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



 

Dig Deep

I had a very interesting and amazing interview with President Pickett this week. Among other things he shared with me, he asked if I would be willing to stay in Greeneville for transfer... number 5, in total 7 1/2 months. I said yes I was. And so... I will be welcoming to 417 Fairgrounds Rd. a fairly new missionary Hermana Mccune who has been serving in a Spanish area for 6 weeks. Which means
1. I'll finish up her training on how to be a missionary
and
2. She'll train me on how to speak Spanish.
Sounds like it's going to be a good companionship.

The other counsel I received that I want to talk about was about dun-dun-dun MARRIAGE.
President Pickett loves, I mean LOVES to talk about marriage.
He looked me square in the eye and said, Sister Hall you shouldn't look for stuffed shirts, it's not all about muscle, you need to marry someone with DEPTH.  He repeated this counsel at least three more times during the course of our discussion and needless to say left me with a LOT to think and ponder about. Now my first reaction is well I don't need to worry about marriage right now there is nothing I can do about it except pray and prepare myself. Which is true. However I was sitting doing some personal study and my mind turned back to that counsel and I found myself asking myself: what is depth?

I went to the dictionary and wasn't satisfied with its definition of depth. So I went to the ultimate dictionary, the dictionary for life, the scriptures. I looked up in the topical guide depth. And it lead me to a famous parable in Mark. The parable of the sower. Most of us know how it goes: a sower sows seeds some fell by the wayside, some fell in good soil, and yet another had no DEPTH.

HMM...

Mark 4

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Now we know that Christ spoke in parables so that the meek and humble would understand and the proud and lofty would be confused. The Savior later explained to his questioning apostles that:

16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended


So at first I was proud and lofty hearing this counsel from President Pickett I didn't understand what he meant but as I've been more humble and prayerful and meek I now understand. That having depth means being able to take root in the gospel but also in YOURSELF and stand firm and continue to grow even when scorching sun and trials and temptations come. That is who I need in my life and that is someone I need to be. Someone who can take the heat and won't whither away over time. Someone who has depth. Who is: genuine, sincere, confident in themselves and the Lord, refuses to turn their back on people and on the Lord when questions arise. Someone with depth doesn't get offended. Someone with depth digs deep and stands firm in the faith and stays true to the faith and themselves.

I think this counsel was dual purposed. It's something I need to work on myself I want to have more depth. I don't want any part of me or my personality to be considered "superficial"

I want to be deeply rooted in my testimony and the gospel. I want to be deeply rooted in myself.

Notice how I keep saying "I want..." well that shows desire, Alma says (in the other famous sermon about seeds) that

"...if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words."

So if I continue to let this desire work in me and believe that I can be more rooted and have depth and take the heat then it will begin to grow and as I nourish it I will grow in depth.


I want to share a family history story about someone with DEPTH. Many of you know of the man John Rowe Moyle. Some of you may not so I'll share a summary by President Uchtdorf: 

John Rowe Moyle was a convert to the Church who left his home in England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as part of a handcart company. He built a home for his family in a small town a valley away from Salt Lake City. John was an accomplished stonecutter and, because of this skill, was asked to work on the Salt Lake Temple.

Every Monday John left home at two o’clock in the morning and walked six hours in order to be at his post on time. On Friday he would leave his work at five o’clock in the evening and walk almost until midnight before arriving home.

One day, while he was doing his chores at home, a cow kicked him in the leg, causing a compound fracture. With limited medical resources, the only option was to amputate the broken leg.

Once John could sit up in bed, he began carving a wooden leg with an ingenious joint that served as an ankle to an artificial foot. Walking on this device was extremely painful, but John did not give up, building up his endurance until he could make the 22-mile (35-km) journey to the Salt Lake Temple each week, where he continued his work.

His hands carved the words “Holiness to the Lord” that stand today as a golden marker to all who visit the Salt Lake Temple.

John did not do this for the praise of man. Neither did he shirk his duty, even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do.


John Rowe Moyle dug deep. I love that last paragraph the most. He did not shirk his duty even though he had every reason to do so. He knew what the Lord expected him to do. He had depth.

Sometimes it's hard, sometimes we do not know how to keep walking when difficulties blindside us, sometimes we have no idea how to move forward but when we continue choosing the right continue seeking the Lord's will we find strength and we find happiness, we find holiness. We have depth.


Finally to wrap up I want to share another story about depth I love. My beloved Anti-Nephi-Lehi's... talk about a people who dug deep! They were so converted so rooted in the gospel that they chose to be further rooted in themselves by burying their swords and their sins DEEP within the earth. They covenanted with God that they would rather die than sin. Many of them did give their lives in keeping that promise. Can you honestly imagine seeing the enemy coming with swords drawn to kill you and you stand there and dig deep and then fall to your knees in prayer reiterating your commitment to serve God and leave your swords buried?!

Well guess what? We can do that, every day! Every day is a fight, everyday the enemy comes with swords and weapons temptations and sin ready to spiritually destroy us. Are we rooted in the gospel and rooted in ourselves that we bury our sins bury our fears, our doubts and frailties and trust the Lord? Fall to our knees in prayer? Put our very lives on the line, our carnal lives? That's digging deep that's having depth.

I hope that we might all dig deep and keep walking even when difficulties arise. It may not be easy, but it will most certainly be worth it.

Because He who was made low and dug the absolute deepest that is humanly and godly possible continues to dig deep and nourish us. He is there, He is real. He will help us. Of this I have no doubt.

Have a great week and dig deep!

Love,

Hermana Hall








LIFE IS GOOD, GOD IS GOOD

Help Where You Can, Pray Where You Can't

 This past week we went by an investigator's house that we hadn't seen  in a long while and she was sitting on her front porch... score! It was definitely a right place right time situation because this woman needed a listening ear and between Sister Beare and I we had four so it worked out. She told us about her growing up life. She is the youngest of 11 children, her oldest sibling is currently in his 80's. This woman is almost 40 but her father was formerly married and quite a bit older than her mom... 20 years or more older. As a child she was beaten and abused and ultimately at 11 years old dropped off at the courthouse in town with a black trash bag. Ever since then she has been a fighter. She was placed in over 15 houses growing up and ended up graduating high school, got married, had two kids, got divorced, is still working to get through college and working at that same courthouse she was once dropped off at. Needless to say she has an amazing story, still in the making. It would be really great if the climax could be that she accepted the gospel and found home. Because the most heartwrenching thing she said during her entire retelling, in my opinion, was "I was laying in bed thinking the other night that no where I have ever lived has felt like home." Oh my gosh!!!!! Rip my heart to shreds!!!!!

 We were able to testify that this gospel feels like home, this message leads us back to home, coming to church feels like home. And invited her to church. She went to North Carolina to be with an aunt this weekend but hopefully in the future she will be able to experience the feeling of home that church and this gospel brings. It's so true, even though I am 1,500 miles away from home, I feel it every time I walk in the church building doors that I am home. This ward here  feels like family sometimes that is the only thing that gets me through a tough, hard, way too long week is: walking through those doors and knowing I am home. And that I'll get about 20 hugs from my Greeneville family and that it's exactly where I am supposed to be. Everyone should feel that, it's why we are out here, to help people come in and come back home. That's ultimately the purpose of life, helping each other back home.

I love in Elder Uchtdorf's last conference talk he addresses the inner desire we all have to return home. It's called "A Yearning For Home" in it he says:

I believe that every man, woman, and child has felt the call of heaven at some point in his or her life. Deep within us is a longing to somehow reach past the veil and embrace Heavenly Parents we once knew and cherished.
Some might suppress this yearning and deaden their souls to its call. But those who do not quench this light within themselves can embark on an incredible journey—a wondrous migration toward heavenly climes.

I LOOOOVE THAT!!! This life is an incredible journey, a wondrous migration, we are all on together, at different points with different paths and bumps in the road but yet all headed toward the same destination. And we can know for a surety that when we are headed behind and for the Savior that we are going the right way.

During another part of our conversation with this woman we were talking about many of her family members who have strayed from their paths. She said it has been horrific for her to see, to watch nearly every family member she has enter and exit jails and prisons. But she recognized that her reality didn't need to be the same, she said "That would be the easy way out." She had to cut ties and work to build a life greater than she had been brought up in. It's not glamorous by any means but she has what she needs and her life is hers.

She talked about how she still wants to help her family but she also doesn't want the evil influences and temptations they are entangled in in her life and in her children's lives. She talked about how she has to love them from a distance.

I found myself saying to her, "We can only help where we can and then pray where we can't" I don't know if that is a quote from someone else or where that came from but I love it!!!! We can't change people and we can't want something more for them, they have to choose to change and have a desire to be better. Only they can as President Monson would say "rise above mediocrity," all we can do is help and then pray.

I have seen that so much in my life but especially in my mission. Prayer has been my saving grace, after all we can do, we pray.

We help people come to church, and then pray they come.
We help people learn, and pray they feel.
We help people discern, and pray they trust.
We help people pray, and pray they continue.
We help people have hope, and pray they have faith.
We help people read, and pray they understand.

The list goes on and on. I am so grateful for prayer and the way it has changed my life.
I know that prayers are answered. There have been too many times to count that mine have.

I love this poem:

   I know not by what methods rare,

But this I know, God answers prayer.

I know that He has given His Word,

Which tells me prayer is always heard,

And will be answered, soon or late.

And so I pray and calmly wait.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the way I thought;

But leave my prayers with Him alone,

Whose will is wiser than my own,

Assured that He will grant my quest,

Or send some answer far more blest.

                                             - Eliza  M. Hickock

It was read my first Sunday in Greeneville and has blessed my life ever since, even now nearly six months later. I am forever grateful for the experiences I have had and shared with so many here in Tennessee. I am grateful for this wonderful journey were are all on, and for the chance we have to help one another where and when possible and pray where and when it's not possible.

I love y'all and am so deeply grateful for your prayers and love and support. They mean the world and are felt and received with gladness.

Love and pray for y'all too!

Love,
Hermana Hall

Happy Valentine's Day





And... Happy Chinese New Year... Gung Hey Fat Choi- Year of the Dog








We helped package Spaghetti



Some sights about town....




And lastly some thoughts....
Have a blessed day!