Its True- DAZIT!!!!

One month, One week and One DAY!!!Holaaaaaaaa!!!!!! Reporting live from Marvyille TN! I am alive and well and SO very happy to be here! Greeneville will always have a special place in my heart and saying see you later to the people there and Hermana McCune gave me a nice big heartache and yet I absolutely love it here. It was so crazy to go back to the same apartment I slept over at on exchanges when I was first on my mission, now I live there. The ward, investigators, and of course my companion have all been more than I could ever ask for. And there are more Spanish opportunties here than there have been my entire mission, so that has been exciting and challenging... hmm... excitng and challenging? I must still be a missionary! The roller coaster ride continues. 

Sooo here's the breakdown,

WARD: Oh the ward, the biggest ward I've been in yet, and the most missionary minded and willing to help people I have seen and been inspired by... seriously, they are somethin else. There one member in particular here who is an absolute legend... He is from Colombia, (which sidenote is where one of my favorite neighbors with a mission call is going on his mission! Woohoo congrats Nate, you will love it Colombians are the best:). But this guy... good grief, talk about a fighter he grew up in Colombia in an LDS family and served a mission in his same country. He baptized 8 people a month his entire mission, you do the math... the last 6 months of his mission he would travel and help other missionaries in their areas, living in the chapels and showering in baptismal fonts. This man has stories! He was asked to extend his mission by four months but was unable to because he needed to travel with his family to go get sealed in the WASHINGTON DC temple at the time the nearest choice (now they have two temples in Colombia... so amazing). His family sold half their property to make the trip and he said it was worth every sacrifice. Eventually he came here to work, got married, divorced, went back to Colombia and was kidnapped for a time... I could go on and on and talk about the madness and hardship that has been his life but really his testimony is what has effected me the most. He gets it. He is bold, he is daring, he doesn't beat around the bush. We met an excommunicated member and he looked her straight in the eye and said "It's time you open your heart and forgive and come to church. You come there or I come here. Will you come yes or no?!" (In order to say it in his amazing accent that I love SOOO much read it like this... it es time chuu opeen chour har an forgeeve an come to chourch. Chuu come der or I come here. Veel chuu come yes or no?)
That got a nice long "uhh well I uhhh." He didn't miss a beat, "WILL YOU COME? YES OR NO?!" And guess what... she committed. After this lesson we were walking down the street and he taught us a lesson he said "Sisters (Seesters) at no other time are you going to be serving the Lord for 24 hours every day. Enjoy it. Life is beautiful. Have no fear of people. People talk and use excuses and we say awww, awww, awww, NO!!!!! Jose Smith saw the Father and His Son Jesus Christ! It's true! Datzit! (That's it) We have the truth! You no like? I no care!" Oh how I love him!!! He is so right, this is a beautiful life we have a beautiful knowledge and message and it simply is true. IT'S TRUE! DATZIT! 


INVESTIGATORS: The past sisters have found some really prepared people that I am excited to work with. One guy I still haven't been able to meet but he is getting baptized this upcoming Saturday, it's a little bit of a complicated family situation (strange, I've never heard of one of those...) but from what I understand he is so ready and I am grateful for the chance to be here and a part of his family and his exciting day. We also were able to have a lesson with an investigator that the sisters had been working with for a couple of months but have lost contact with the past few weeks. We stopped by with a member that Sister Horman had never met. Wait... crazy story there... try to keep up with this because it's a little bit confusing. We went to a member's house for dinner and Sister Horman was like "I don't even know who this family is so this will be new for both of us." Perfect, no biggie! Well as we knock on the door we about got knocked over by two huge German shepherds and as I regained my footing I looked up and saw this kid that I knew in Greeneville! It's a divorce situation and so his mom lives in Greeneville and his dad lives in Maryville... Can somebody say "SMALL WORLD?!" So that was way way cool!!!! Ok but back to the original story at hand, we took this kid's step mom with us out to a lesson to try to find this investigator and after knocking not once, not twice, but three times, and then waiting like three minutes, they answered! At first she said that her mom was really depressed and they weren't taking visitors but after chatting with her for a few minutes the door flung open and her mom was standing there and said, "Well are you going to invite them in or not?" We proceeded to go and have a lesson with them and found out some concerns we weren't previously aware of. Sometimes people don't read the Book of Mormon because they have cataracts and can't see the small print... this older lady was one of those people. Luckily we have a cure for that... a large print copy!!! It was amazing to sit there and contribute in the lesson and have the reassurance that I am where I need to be, to be here to listen and teach and minister to a bunch of "ones" in Marvyille. Heavenly Father is so aware, He has a plan, IT'S TRUE! DATZIT!!!!

COMP: Oh Sister Horman! I so love her!!! I am so grateful to have known her earlier in our missions and now to be companions. She is from Ammon, Idaho, is the youngest of five and just has it together. We see eye to eye at least figuratively, since she is 7 inches taller than me. She is so great, we have laughed so so hard and are making some long coming and neccessary changes and goals in this area and ward. I have no doubt this last transfer will be full of hard work and miracles. But I wouldn't have it any other way, it's how we learn and grow... IT'S TRUE! DATZIT!!!!

SPANISH: Oh boy. Wow. Spanish people are just so kind. We have a little dual level apartment complex here filled with people who speak Spanish. It's amazing! We went there by ourselves and because Sister Horman doesn't speak any Spanish it was back to it being all me. Wowwww so although it was a struggle I was able to see how being with Hermana McCune helped me, I have improved a lot. I have a long way to go but I understand 1,000x better than I did a few months ago. So grateful. By some miracle we talked to this investigator the sisters had met (with our Colombian hero) who speaks only Spanish... I muddled through a basic conversation and invited him to church and miracle of miracles HE CAME!!!!!!!! Praise the heavens we have translation equipment and several ward members who translated and spoke Spanish and welcomed him right in. We really think he had a great experience even if we cringed when a speaker got up and said "today I am going to talk about the blessings of the celestial kingdom" and when the gospel principles lesson turned into gospel deep doctrine complete with a conversation on washings and annointings. Ay ay ay. But hey, no matter what happens with him in the future, the welcome and fellowship he received at church was ablsolutely unreal. This ward is fabulous. And above all IT'S TRUE! DATZIT!!!!!

OTHER DETAILS: Well to sum it up there's a Target here so we are really living large. Walmart is no longer classified as a "department store" when you look up shopping centers on Google maps. There is a pretty good mix of rural and neighbnorhoods and there is the absolutely gorgeous Tennessee River snaking its way through the area. The Knoxville airport is also in our area and that was a strange thing to see... definitely brought back a whole lot of memories and a crazy reality check. But you know what, until I find myself at that place I am going to continue to work continue to testify, to laugh, to be bold, to love, and to remember that IT'S TRUE! DATZIT!

It really is so true!!!!! The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation, The Gospel of Jesus Christ, The Commandments, it's all true!!!! We are so blessed!

DATZIT!!!!


Love y'all have a fantastic week!!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall

"Farewell And Adieu To My Fair Spanish Greeneville"

Yep you read that right. (Hope my family caught the Jaws reference;) Since September 13 I have been living and loving little old Greeneville Tennessee, but transfers are this Wednesday and I am going to be spending my last transfer in another lovely "ville" called Maryville. It is just south of Knoxville and actually is where I would go on exchanges when I was first out on my mission serving in Rockwood. So I have been there a few times and am excited to serve there with my new companion Sister Horman. She served in an area nearby a couple of months ago and I had the opportunity to go on exchanges with her and just love her so I am really excited to be companions! Her parents are also friends with one of my high school friend's parents so small world there. 

All of that being said I do have mixed emotions about leaving, I will so miss the ward, our investigators and my dear sweet Hermana McCune, BUT she is going to be getting a brand new missionary to train and so that is so exciting!!! I am so proud of her and excited for the good they do here, I know they will have so much success together in both Spanish and English and feel confident about leaving the area to their care.





I had an interview with President Pickett this past week and he said that he hoped I saw why it was neccessary for me to stay another transfer. He said that part of it was for Hermana McCune. We have both really grown a lot and taught each other a lot. He talked about how when he receives inspiration he doesn't always understand why but trusts it and then after the fact can see how divinely orchestrated it all is. That's revelation, trusting a prompting even if we don't understand and then LATER finding out what the Lord had always had in mind. That is what President Nelson encouraged us to do in one of his addresses to us this past general conference is to increase our ability

"I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation, for the Lord has promised that “if thou shalt [seek], thou shalt receive revelation upon revelation, knowledge upon knowledge, that thou mayest know the mysteries and peaceable things—that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal.”

I am so grateful for President Pickett's inspiration and the revelation he received for me to stay here for a fifth transfer. There were times when I have wondered why I was still here, but I want to share an experience that testifies that I was kept here reasons beyond my ability to comprehend or understand until "after the trial of your faith".

About a month before I got here the sisters who were serving here before me went to try an elderly less active woman and instead found her daughter who told them that the lady that they were looking for lived next door. However she allowed them to come in and talk to her, something that she hadn't done in the 20 years that missionaries had come by. Something told her to let them in... that something was the Spirit. So a few weeks went by and I got there and we went and had some lessons with her and as the weeks passed we started going later in the evenings when her non-member husband was home. We would "sneak" in lessons. We taught almost all of the lessons with fun activities and object lessons. I'll never forget the day this woman's husband turned to her and said "When you are ready to go back to church I will go with you."

I was floored, FLOORED. And guess what, they came!!! On Christmas THEY CAME. Since then, she has continued to come sometimes off and on, but here recently she has come pretty much every week, her husband hasn't been back but he came this past Sunday, which was fast Sunday. He was there as his wife got up out of her seat and walked to the front and bore her testimony. She shared how she had fallen away for so long, but that when those two sisters had knocked on her door she knew she needed to let them in. She shared that she knew that it was time, that she was ready. She never doubted the Church she only doubted herself. And she said she knew I needed to be there to help her. The Spirit I felt as she said that was indescribable, I found a scripture this morning that is as close as I can describe to what I felt:

"When I see many of my brethren truly penitent, and coming to the Lord their God, then is my soul filled with joy;" (Alma 29:10).

JOY. That is the reward for service. That is what the world tries to mimic and offer. But true joy can only be found by receiving and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I can definitely say I have found joy. And I have seen others find joy and it has increased my joy.

I am so grateful.

As I said "see you later" to my sweet Greeneville family this same lady said that she knew that there was someone else I needed to touch in my next area, I know that she is right there are people in Maryville that need a little more light a little more joy, and Sister Horman and I are going to find them. Like my aunt always tells me we are going to go "give em' heaven"

Love y'all as always thanks for the love, support, prayers, and encouragement. I need it and am grateful for it.

Have a great week!!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall

I Heart This Church

Wow. Where to even begin? General Conference was a fire hydrant of blessings, change, and inspired answers to questions.
This week was also a fire hydrant of experiences:
putting up electric fences, giving a Book of Mormon to a firefighter, hearing the full length story of a member who was falsely accused of murder, meeting a man that speaks 6 languages fluently, visiting a woman and seeing the diagram of her foot surgery as well as the pin they inserted into her toe, having a Spanish lesson on a rickety porch in the pouring rain, being warned for the second time while tracting that a bear was spotted in the area, going to see a less active and seeing a warrant taped to the door, doing a workout video we found in the apartment and falling out of bed the next morning because we were so sore, tearing up as we read the parable of the bicycle with a struggling ward member, having an investigator show up to conference, and of course hunting for eggs hidden by a color-blind man (long standing joke is he hides all the green ones in the bushes without realizing:).

 Needless to say it's been a jam packed but a very good week.

And to top if off there an absolutely legendary weekend of General Conference!!!!

One of my biggest takeaways from conference was the amount of times the word "disciple" was used, it seemed as though every speaker used it at least once. All offered different ways we can deepen our conversion, enhance our service, and reach out to others more fully, which are all important elements of true discipleship.

Overall my favorite talk was probably Elder Uchtdorf's, he truly NEVER disappoints. I can echo with a missionary I met in the Mexico CCM "I fangirl over Dieter F. Uchtdorf" However I was also inspired by Elder Godoy's "One More Day," Elder Robbins' reminder of how we have chance after chance made possible by Christ's Atonement, and of course was taken aback at the strength and zeal of our beloved Prophet Russell M. Nelson. It is so difficult for me to grasp that he is 93 years old! I look forward to continuing to sustain and follow him as his ministry of healing hearts continues.

That right there is what discipleship is all about: reaching out and healing hearts and striving to help our own hearts be softened and turned towards our Savior.

His heart was unlike any other... His capacity to love exceeds any measurement we can imagine, His love for the Father and us His brothers and sisters is what motivated and drove Him to the depths of sorrow and despair as well as what lifted and exalted Him. The miracle of His gospel is that our love for Him and our Father and our brothers and sisters around us is what will lift and exalt us and help us overcome the depths of sorrow and despair.

Which is why we must minister. To help lift others and at the same time ourselves out of the depths of sorrow and despair that surround us. Distractions of this life, trials, lonliness, hopelessness, grudges, weakness, sickness, pain, heartache, are apart of each of our lives at one time or another. Because the Savior isn't physically right here with us He depends on us to fill our hearts with His love and take it to our brothers and sisters.

In a parting letter that ripped my heart to shreds while I sat on the plane taking me from Utah to Mexico over 16 months ago my dad shared with me that on my mission I would "learn to love as you have never loved before." I have experienced Christlike love so often as a missionary, it has changed me, it has helped me become the disciple the Lord knows I can and wants me to be.

Let me reference back to the fire hydrant of experiences this week and elaborate of how my heart was filled with love for the people we met and talked with this week and the work we do on a day to day basis.

I love the sweet couple that needed help wiring their electric fence in their cow pasture.

I love meeting people in their front yards, learning about them and then sharing about how we share a message that can bless their lives more than they can imagine and handing them a Book of Mormon to prove it if they let it.

I love how the trials of people's lives can have profound stories and applications such as how a falsely accused woman has a unique understanding of our Savior who was the ultimate example of someone who was wrongly accused.

I love seeing the way Heavenly Father has blessed each of His children with spiritual gifts.

I love being able to brighten the day of someone in need and lending a listening ear, it is the most powerful pain reliever.

I love that the Lord is so merciful and has provided  opportunities for each one of us to hear the gospel in our own languages and how in His mercy He enhances our lack of language with the Spirit.

I love the absence of fear that comes from knowing that we are "on the Lord's errand and are entitled to the Lord's help" (Thomas S. Monson).

I love that repentance is real and available to each of us no matter the choices we have made, there is no such thing as "too far gone."

I love laughing and making memories with my girl Hermana McCune

I love feeling the Spirit testify of our self worth, and that our offerings are enough, and being able to share that with people who forget that sometimes. And share that I forget that sometimes.

I love the way my heart swelled when our investigator walked in late, but there to the Sunday morning session of conference.

And I LOVE the family I have found in Greeneville and the way so many of them reach out and welcome us missionaries into their homes and hearts and allow us to crash their holiday parties and hunt for easter eggs with their two year olds, it was a great Easter.

I will never forget the way my heart has been filled near to bursting over and over and over again, I truly have found a new way to love, it comes from serving every day. It doesn't have to be big things, most of these examples listed above are pretty small and pretty insignificant to the world... but I know from experience after experience that those very same little deeds make a world of a difference to the recipients.

I LOVE this gospel, I LOVE this Church, I LOVE my Savior, I LOVE my family, I LOVE my friends, I LOVE the blessing that is my life.

To close I don't know if y'all picked up on the amount of times hymns and songs were quoted in Conference but I want to share a favorite line from Come Thou Fount:

"Here's my heart Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above."

Love and miss y'all with all my HEART!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Shotguns and Signatures

The story goes something like this. Late one night after we had dinner at a member's home we needed to go to our Bishop's home to get his signature for a baptism form we filled out (more to come on that in a second). Without calling beforehand we headed over the river and through the woods to his backwoods farm.  We turned down his gravel lane, Hermana McCune driving and pulled up to his house, deciding to leave the car running so that we wouldn't have to stay long because we needed to be in for curfew. As we walk up to the door we see through the window his son coming to the door pretty fast... he flung open the door looking panicked and holding a shotgun. When he saw it was us the color returned to his face and he let us in and we talked to Bishop got the signature and went on our merry way. The wife of the guy with the gun later called us to apologize that we almost got shot, at our bishop's house of all places. Must be in Tennesee.

But back to the baptism, I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we put one of our investigators that is married to a member on date for the 24th, well she kept that date and made it and was baptized. It was so amazing to be a part of, Sister McCune and I were able to go and help her out of the font and hand her her towel and the feeling that was present as she gave us a big wet hug is unlike any other. I am so happy for her and her family, they have made so many steps in the right direction and it has been amazing to have spent 7 months alongside them helping and guiding them. The next day in Gospel Principles after she had been confirmed a member and received the gift of the Holy Ghost in sacrament meeting we asked her how she felt and she said she didn't even know how to describe it and you couldn't put words to it. We later asked her and her husband how they felt that the gospel has blessed their family and they shared how it has blessed them in all ways. They've been able to come back to church and come back together, it has strengthened their marriage and helped them make better decisions. It was so great to be able to help them recognize blessings and look forward to more to come as they continue to make covenants together.

However as great as that all was possibly the biggest peach of the whole event was a text that our now recent convert forwarded us from a friend that is from West Virginia who made the trip down to support her and attend the baptismal service. She wrote: "you know when you go to a church as a visitor sometimes you feel uneasy sometimes no one welcomes you, well I can say that I was a visitor at the church in Tennessee, the ladies came up to me and hugged me like we was friends for years and the bishop and the elders introduced themselves I have never felt that welcome in a church in my life thanks to all that made that day so special for y'all and treating me and my husband so great."

THAT is what the gospel is all about. Inviting others to come unto Christ, guiding them along their way and welcoming all who are placed in our path.



So that was probably the climax of our week but we also had some other pretty awesome experiences, herding cows and teaching a farmer about the priesthood, meeting a potter who asked for a Book of Mormon, and a couple of Spanish lessons.

Herding Cows: a ward member invited us to come and help move a couple of cows from one pasture to the other and so we held up  panels and guided a pregnant mama and a calf into a trailer. It was only a little bit intimidating when mama cow got a little spooked and was trying to get out of our makeshift corral, but the ward member and his backwoods countryboy neighbor seemed to have full confidence that we weren't going to get trampled so we trusted them and we got them moved. Before we loaded them though we were helping the neighbor dig some holes for posts because he is working on building a barn. As we did so he asked us a question about why the boy missionaries were called Elder which lead to a discussion about Priesthood and a brief overview of the Restoration and him committing to read more of the Book of Mormon his member neighbor gave him and boom you have a lesson.

Potter: when we went back to find an investigator who stood us up we ended up talking to his neighbor who was out in his garage. Turns out he has a studio out there and had a wheel and kiln and showed us some of the pieces he was working on, he kept asking us if we were going to leave him with material to read which we did after explaining about the Book of Mormon he became yet another person out of the thousands of people in this area that think the Book of Mormon replaces the Bible to understand that it is separate and distinct and yet still valuable. He was excited to read in 3 Nephi and we are excited to go back and talk with him more.

Spanish lessons: We had three lessons in Spanish this week two we read from the Book of Mormon with and the other we taught about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the member that came with us invited him to come to General Conference this weekend after he gets off of work and we think he might actually come! Hooray!! In ward council on Sunday Bishop Whittaker said he thought that with all of the Spanish in this area half of our congregation should be Latino. Hermana McCune and I both in unison said "Where do they all live Bishop?!" he said he wasn't really sure but that a lot of them worked here, which is great but some of them travel long distances to work here, but we are still looking I honestly have no doubt that if our ward were to have more Latinos in it it would be due to the efforts of McCune. She is doing so great and has so much drive and fire to find Spanish, and her Spanish is so good, at least 10,000x better than mine, she carries all of the lessons and has taught me a lot. I'm so grateful for her.

Once again it has been another great week. I love Greeneville, I love the people here and my companion and being a missionary in general. Life is grand God is good.

Hope y'all have a great week!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall

The Veil Of Ugliness

Rewind almost 16 months ago before I left on my mission, one of my favorite things was when the Sister Missionaries texted me and asked if I would be willing to go on splits with them. I had so many awesome experiences that I will never ever forget and it was quite honestly the best mission prep I could have had. I remember though there was this one Sister that I went to a couple of lessons with and we pulled up to the last house we were going to try and on the drive over we had been talking about how I was going on a mission and I had asked if she had any advice for me. What she told me freaked me right out but has since proven amusing and also true. She said to "watch out for the veil of ugliness" when I asked what in the world that was she said... "your sense of style will disappear and you will gain weight... it's pretty inevitable but won't last forever." Yeah.... so that is sooooo not what I wanted to hear!!!! But guess what? She was so right!!! I beg you not to do this but if you were to scroll back a ways to about a year ago when I was in Rockwood you will definitley notice that I gained a bit of weight. You hear about the "freshman 15" there's probably the equivalent to that when you are first out on your mission. And then the other part of the veil of ugliness was you lose your sense of style... Which I was pretty convinced that with my sweet mama sending me clothes I was going to be ok and not have my style slip away. But yesterday I was at church and a sweet ward member complimented my black shirt with those "bell sleeves" that I thought were super cute and in right now with my tan skirt with black lace overlay and my black tights and shoes and said "No offense but you would make a really cute witch." Hahaha!!!! Glad she at least used the word cute it made it slightly less shocking. But the story doesn't end there this morning an Amish woman at Wal-Mart complimented Hermana McCune on her dress, it's gingham and kind of flowy and she looked at me and said "if an Amish woman likes it it must look Amish!" It was so funny. So yeah I've experienced the so called "veil of ugliness."

But just like the missionary told me all those months ago it wont last forever.  The weight I gained didn't stay forever Sister Allen and I tried this wonderful diet suggestion from an Elder nearby called the chicken and rice diet and it was horrible. We made it about a week and a half, but since then I've been making healthier choices and seeing the results from it, I feel better and hope look a bit better too. And the clothes thing, all is not lost. I'm sure when I get home I'll find my way back to not looking like a witch or a librarian. And you know what sometimes life gets a little ugly, its inevitable... BUT it won't last forever.

Like this week we had the MOST amazing experience with an investigator who missionaries have been working with for about 7 months. She has only been to church once and said she hasn't felt like she got an answer about whether or not the Book of Mormon and if this church is where she needs to be. We prayed a lot a lot a lot and decided that we needed to go and tell her that we were going to not come by for a little bit so she can see if this is really what she wants in her life and what she would be willing to sacrifice in order to come to church. I was very nervous going into the lesson, I love this lady so much and it was killing me to have to make an executive decision about her. Let her use her agency really. We can't want it more than her, that's not conversion. So we went in and sat down and she proceeded to tell us that all that week she had been reading the Book of Mormon during her lunch breaks and it was the only thing that had gotten her through a rough week. She then said that as she read the day April 15 popped into her mind and that was the day she wants to get baptized on. We have extended three different baptism dates to her but this time she came forth and brought one to the table. We pulled up the baptism interview questions and she answered them like a champ. The Spirit was so strong and she later said she felt so good after that lesson. Well fast forward a few days later and we went back, we walked in and immediately knew something was wrong, unfortunately she had been anti'd pretty hard at work and had a LOT of questions. She was very shaken up about it and we did our best to answer her questions and help her as best as we could to not betray or deny the experiences she had already had and that it was completely normal for Satan to up his game right as she had. That situation has a bit of a veil of ugliness over it, but I know it won't last forever. It is inevitable that trials and temptations and doubts come, but it is our choice how we let it affect us.

I have learned so much about opposition on my mission, as much as I don't like it I know it is neccessary, through the difficult we grow, through doubts and quesstions we can find the importance and blessings of real intent and faith and yes... through the ugliness we find real beauty.

I am so grateful for all the many lessons I learn on a daily basis. And for the love and support that I feel on a daily basis.

Life really is beautiful even though it at times has a veil of ugliness cast over, it is inevitable but not forever. '

Love y'all! Hope you have a fantastic week!!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Are You With Me?!

This week was one heck of a long week fullll of meetings. Elder Joseph Sitati of the 70 came and toured our mission and Sister McCune and I had the opportunity of hearing from him not once, not twice, not three times, but four times in one week. At mission leadership counsel, zone conference, the adult session of stake conference, and stake conference. I have to admit we started to get the giggles because we got to the point where we could quote him pretty well. He is from Kenya and has an awesome accent. Our favorite thing that he would say was "Are you with me?" when checking to see if we were all on the same page and understanding what he was sharing. I was thinking about it a little more and decided that there was a deeper meaning and lesson to learn from that phrase. (I've found that with a lot of things in case you haven't noticed:) But I was thinking about if Christ were to say that to me what my answer would be... Am I "with Him?"

Because I promise you I know how sometimes He asks us to do things that we really don't think are possible. And He asks us "Are you with me?" I've found that ultimately it is just another way that He asks us if we trust Him.

So here are three experiences from this week where I feel like the Lord asked if Hermana McCune and I were with Him and we acted in faith and showed Him we were.

Spanish U-Turn: We had prayed one morning asking "who needs us today" and a woman I had met pretty soon after I first got here in Greeneville reached out to us on facebook and invited us over to the new place she is living. I had been way out to this boonies trailer park months before while trying to find someone else and wasn't overly excited about going back but we both thought maybe there would be some Spanish people out there. So we went. After driving up one road and down another and seeing none of the tell-tale signs of Spanish households: brooms and shoes on porches, we pulled out to another road and at the precise moment a van pulled in with a Hispanic looking man driving. We both turned and looked at each other and yelled "Spanish!" Immediately we flipped a U and followed him to where he was going... creepy much? Yeah I know but the Lord was so guiding us especially as we talked to him got his info which was no where near where we currently were and then set up a time for us to come and teach him and his daughter. We trusted and the Lord magnified our efforts and blessed our u-turn. He knew that there were multiple people that needed us like we had prayed for and ulitmately needed Him. It was so great!!!! He asked us: are you with me? And we showed that we were!

His Timing: A woman that missionaries have been working with since before I got here but has encounteredf: health scares, work changes, and a husband preparing to be worthy is officially ready to be baptized. We had a great lesson with them in a McDonald's booth and they said that if they didn't have an obligation this Saturday then they would scheudle the baptism then. So next week she is going to be baptized and I am SO excited for them. And so grateful they can experience this happy day together. With him worthy to batpize her and her worthy to be baptized. I have  watched her come so far, to actively participate in discussions in releif society and sunday school and purchase the institute guidebooks online and study from the Book of Mormon and Bible when she can for at least an hour a day. She is ready. I have watched him come back to church, say prayers, pay tithing, and quit unheatlhy habits. He is ready. It has taken time but something was different that day in that McDonald's the Spirit confirmed that the time is now. It is the Lord's time and we trusted it. Over 6 months of missionaries helping and guiding them and they are ready to enter the waters of baptism. I am so happy for them. We are with Him.

Home Theater Lesson: Finally we taught an amazing restoration lesson with an amazing investigator. The spirit was strong as we sat in another unique location, her home theater. After the lesson I turned to Hermana McCune and said that "I'm going to bet that you probably will never teach the Restoration lesson in a home theater again." Maybe she will but it was pretty unique situation but powerful nonetheless. It was amazing to see the spirit touch this sweet woman and tears fill her eyes as she said that "I really believe that this could happen and prophets could be on the earth" Hermana McCune was so intune and quick to point out that she is feeling the Spirit and that no matter what anyone else says to her (because she has encountered some anti-Mormon literature and people) no one can take away the experiences she has had and things she has felt unless she lets them. She committed to praying about being baptized in May and to reading more from the Book of Mormon and coming to church. She is on her way to showing the Lord that she is with Him.

I am so grateful for the chance I have as a missionary to everyday show that I am with Him as I put on His name with my own on my missionary tag. I am grateful that I am able to help others show the Lord that they are with Him as they make and keep commitments to strengthen their faith in Him and better accept His restored gospel.

So what about y'all?

Are you with me?! Are you with Him?!

I know you are, and if you can't say a resounding yes than please take the time to reevaluate your life and your priorities so that you can more fully stand by Him more fully commit to serving Him and that when He calls you will answer, and ultimately when He comes you will be there.

We can all do better, we can ALL be with Him.

I am so grateful for this knowledge and testimony and the opportunity to share it with the people of Tennessee.

Love y'all to the moon and back!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Your Spanish Is Going To Pot

That was so not the words that I expected nor wanted myself and my sweet new companion to hear as we were at a members home one evening this past week. One of the new things we are doing is asking nearly everyone we meet if they know if any people who speak Spanish live nearby. Most say they don't know but in the case of this man he looked straight at us and said "NOPE! Not around here! Your Spanish is going to pot!" I was half laughing half mortified. HOWEVER we've certainly proved him wrong by getting two Spanish referrals from the Elders. We had a lesson with one of them yesterday and he has been meeting with another church's missionaries for 9 years and understands that you need to be prepared to make a decision like that. We had a member in the ward that is from Mexico that was with us and able to fill in words and phrases and further explain things that we don't have a vocabulary for. And let me tell you... I am SO grateful for my new companion. Good gracious I would NOT have survived that lesson on my own. The moment the man started talking when he opened the door I had no idea what he was saying.  Luckily Hermana McCune has had 12 weeks straight (6 weeks in Mexico at the CCM, and 6 weeks in Dalton Georgia, all Spanish) before this in complete Spanish immersion and so her comprehension is wayyy better and she could actually understand and respond better than I could. I've been teasing her that I'm not actually training her, she is the one training me. I honestly believe that, she is pushing me to elevate my learning and language and it's been great. Humbling? YES. Intimidating? YES. Lots of time saying pleading prayers? YES. But I know it's all for a reason and a purpose and I was blessed with an outpouring of peace while I was fasting yesterday that has lingered and I know that all will be well. 

I really am so blessed.

But seriously at times I feel like I have exhausted our Spanish resources because I have been driving this girl all over town going to every Spanish house apartment, and trailer I can think of and remember. But you know what, the Lord blesses us and we keep finding people!!!! And they speak Spanish!!! We were talking to these little kids outside and asking if their neighbors spoke Spanish too and they proceeded to tell us which apartment numbers did. SCORE!
So I feel like contrary to what our sweet ward member says that personally my Spanish had already gone to pot and now it is the time to improve and be diligent in learning and practicing and seeking for the gift of tongues. In Preach My Gospel  it says that

Part of seeking the gift of tongues is to labor and struggle and to do all you can to learn the language. Trust that the Spirit will help you as you live the way you should and do your very best.

I can definitely attest that there is labor and struggle involved in speaking Spanish and missionary work in general, no you know what,  LIFE in general. Labor and struggle is how we grow! All we can do is do our best and trust in the Lord to help us through. To guide us with the Spirit. I don't know if I've shared this quote before but I absolutely love it, it's by Gordon B. Hinkley, "Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far above your capacity to achieve, simply do what you can do in the best way you know and the Lord will accept of your effort."

I have seen that time and time again. When we are doing our best and our doubts and fears and nagging thoughts of failure are replaced by faith then miracles happen. The spirit is able to come and work on the hearts of the people present. It's been such an amazing lesson to learn at least 754,986 times in the past 15 months.

I want to close with a story about that, about doing your best and letting the Spirit work the miracle. This one was in English. It was one of Sister Beare's last nights in the field and we went to see an investigator we met miraculously while looking for someone else. We decided to read from the Book of Mormon with her and have been sharing Enos a lot lately (no coincidence because it prepared us for this night) we went in and began to read it with her, when part way through probably halfway through the chapter she stopped us and said, "Girls I have a question I'm not sure if it's off topic or not but what does it mean when the Bible talks about mansions in heaven?" We explain about how Heavenly Father has a place prepared for each of His children and how it's more than we can even fathom, mansions might be more symbolic than actual gigantic homes. She brought up death and seeing the Lord and preparing for our return and then we continued to read. As we turned the page and got to the last verse it was my turn to read, verse  27 says:

And I soon go to the place of my rest, which is with my Redeemer; for I know that in him I shall rest. And I rejoice in the day when my mortal shall put on immortality, and shall stand before him; then shall I see his face with pleasure, and he will say unto me: Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father. Amen.

I looked up and she was staring at us in complete astonishment, you could visibly see the Spirit touch her and tears welled up in her eyes as she exclaimed "Girls that's God speaking to me! ... Did you see that?!...  I just asked about mansions!!! .... Does this happen often?!" We smiled and nodded and testified of the reality and power of the Book of Mormon that she really can know for herself that the message that we share and the restored gospel is true. Not one person in that room can deny that the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are aware of us. They know our questions before we even ask them. They prepare answers, and we just have to prepare ourselves to receive them.

Blessings come to those who wait, those who struggle and those who trust.

Like my all time favorite quote in the world says: "Don't give up boy don't you quit. You keep walking you keep trying.  There is help and happiness ahead. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust in God and believe in good things to come." Jeffrey R. Holland

It will all be all right, our Spanish won't go to pot, the Lord won't leave us out to dry, our questions won't go unanswered, and good things WILL come.

I know this, I live this, I love this.

Love y'all!

Have a fantastic week!!!

Love,
Hermana Hall