation about him. I mentioned to her that I could relate to the Lord of the vineyard in Jacob 5 when he says "What could I have done more for my vineyard?" What more could we have done for this guy that was avoiding us? I loved what her response was. She said: "How Christ like is that? That we have tried to do everything possible to help him, and we know that there is nothing more we can do. We won't have regrets. We still love and care about him but at the end of the day we know we have done everything possible to reach out. Just the way Christ would." That is SO true!!! No regrets!!!! I want to feel that way with every person I talk to. The next 6 months I am committing to living with no regrets and working hard to labor in the Lord's vineyard out here in Tennessee. 

To commemorate my 12 months I have spent on my mission I compiled a list of 12 lessons I have learned and know to be true and am so GRATEFUL that they have become a part of me and a part of my testimony. It was extremely hard to narrow it down to just 12 things because there are more like 12,000 things I have learned but this is what I came up with.

1. Heavenly Father answers prayer
2. Christ is the constant in a crazy changing world
3. There is no such thing as coincidence
4. Repentance = change
5. Things happen in due time, but His time
6. You really can fall in love with the scriptures
7. Christlike love is seeing people as they can become and desiring to help them get there 
8. Out of every pit grows more peaches
9. Family is forever and I sure love mine
10. If we want to become like Christ we are going to suffer in a miniscule part in some small ways like He suffered
11. True joy really does come from the success and growth of others
12. The Church is true, all of it!!!

It's been a wild ride but such a great experience I always knew and still know I will never ever ever regret!!!! Cheers to another 6 months!!!!

In the words of my grandma: "Let's all be like scarecrows OUTSTANDING IN THE FIELD!"

Keep on laboring in your vineyards, living with no regrets!

Love y'all! HAPPY Thanksgiving how grateful am I for all y'all?!?!?! SOOOO very grateful!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Birthday Farts, Fury and FLowers

I think the majority of this letter will be a play by play of my birthday day, so brace yourselves because it was a wild ride!!!!



Birthday Fart:
So we were on exchanges well I guess they are called "power-ups" where both companions come to our area and we split and go to work. So I was with a sister name Sister Bird who went to Viewmont and worked at Target, sweet girl. Anyway we began our day at a local trailer park around the corner  from our apartment where we spent an hour and a half trying desperately to teach the restoration to a lovely man who is toothless and swears up a storm and told us ALLLLL about his adventures over the course of five years while he was homeless in the woods of Chicago (Chicago has woods?). So super long story short we get up to go after not teaching very much and he thanks us for coming and then walks around the corner of the room into the kitchen and just riiiiiips one, passes the longest wind I have ever heard!!!! (Side note, this story sounds as if we were alone in the home of this guy, which we weren't his niece was there as well, just in case you wondered:) Anyway, I turned to Sister Bird and said "You have GOT to be kidding me." We were trying so hard not to laugh. She said a prayer to close the chaos and I was just hoping the smell didn't hit us. Luckily it didn't, and we were able to leave and made it successfully out the door and around the side of the house before we lost it laughing.

Birthday Fury:
Next stop we followed up with a few more people and then did some tracting. We met this one lady that invited us right in and were able to start to give her an overview however it didn't last long until we were rudely were interrupted by her livid friend who bashed us hard and told us she has no idea how we think we are going to heaven because we don't believe in the trinity and believe in magic underwear and worship Joseph Smith... blah blah blah. Sister Bird and I had a goal to use the Book of Mormon more and bear testimony of it so I asked if we could share a quick scripture and whipped out 2 Nephi 33:10-11 and we started to testify but she interrupted us again and basically told us we were going to hell but that she would pray for us. We happily expressed our thanks and said we would pray for her too and then we were out of there! Eish, I really wanna find her in the spirit world and teach her. Sometimes that is the only thing that gets me through. BUT though all that chaos happened it was actually a really fun day.

Birthday Flowers:
So Sister Bird and her companion were supposed to go back to their area around two so she and I decided to take a late lunch around 1:30. We went to the local grocery store deli and I splurged on a salad that had a hunk of grilled salmon on it that I have been eyeing for weeks. So we brought it back to the apartment and were just sitting down for a meal when we looked out the window and what did we see? Some woman with a vase of flowers and Sister Bird goes ohhhh looks like you are getting a delivery! Sure enough she rings the bell and I fling open the door to find a Sister in the ward standing there! I had no idea she worked for a flower shop! She asked me what the occasion was and I told her that it was my birthday to which she replied, "No way it is two of my kids' bdays today!" and then she invited us over for ice cream later that night around 8:00 so I was able to go celebrate with some bday buddies. One of her kids is less active so that was cool to talk to him a little bit, and his girlfriend is a non member so it would be amazing to reactivate him and teach her. She is actually way cool and her mom is Norweigian and she sang us happy bday in Norweigian How crazy is that?! I got flowers delivered to my apartment in Greeneville which we happened to be at because we took a late lunch, delivered by a member who happens to have two kids whose bdays are the same as mine and they generate a couple of possible referrals... coincidence? NO SUCH THING!!!!!

This past week I was reading in Helaman 3 and there is a verse I totally relate to, verse 14 says "behold a hundredth part of the proceedings of this people... cannot be contained in this work." I echo Mormon's words as I attempt to recap an entire week of chaos and adventures, peaches and pits. Not even a hundredth part can be written. It would be pages of details about
-A guy who wanted 4 more Book of Mormons to give to his friends. This same guy when we invited him to be baptized said, "Yeah I'm down!"
- A woman who requested a Bible and thought it would come in the mail until we showed up (sound familiar, I know, online referrals are amazing!)
- Speaking of online referrals, the guy that requested a Book of Mormon and was baptized while I served in Poplar Creek is now currently preparing to serve a mission
-Our recent convert here in Greeneville shared that her faith "has increased ten-fold since her baptism."
-A little boy shared with us his best comeback, something about your  brain is the size of  a peanut, to which we taught him to pull out a picture of Jesus and that saying "Jesus wouldn't say that!" is the best comeback of all time.
-We gave a training about discipleship at Zone Conference
-Skyped a recent convert who left her husband and the husband answered the call from a different phone, awkward. 
-Met a new move in young family in the ward the wife and mom grew up in Hooper and was in my great-uncle and great-grandma's ward. SMALL WORLD!

All in all it was a great week full of laughter and memories and missionary experiences. I cannot believe we are halfway into November, time is truly flying, there were times I never thought I would type that!

To close I want to share my response to a question Sister Bird asked me, she asked: "What was the greatest thing that you did in your 19th year?" Hands down it was that I left on a mission. And that when I did I stayed, and I repented. I will NEVER regret that decsion or any of the experiences that have resulted since. No matter what lies in store be it farts, fury, or flowers, I am ready and excited to enter a new year of life, and to begin my 20th year as a missionary. I am so grateful.

Hope y'all have a blessed week!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Beauty Is Pain

Imagine me as a 6 year old crying when my mom brushed my hair and hearing her say, "Beauty is pain McKenzie... beauty is pain." As the years passed I learned more and more how true that was. Getting your eyebrows waxed isn't necessarily pleasant, exercising, training, and toning your body isn't a walk in the park (literally), and how many times have I burned myself while curling my hair? Sooo many. So yeah beauty comes at a price, it can be painful. This week I've realized though that that phrase goes SO much further than physical appearance. Beauty is pain, in every aspect of life.

Let me elaborate. I've come to realize why missionaries fail at times to acknowledge, or maybe accurately describe how hard it is to be out here. How brutal, difficult, downright miserable it is at times. Well, it's because they talk about it AFTER the fact. After it is all over, after they've boarded the plane, waved goodbye to their mission, traveled the distance, and ridden the escalator down to their waiting families. That's when it all becomes worth it. There is the beauty because of the pain. The pain is there, it still happened... however it is drowned in the beauty that results from it... Like child birth... I'm obviously no expert, but I remember in Child Development learning about how the body literally begins to forget the pain of childbirth once the baby is born, the pain fades. Swallowed up in the joy of a child... the beauty of life. Missionaries forget about the pain because they've come to a knowledge and full view of the beauty that resulted from the pain and trials.

Here's another one. Somehow in this world we are living in we have begun to look at people and think "Oh they are just so perfect I want to be just like them!" We look at where they are, not where they've been. I'm entirely guilty of it. Just this past week my eyes were opened as I caught a broader glimpse into the life of a couple in the ward here in Greeneville. They are just the sweetest elderly couple, they call each other mama and papa with the same intonation of voice as the Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus on that old Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer movie. He even laughs like the Santa! Ugh they are so sweet. They drive 4 hours weekly to the Columbia, South Carolina temple to be ordinance workers, and they are amazing member missionaries. Yet I learned that it hasn't always been like that. He as a young adult had addictions that controlled his life, he walked a long road to recovery and says he DEPENDS  on the temple to battle the temptations he continues to have even now over 30 years later. He and his sweet bride have experienced a lot of pain but also see a lot of beauty in their lives. How often do we as outsiders only pay attention to the beauty and neglect that pain and sorrow are universal? No one is exempt. If you are going to have one you are going to have the other. Now I'm not saying we should focus on the hard and the pain just acknowledge it more than we do.

This past week has been painful at times and beautiful at others. There has been an extra dose of drama made possible by investigators, ward members, and other missionaries. We have been run pretty ragged trying to keep up. But you know what, amongst all of the pain and disappointment there have been some incredible beauties. Here are three.

One of our investigators entered the waters of baptism on Saturday and the spirit that was present as she stepped down and was baptized by her husband of two weeks was so sweet and so very pure. It healed hearts torn by uncertainty and family drama. It didn't even matter that the water heater wasn't working and so the water was a crisp 70 degrees, or that the drain was faulty and so it was a race to beat the water level as it dropped. None of that pain or drama mattered because it was all swallowed up in the beauty of repentance and the cleansing effect of the Holy Ghost.


Two of our meetings this week were so on point, one was a leadership conference where we were introduced to the new implementation of Facebook that our mission has now been authorized to use. President Pickett talked about a nearby mission that took 9 hours to train and set up rules and exact regulations for as many different scenarios as could be thought up. Although it may be effective for some, the Tennesee Knoxville Mission isn't going to have any extraneous rules outside of the guidelines established by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. I found it interesting that we didn't spend more than 45 minutes talking about specifics regarding Facebook. President Pickett seems to be of the mindset that we need to as missionaries figure out how to best use Facebook in our missionary work because these social media habits are not just going to be for our 18 months or 2 years, they are life long skills and habits. Although there is much drama, heartache, and downright garbage online I find it very inspiring and honestly beautiful that the Lord in His infinite wisdom uses whatever medium man concocts as popular and the world distorts to further the work of salvation. Who knew that Facebook could be a way for us as missionaries to find members and investigators who have dropped off the grid? That it can be a means of publishing our testimonies and sharing beliefs? The Lord did. That's why we have it. How is the gospel going to "visit every clime and sweep every country?" By utilizing the internet we can overrun the pains of comparison and corruption and overall evils of online and instead flood the web with goodness and light and beauty of the gospel. We will contribute to the hastening of His work. In His way. By His power. Always.

In a matter of three full proselytizing days we were still able to meet our goal of 10 new investigators which was remarkable and only possible because of the Lord. He knew where the people were that were ready to receive the message of the Restoration. The pain of wondering if we were going to make it, or doubting whether or not we had missed our chance was swept away in the beauty of the realization that this is His work and He will help us accomplish our goals as we put forth our faith and work miracles happen.


To close I want to share something I had recently reflected on that a brother in the ward put into words beautifull. In testimony meeting he got up and shared a few thoughts about the season of fall. He asked us to ponder about the question: why do the leaves change colors? He explained that when the cold hits leaves don't just immediately fall. They linger, they stay and are seem, they are beautiful. He then related this to us. When cold times hit we need to linger to change to be seen for the beauty that we have within us. What makes us beautiful? The same thing that makes us happy. Our testimonies of Jesus Christ and this His restored gospel. That makes us stand out, that is what will keep us from falling when the crisp frosts of life come to try to knock us down. 

Even when the leaves do fall, because they do, and we will, it never is the end. You see, another Brother in our ward pointed out that everything God has ever created is meant to come back to life. Whether it be a tree that blooms in the spring, grows and turns green in the summer, turns colors in the fall, and lies dormant in the winter. Or us as His children, who grow up, grow old, fall, make mistakes, and die. We each live again through the sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He who descended below all pain to bring forth the beauty of the resurrection and the hope of eternal life.

How grateful am I for Him. I know that Beauty is Pain, and that His Pain has been turned to Beauty, and I am eternally indebted.

Hope y'all have a blessed week!

My parting greeting is what an 86 year old man shouted to his wife over the pulpit: "Love you babe!"

Love you babes!!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall

P.S.
While reading this morning in Alma 49 in the first verse it says "And now it came to pass in the eleventh month of the nineteenth year on the tenth day of the month" 11-10... sounds familiar...  THAT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!! How cool is that?! My bday is in the Book of Mormon! And you know what happened on that day? The Lamanites come to battle against the Nephites at the city of Ammonihah which once was weak but had been rebuilt and fortified to the point that it COULD NOT be destroyed. I know in the past 11 and 1/2 months I have rebuilt my life and fortified my weak places to the point that I know I cannot be destroyed by the fiery darts of the adversary. So come what way, I'm ready for a new year of "trials, tests, and testimony" as well as memories, adventures, and laughter! Love y'all talk to you next week!!!


"FALL FOR JESUS... HE IS UNBE LEAF ABLE"

I Will Go - RTC

Alright alright alright alright- HELOOOOO Y'ALL another week done gone!!!! How's that for some Tennessean vocab? My mom emailed me and let me know that she and my dad agreed that TN is the perfect place for me, I'm glad that they think so, that they know I thrive in a world filled of teethless people, thousands of Chihuahuas, and an abundance of faith. But I really would give a great big AMEN to their comment because I DO so love it here! And wouldn't want to be anywhere else! Even this past Saturday when my girl Morgann Holt got married and became Morgann Kletzli I was sad to be so far away but also so grateful that I am where I am. And don't get me wrong Sister See and I celebrated and pretended like we were there at the wedding, we had pumpkin bars, tossed a fake bouquet, and talked about weddings alllll day long. I even recorded a video of me giving the happy couple a toast congratulating them on their wedding! Which is what I want to talk a little more about is what I said to them, because I'm a missionary and I'm in the south where the Bible has become my friend I shared with them a verse that has become one of my all time favorites. It's Ruth 1:12. Someone once said that the book of Ruth is the greatest love story of all time, I'm still working on deciding if I agree but regardless I do love verses 16 and 17 that say

 "For whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me."

I shared this with Morg and Elijah and talked about how that is what they are committing to each other, going where the other goes, staying where the other stays, being and accepting each other's people, throughout this life and into eternity. (Can I get an AWWWWHHH, from anyone;) ok but as sweet as that is, it actually isn't just applicable to marriage. After all this is spoken by Ruth to her mother-in-law and shows her commitment to family and to the broken, downtrodden, the underdog. This can be applied to anyone, any relationship, but it can also be applied to our commitment to follow our Savior. Which is why it is one of my favorite verses, I want to be able to say each day to the Savior and say that where He goes I will go ("all paths to salvation go through Gethsemane" Jeffrey R. Holland) where He stays I'll stay ("stand as a witness at all times in all things in all places" Mosiah 18:9) His people will be my people (my deaf sweet Tennesseans) where thou diest will I die (lose my life in the service of others just like He did Matthew 16:25) whatever may come, come what may.

Hope that makes sense... our primary children reminded us at the program on Sunday that we need to Choose The Right, I wear a ring that is CTR backwards RTC meaning Return To Christ. I think that it is so fitting that CTR is dual meaning forwards and backwards Choose The Right by Returning to Christ. Return To Christ by Choosing The Right.

Ok so let me share by example of how this week we showed the Lord we would follow Him and help ourselves and others return to Him with a story about a mail lady, a cookie prompting, a leaf adventure, and a running man.

Mail lady: so I gave our address out to some people at home and abroad and I forgot to write the apartment number, sooo I was really concerned what that meant in regards to receiving letters if it came to the apartment complex without a specific number. We pulled in to the complex one morning to find our mail lady delivering to the shared slotted box, (side note many mail carriers in Tennessee are through the postal service but are actual cars that may or may not be equipped to be mail trucks. It's kind of like a newspaper route but a mail route, to illustrate one time when I was in Rockwood Jacboson and I drove past a guy in a mini vin sitting in the passenger side of his car delivering mail and steering across the side, don't ask me how he was using the pedals, it was the oddest thing!!!!) Ok but anyway we pull up and I hop out to ask her what would happen if I didn't specify the apartment number, she said she would just return it to sender (even if it is international, yikes) but she asked for my name and said she would watch for it and if she happened to see it she would put it in our box. Pheuf ok so as I got back in the car I was wishing that I had a card or pamphet to give her. It was nagging and so we parked and I turned to Sister See and said we needed to go back and talk to her more. So we did, we followed the Lord, followed a prompting, heard about her life and her preemie, we did give her a pamphlet and then she drove away. We didn't get any of her info but I have confidence that if and when we talk to her again that she will be open and willing to talk to us more. One of my mission buddies in NYC talks about being a "u-turn"missionary" in order to follow a prompting, return to Christ and go where He would go. I love that!!!! I WILL GO back and talk to someone in order to follow Him.   


Cookie prompting: we had a linger longer after church where there was a potluck lunch after which all the remaining food and desserts got handed off to us. Which we bagged up and made deliveries to investigators and a recent convert. There was one investigator that is so prepared and ready, she is just so amazing but her temporary management position at work while they wait for the new person to take the position is keeping her from church every week and it makes us so sad every time. To make matters worse she has had to cancel her lesson appointments with us both times the past two weeks because she had to go pick up a shift someone didn't get someone to cover them for. But we decided we would drop by some cookies regardless of whether or not she was there, AND SHE WAS. She didn't end up having to go into work so we were able to have an impromptu lesson with her that was SO amazing. The spirit is always thick when we meet with her, she still wants to be baptized and said she will be there at church this upcoming week, work pending of course. It was so exciting to see how following a prompting and reaching out to her the way Christ would resulted in blessings for all of us. I WILL GO and find someone and deliver cookies in order to follow Him.

Leaf adventure: we were out tracting and following up with people and no one was answering, so we decided to take this random road and gather some leaves and see where it took us. As we looked behind us we saw a high school aged kid approaching us on his way home from school, we turned the corner and the first house in front of us looked kind of dilapidated and possibly abandoned. But we decided to knock on the door anyway, turns out it was the high schooler's house he came up and started talking to us, told us that he and his gma have been looking for a church to go to and that we could come back and share more. SUPER COOL!!! I WILL GO and knock on any door because His people are my people and He knows where they are.

Running man: So we tracted into a man and woman who were very kind and worked with another one of our investigators, so we gave them a pamphlet and an overview of the restoration and they said we could come back that next week and share more with them. We left and kept tracting the "trialerhood" where they lived all of the sudden we hear "HEY LADIES!!!" and we see the guy we had talked to running toward us, we stop and turn and walk toward him and he says "do you think you'uns could come teach us right now instead of next week?" Uhhhhh OF COURSE! we had an appt a street over to get to but we asked if we  could come back after that and he said yes so we did! And they were so awesome, totally smoked in our faces, we left reeking of cigarettes but they both said that if they came to know these things were true of course they would want to be a part of It! The guy was really excited to look up lds.org and listen to the prophet. They are way cool. We are excited to continue working with them. I WILL GO and RETURN to talk to people right then and help them return to Christ.

That's really the goal isn't it? To return to Christ? Isn't that what we all are striving for? And helping others do the same? YES! And we know that the best way to do so is to Choose The Right and follow Christ's example. All day, every day.

Keep trying, keep living, keep on choosing the right.

Love y'all!!!!

Love,

Hermana Hall



Went to a Mall... First time in 11 months, Go figure... a UTE shirt in Tennessee