I hope I am able to give this last week justice in this email, it was a full and fantastic one for sure!

The week started off by me having to face some of my biggest fears. I hate instructing in front of big groups lol...that might surprize some, but its always been a struggle for me. I can talk at people just fine, but having to have an hour long discussion in front of 10+ missionaries who are more experienced than me is a bit scary. Anyway, I was thinking about how we as missionaries ask people to do scary things all the time. Some people have never prayed before...and yet we invite them too...some people have never read the scriptures before, and yet we invite them too...and some people have never stepped into one of our church buildings, and yet we invite them too. I decided if the people we teach can do hard things, so can I. I faced a fear this week, there is nothing like facing something you didn't think you could do, especially when you lean on the Lord and ask Him to help you through it.

The lesson I wanted to share with all of you this week, is to take the words of my companion to heart. "No longer can you use the word 'can't,' its no longer in your dictionary." Can't is a word that instantly blocks you from progressing. When you say can't you put a wall between where you are now, and where you could be. I think of Olympic athletes, do you think they say can't? heck no. We are teaching a wonderful lady, she has a desire to feel closer to God, however she insists that she "can't" pray. We know she can, its just a change of mind...that change can be seriously difficult...I learned the lesson for myself this week. I can do anything the Lord asks me to do. (1 Nephi 3:7)

Another neat experience I had reminded me of my brother Donny. We went to visit a family who recently lossed a dear family relative, they were making pies for thanksgiving and asked if we wanted to come help. As we were working and talking in the kitchen I saw that the Grandmother was making Cherry Pies. Immediately I remembered how Donny always called them "Cheery Pies." I told them the story of how after Donny passed away, Mom and I made a bunch of pies and took them to our school to give them to people who needed something to make them smile. <3 It was a tender moment for me this week. The family loved the story...and related to the feeling of needing a smile. Even tho Big brother has passed away, he still manages to make people smile.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, we spent time at a families home who invited mulitple ward families. It was a crazy household, so basically I felt right at home. We had turkey, funeral potatoes, greenbean casseroles, salads, stuffing, pies, and more. It was so good! I thought of My mom and how it was her Birthday...hope everyone she saw helped her have a special day! Sister Muaina and I took a walk and visited some people, but other wise we didn't do any missionary prosolyting that day. We had to be in our apartments at 6pm..so we organized some papers, and went to bed by 8:30 : ) it was amazing best birthday gift ever!

My birthday was a normal day, we actually weren't even going to stop for dinner since we had been planning most of the day, but I felt strongly impressed to go visit one of the families at the church. So we drove over and knocked on their door and interupted dinner...I felt bad...kind of lol. They invited us to eat with them! It was a wonderful blessing, I ended up telling them it was my birthday and so they put a candle in my piece of pie and sang to me. I truly felt so so loved! The people here are incredible! They have a son serving in Russia and his mission is strictly service, he can't even where a name tag! Can you imagine? Anyway I had a great day...I'm so old now but I guess I will get over it :) 22 is going to be a good year, I can tell! ps. Grandma Hall, thanks for the fuzzy socks!!

Miracles are happening every which way, this is the start of our second transfer in Roswell, last week we set a baptism date with an amazingly prepared lady who has been coming to church for a while now, just never met with missionaries. She is awesome, so keep Donna in your prayers! Well I better Go, I love you all, hope something in my letter helped someone out there today. Hope you all are also getting into the Holiday spirit! this is the best time of year, don't stress about the presents or the decorations or get grumpy about the holiday crowds, this is the time to enjoy family, loved ones, eat food, and remember our Savior.

Adio's all,

Love

Sister Hall

 

Greetings from Roswell!

This weeks probably been the fastest week on my mission...I feel like I just wrote home yesterday! So much has been going on which I think has been the reason its flown by- staying busy is definitely helping! I guess I'll start off by sharing the funny/embarrassing story of the week:

Sister Muaina and I got a referral to try a ladies Grandmother, so we went there and she was busy but let us set up an appointment to come back. We brought the Relief Societ President with us for the lesson and were really excited. We shared all about The Plan of Happiness, it was a powerful lesson, and I felt the spirit so strongly when I testified of the Savior and his Atonement. At the end of the lesson my companion asked her if she would be baptized...to which she replied...well I've already been baptized 3 times! I was like holy smokes 3 times? What churches have you joined? she said first I was Catholic, then I was baptist, and then I was baptized Mormon. *what!! Yep our investigator ended up being a member already who hasn't gone to church in a long time! it was so funny, my companion and I were kind of in shock and the relief society president got really excited and invited her to church telling her "we want you to come back!" it was pretty funny in the end! oh man. She never showed up in our records so we thought she must have moved, but it turns out she is a part of the Spanish branch...go figure! too funny oh well.

I also had a very interesting request. I told a lady who is investigating the church that I grew up on a ranch...so I got a text from her asking if I knew how to trim goat hooves! my companion asked me if I did and I replied...well I can trim horse hooves, but I never tried a goat...the look on her face was priceless! Our Ward mission leader loaded a video on how to trim goat hooves so I'm all trained up- next week I'm gong to give it a try lol. Missions definitely give lots of *first time opportunities!

I have been learning so much, growing so much, and learning to trust in God. The times when things get hard and I start feeling alone is usually when I start leaning on myself too much and not enough on God. So I'm working hard to remember that. It takes a lot of Faith to believe that God will take care of us, but when we do take that leap, we'll feel his loving arms catch us from our fall. When we work diligently and do all we can, loving those around us unconditionally, we begin to see the miracles spring up all around us.

Well better close up, Roswell is beautiful- leaves changed color, falling, and the weather is somewhat cooler, but I still get away with just a cardigan most of the time : ) can't complain. The people here are incredible, i'm learning to love them deeply, almost as much as all of you! ; ) Hope you all are well- I love you!

Sister Hall

I am so excited that there is snow at home, and not here haha. I love snow and miss it...but I recently gave someone my winter coat so I am hoping for a little more time before the cold really hits here...all is good don't worry, we are going to a good will today to look for cloths : ) The girl I gave my coat to needed it much more than I did.

So Roswell is awesome, it was a bit of an adjustment when we first got here tho! The elders who were here before us definitely left us a lot of cleaning to do and not so much missionary work to do but thats okay, the one elder was going home so i guess they spent a lot of time getting him ready. We walked into our apartment and couldn't say a whole lot other than "its got potential" lol. We do have our own laundry machine tho so that is a huge bonus! 

The most exciting moment was when we were planning one morning and I had a cochroach crawl up my leg...delicious. but all is well : ) We've met some great people in Roswell, and took some great alien pictures! I'm being pushed way harder than ever this transfer, its going to take a lot of work, but I feel like its exactly what I need to grow and be a better person and missioanry.

 I see the Lords Hand everywhere around me and its awesome. My companion, Sister Muaina is a great missionary, who would know she is new to the field! I truly love her already! Our miracle for the week was meeting Cody and April. They are a married couple in their 30's with 5 kids between them. We were walking and started talking to them and they let us come teach the first lesson to them. They are awesome and we are seeing them again tonight. The Lord is really blessing us here!! We have a ton of work ahead of us in the Crazy town of Roswell, but I'm excited!

Sister Hall 

This is a really big week, I have some exciting news about transfers- I am being called to serve in Roswell, NM! Its been something that I have really dreaded coming, however, now that it is here, I can definitely feel like that is where I am supposed to Go. If you have time, PLEASE look up Roswell haha it is basically the coolest place ever! Its put on the map because of an "alien encounter" years and years ago haha so there are alien statues all over town, and museums for it too! I'm pretty excited about it. I am training a new missionary, not sure of her name, but I find out tomorrow : ) Its going to be a lot of changes, but I'm ready for it, and very excited!

Something I think I've struggled with being out here is not feeling adequate, and always feeling like I should be doing so much more...slowly I am learning that God doesn't expect us to be good at something right from day one, he works on us, teaches us, molds us so that by the end, when you've finally got the hang of things, he picks you up and puts you somewhere else so you can continue to learn and grow. Thats definitely what I am doing, learning and growing. Clovis has been so good to me, and I have loved serving here, but now its time for a new chapter! Beam me up Scotty, Roswell Here I come! Love you all!

Sister Amy Hall.

Man this week went by way to stinkin fast!

I don't even know what happened, but suddenly its already Monday! Last Tuesday was probably one of the best days on my mission. The night before we got to convoy with about 14 other missionary companionships and drive the 2 hours to Lubbock. It was a cool sight to see so many missionaries traveling together. We spent the night in Lubbock and I got to spend the night with and see my MTC companion again- sister olsen! It reminds me of the scripture in the Book of Mormon where the Alma is so excited to see his brothers again and rejoices with them because they are working righteously and diligently...felt the same way! Tuesday Morning we went to the church building which shares the parkinglot with the Lubbock Temple. We got to visit with other missionaries who traveled from the whole north half of the mission to be here, there were a little over a hundred missionaries there (half our mission). It made my day to get to see Sister Manwaring again, and Sister Oswald!- I haven't seen my trainer since June, so that was definitely awesome! We had a guest speaker come to the Zone Conference, it was Elder William Walker, of the 70 and he's a fellow southern Albertan! So that was really neat! I have had this thing where on my bucket list I wanted to shake hands with a general authority...and guess what, I was first in line! Life is now complete haha. Just kidding but it really was a great experience. The training lasted from 10-4 with a lunch included. Then we drove back to good old Clovis. It was a great experience to go, I learned so much, and it really helped me with a lot of the struggles that I am trying to overcome.

This week we've been keeping busy, trying to work with those people we are teaching, and its been hard, seems like everyone is soo busy, but thats okay. We're seeing miracles every day tho, and life is great. I love being out here serving my Heavenly Father, I feel his spirit with me as we meet new people, encourage them to learn more about what we believe, and invite them to learn about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. There are so many good people here, and it is truly where I need to be.

I heard Elder Fika goes home next week, I hope everyone gives him a BIG homecoming! I do wish that I could be there, but I also know that right now I am where God needs me. Take care of him, and my family for me!

Love you all

Sister Hall

ps. Pictures are of my adventures in Lubbock and Clovis this week...pie was a latenight fat snack ; ) Have a great week everyone!

It is still pretty warm here, not like it has been, but I do feel like its getting cooler. We've actually been getting a lot of rain here which has been weird. Wed was suppose to be our first full prosolyting day as companions (new missionary-sister Nowling and co trainer- sister Hoover), however, it decided to DOWNPOOR all day long! We had emergency flash flood warnings sent to our phones, and we received messages from our zone leaders that we were to not leave the apartments as long as the warnings were in effect...wow that sucked lol. We all were so ancy to go outside but we couldn't!! lame. But the rest of the week has been great.

Sister Hall 

Big Changes are happening to close off a great summer!!

Transfer calls came at midnight Sunday Morning--we were so amped up after that we didn't go to bed until 3 am. So the verdict is......I'm still in Clovis! I think the Mission President forgot I was here? Just kidding, but seriously, its true that New Mexico is the Land of Entrapment! I am blessed to stay in Clovis and be a proud mother again! I'll be working with Sister Knolling (not sure of the spelling yet...haven't met her!) I'm excited to get to know her! There are so many sisters out right now tho, that I am also getting another companion, she's been out 3 months, and I have actually gone on exchanges with her so i'm really excited to work with her more! She is sister Hoover from Utah : ). Its been really hard getting my two companions ready to leave, sister Soules isn't going too far luckily, she'll be in Portales which is 20 min away : )....Sister Manwaring on the other hand is going completely the other direction! She'll be up in north Texas in Dumas. Its a pretty big change, its hard to see them go. When you spend that much time with people you get pretty attached. I've learned alot from them tho, and I look forward to learning from my new companions.

Funny how people move in and out of your life, and each person has something special to share. Nothing is coincidence...at all! The longer I am here the more I see that to be true, God has a hand in ever detail of our lives, even the butterfly that flies in front of you is there for a reason..even if it is to make you stop and see the beauty of it. Just got to step back and look for the connection!

Things have been crazy this weekend for sure we got 4 hours of sleep sat night, and had to drive 2 hours to roswell for stake conference the next morning, and 2 hours back after...then we didn't get to sleep until way late again because of packing and everything going on. so we are a little tired needless to say...but what am i saying, missionaries are ALWAYS tired! haha. wish i was joking lol. But we receive the strength we need to accomplish all God needs us to, its pretty amazing. Well times about up. better go! I love you all very much, your in my prayers!

Love

Sister Hall,

Still in Clovis, still loving it! <3

ps. If you are looking to make a missionaries day, offer them a bottle of water, even if you can't talk to them long, or if you are feeding them, provide a salad....and its not always necessary to provide dessert lol...unless your in an area where missionaries don't get fed much...in which case do! haha just a random thought of the day!

Random fact about clovis-- I have gotten 6 flat tires between the bike and the car in the past 5 months....between nails and goat heads I'm a lost cause! :S

This past week was one for the record books or, "Journal entry days," as our mission president likes to say! I got my first taste of a Tornado Warning, for a small town Canadian girl, it was pretty exciting : ). We were eating dinner at a members home, and next thing we know, our phones all start going off about a warning. We thought no way, but then the tv went off too and the cities tornado sirens! Within 5 minutes we went from serving brownies, to peaking out windows, to gathering flashlights, candles, and blankets for the kids. The hail started coming down and was about the size of a ping pong ball, our car definitely took a hit, but it could have been a lot worse! Yup it was pretty exciting, still want to see a tornado someday, but maybe off in some distant field, and not right about the house I'm hiding in!

This weeks been really great as we have been doing a lot of teaching, and helping others develop a stronger relationship with Heavenly Father. Its humbling to be a part of something like this, and its clear to see that God is truly behind all of it, because there is no way I could be able to do this alone! My companions and I are working hard and trying not to perish in the heat out here haha. we've actually been fairly lucky, this summer has been much cooler (95's instead of 105's) than usual, for which I am very greatful!

I love hearing about things going on back home, i hear My cousin tyler is preparing to leave on his mission, and I am very excited for him!! Best of Luck Tyler- your going to do great!- and I am happy to hear that people are watching out for mom and dad. I miss you all a lot, and pray for you every night!!

Well, better go, times a waistin!

Love

Sister Hall

Its that time again : )

I don't know how, but it feels like time is going by so stinking fast, as of tomorrow, I am at my 5 month mark out on a mission! That is crazy, because that means in just one month, I only have 1 year left....That seems so short! Don't worry tho, I'm not distracted by the numbers, it just hits me every once in a while! This week has been another good one, kind of a different type of week, but still good. A lot of our time has been spent doing service projects- my favorite! I love lending a hand to people who need it, especially to those who do need help, but are afraid to ask. You just show up and do it, instead of waiting for them to call and ask : ) the look on their faces is priceless! *if you ever need help, don't feel bad about asking, when you ask, you are giving people the opportunity to help!

The highlight of this week is definitely the weekend, mostly saturday. We spent the morning helping clean a lady's house who was suppose to be moving to California, but she ended up getting damage to her ear that she has had surgery on and was rushed to the hospital. We showed up at her house and helped the ladies from church to clean her house and get it ready for the new renters. It was a great way to spend the morning! We also visited an older lady named Chris- she is 80 years old and is the sweetest thing! She always offers us banana popscicles! haha, we taught her and then while visiting found out that her dog, Shadow, had ran away this week. She hadn't seen him since wednesday : ( I know the feeling of missing an animal, so we felt super bad for her, and told her we'd keep an eye out... after that, we had the blessing of being able to see Yesica get Baptized by her Husband Henoc. Its been amazing to work with them, and I definitely can say that I consider them life long friends. Their family has grown so much and it was just incredible to see them all together at the baptism. I just love being a missionary! After the Baptism we had dinner with the Mendoza's, they fed us Jalepeno Poppers...if you have never heard of them look them up!!! They are so stinkin good! Not spicy at all...or maybe I'm just adjusting to the way people eat their food here (spicy or spicier haha). After spending time at their home, we drove to visit someone on the other side of town, their name just popped in our heads, so we started driving. While going, we drove passed a park, and saw shadow! the dog that Chris was missing! It was the oddest thing! We pulled over without even thinking and tried to call it over to us, but it ran back into the park. So we raced (while keeping the speed limit, don't you worry : P) to go see Chris and tell her that we found her dog! Turns out that she had been praying and crying for the an hour because she missed her dog! We were blessed to be able to help her prayers be answered and get her dog back! All I can say, is that it was a miracle!

I love being out here, seeing God's hand at work, when you are looking for it, you can see so many incredible things happening around you, just like that song, "I saw God Today." Look for miracles people, they are out there! and if you are wanting to go even further, ask God to be apart of a miracle, you never know what will happen!

I'm loving New Mexico, it is amazing, and I'm loving serving as a missionary, yes there are hard days, but the good always outways the bad and I am learning so much ever single day.

I love you all and hope you are good! Adios Amigo's!!!

Sister Hall

 

What A week! In some ways I hate writting this blanket letter because there is SO MUCH TO TELL by the time the week is through that I don't even know where to start, so I'll try to fill you all in as best I can, sorry if I forget something big, I'm only human ; ). If any of you do want to know more....well you can always write me! *hint hint :D

We've been teaching an awesome guy named Danny, we always meet him at this nice park where we sit under a pavilion and watch the ducks and geese in the pond. This day in particular was really stinkin hot, so...we decided to get dilly bars to share : ) we picked them up from dq and headed to the park, where we met up with Danny and a married couple who agreed to come to the lesson with us. Ice cream must have been an inspired idea because what did they bring? Ice cream in a cup from dq too! it was super funny, so needless to say we got our fill that day! Danny is inspiring to me, he's over come so many hurdles, and has so many trials in his life, including not having a home. But he's always smiling and hopeful. I learn so much from the people out here, it makes me never want to complain again!

We got to do a really good service project this week too, we chopped down a back yard full of 6ft high weeds with only one weed wipper (hey did ya'll know that americans don't know what a weed wipper is? they call it a weed eater..silly americans :P) It took 2 hours of pulling, chopping, and clearing before you could actually tell there was a camper in the back! It felt good to be out working hard, and even tho I STILL feel it, i'm happy we could help! To help us recover we also got fed some MEAN enchillada's oh man those were good...woke up at 5 am with bad heartburn...but so worth it.

I got an awesome parcel from my family this week! thank you to the Denna fam for signing the Get Wild shirt, that was awesome! I for sure missed being up there with everyone this year, I always loved going to the Reunion for Donny's Birthday. I have a cool miracle to share about that however.

Last Monday, I was thinking a lot about my big brother, and how I wished I could remember more about him, sometimes I feel like he's around me but I'm sure He's too busy to always be here. Well. Monday night, I was at an older ladies house for a visist, she's the sweetest lady ever and invited us in to have homemade icecream! We followed her in to the kitchen and as I was looking around her house, I saw the most amazing sight. I saw a big jar of Jelly Belly's. For anyone who knew Donny, they know that he LOVED jelly belly's and earlier in the day I had even thought to myself how cool it would be to have just one to eat today. Well I asked this lady if I could have one, and as I did, the warmest feeling came over me, I felt so loved and so at peace that I almost started crying while eating this little candy! This lady must have thought I was crazy haha, but truly my heart was just touched.

If you guys can learn anything from me this week it is this. God answers prayers, He loves us so much, and knows each one of us so completely. I didn't even ask for Him to send me a sign that My brother was close, or ask for a jelly belly, but He knew it meant something to me, and He gave me that experience. Our Father in Heaven loves us, and He wants us to be happy! So if you are struggling, or don't feel like GOd is hearing or answering your prayers. Ask him, ask him if he is there, and if he loves you. You will get an answer.

I love you all. Hope you have a fantastic week, and always remember to...Smile!

Sister Hall

I have definitely neglected sending a thorough email home for the past two weeks, so I will try to make up for it today!

Things have been pretty steady out here, getting busier every day. Missions are great, they push a person beyond what you think you can do, and then push you even further haha. I'll admit, there have been some hard days these past couple of weeks, but I'm grateful for those days, because they showed me a lot. Sunday, July 21, really taught me a great lesson. There was a talk given by Elder Bednar I believe, sorry if I'm wrong, called "that we might not shrink." Man that is a good talk. It hit me for the first time that its not enough to simply survive a difficult time, yes its a good thing to step back and say, well I did it, it wasn't pretty but I'm alive. We need to step back during the trial, and ask, What can I do, so that I don't shrink during this trial, and so I can see what it is I can learn from it. That has changed my perspective entirely. I've thought a lot about the difficulties that have come in my life, and I see that when I turned my sights towards God and my Family, that the challenges were easier to bear. When I depended on my own strenght...I failed miserably lol. Life is to find joy, and not to dwell on the negative, and that is what I want to do better at!

Like I said, this week was tough, but when I applied this to myself, things got a ton better! We've had many miracles come our way here in Clovis, and I'm incredibly grateful for them! we've met two incredible young single parents this week, who have a strong desire to learn more about Christ. They are awesome parents and are some of the most genuine people I have ever met. I love meeting new people, I use to be really intimidated to walk up to total strangers and introduce myself, but now, I LOVE IT! People for the most part are extremely nice out here, and usually have really cool histories, all you have to do is ask, and you can find out a lot about a person. One of the greatest miracles I got to see this week was the return of our dear friend DANNY! Two weeks ago he want AWOL and we couldn't find him anywhere. He moved out of the house he was living at, and we couldn't find him anywhere. We were so worried that we would drive by the places we usually saw him 2 times a day : ( Then Yesterday we were welcoming people to church, and he walks right through the doors! I've never seen such an awesome sight!!! We gave him the biggest smiles we had and shook his hand! Turns out he took a job that made him be gone for 10 days in a row, and he didn't have a way to communicate with us. What a relief!

Some other great moments this week include us getting to make homemade jam with a recent convert in the ward! Jan Finch is the sweetest lady ever! We made homemade strawberry and strawberry kiwi jam and it was to die for! I think when I get home I might try canning, it was a ton of fun! We also were contacting one day and walking up someones driveway by the grass when all of a sudden the sprinklers shot out of the ground and drenched us! It was a Hot day so it felt great, but it was soo funny because it scared the daylight out of us and sister soules screamed and jumped 3 feet in the air! things are really looking up now, and I owe it to Heavenly Father watching out for us, and helping me have a more positive outlook. I still feel like there is so much more I can do, but I am not burdened or worried, because I know as long as I make myself available, and do my very best, all will be well. Sometimes missionary work is like a toddler trying to paint a wall, The father lets them help the best they can, but ultimately we'll just make a big mess, however, he see's us doing our best, and that is all that He asks. So thats what I'm doin, making a mess, trying my hardest, and hoping that the God will help me do all He needs me to do.

I hope you all know how much I love you! 

Sister Amy Hall

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

I can't help but think about home today, since I can picture in my mind exactly what everyone is going to be doing today back home! Pancake breakfast, parade, Aunt Kristies family setting up by the arena under the tree's, Mom and Dad staying in the trailer park, and people wandering all over Rosemary watching tractor pulls and enjoying the warm weather! Oh I miss it! : ) people here are super patriotic which is extremely refreshing. Because the church that I am serving in is predominantly a military ward, they had all the military members stand up at the front to sing the American Anthem. It was quite touching. I will admit tho, I secretly wanted to sing Oh Canada really bad : ) So my companions will have to deal with my unrelenting love for my Home and Native Land! I think this time of year is awesome tho because we get to really think of all that God has given us, and be grateful for the freedom that we have. There are so many around the world who do not have what we have, and I am thankful that we can believe what we want to believe.

This week has been a great one! I'm sure your all wondering how I am fairing with being a new

'mother' of two! But its been fantastic! Honestly, we are all pretty new, so when the going gets tough and I'm not sure where to go or what to do, we simply put it into God's hand and he leads the way. Its been a big learning experience for me and my faith has really been both tested, and strengthened. Saturday was long and HOT! Everyone we had planned to go and see fell through and we ended up feeling pretty discouraged by the time 6:30 rolled around. Then One of my companions felt like we should go to this park right by our apartments. So we went walking, honestly my heart wasn't in it, I felt pretty tired and just frustrated. So I said a small prayer to myself, asking that if there is anyone that we need to find today, that we can find them and help them. Well we found him. Just Like Johnny, we almost walked right by him, but instead walked up and got his attention. This man's name is Danny, and He is 50 or so, and it turns out he's a completely normal guy, retired police officer, had tons of experience in his life, and has recently had many hard things happen to him. The past 3 years everything in his life flipped upside down. His mom, dad and sister passed away, He lost his house, truck and has hardly any family to help him out. Its a heartbreaking story, because despite all of this He's stayed sober, no drinking or smoking for 11 years. And as of right now he sleeps in his storage unit. His story is so humbling, and the more we talked to him the more we knew we had to help him. So we asked him to come to church with us the next day. We met him at the park at 9:15am to bike with us to church. He was there! So Yesterday He met the bishop, who has given him many places to find work, and we found him a place to sleep until He can get on his feet.

 

He asked us to right our names down yesterday on a paper. We asked him why, and he said it was so he could pray for us at night and thank heavenly Father that He found us. Apparently, just hours before we met him, he asked Heavenly Father to help him, that he didn't know what to do or where to go anymore. He said that He promised God that if He would show him where to go, He would follow, but that He just needed to know the path to follow.

I'm constantly amazed by the experiences that God blesses us with out here. There is a scripture that I am always reminded of, "He that loses His life for my sake shall find it." -Matt 16:21-28 My sister Trisha told me before I left on my mission that she's never been happier than helping people around her, and its never been more true for me.

On the other side of things...my companions and I got a bit goofy and possibly sun happy and ended up having little side adventures while working this week. I'll send pictures but some include, hunting toads, racing bicycles through speed zones to see how fast we can go, making delicious Smorito's...(smores in a tortilla), and spontaneously breaking out into song while in the apartment... : ) The life of a missionary is never a dull moment.

Missing everyone back home, I love you all! Hope you are well and enjoy this wonderful day to celebrate our Country!

Your all in my heart!

Sister Amy Hall

In the words of my Mission President, These are Journal Entry Days!

This week has been absolutely a hectic one, and I look back and can't believe that I have been able to do all that I have. Monday night Sister Oswald was packing until1am lol and I was rearranging our humble apartment to be ready to receive an additional number. We only have 2 beds, 2 dressers and 2 closets...so that night I spent time setting up a new bed, organizing the study areas and cleaning. Then Tuesday was transfers. It was pretty sad to have to say goodbye to Sister Oswald, we got to be really close (being with someone 24 hours a day for 3 months will do that to you!). But on the bright side I got to meet my wonderful new companions Sister Soules- from Utah and Sister Manwaring- from Colorado. They are awesome sisters and we already get a long wonderfully! I felt a lot of pressure at the beginning of the week to be training, but I have seen so many blessings come our way from Heavenly Father that I simply know that it is all going to be ok. The scariest part I think of this whole thing was having to drive for the first time in 3 months in Lubbock without any idea of where I was going! GAG! I hate cities lol. We were following the Elders at one point, but then we lost them. Fortunately I stayed calm and they called us and gave us directions. All was well : ). I am thoroughly enjoying driving now however! We have been busy all week meeting new people, working with current investigators and getting to know the ward. One awkward moment was while knocking we had a 50 year old guy come to the door in just a towel...that was fun haha. Missionary life is awesome! We've been getting fed alot so luckily we also have been doing a lot of walking! Lasagna is a popular dish : ) I think the highlight of the week was while riding our bikes we rode up to a family doing a bbq. Turns out its a members house and she hasn't come to church in a long long time, also her husband is not a member of the church! They invited us to come for dinner this week and he promised to give us each bottles of mase! Haha I love it!

Times do get hard, I have had my moments of being overwhelmed and worried about disappointing Heavenly Father, But as always, he answers prayers. I have so much comfort and love, just from getting down on my knees and praying. I know He hears us, and I know that He loves us, God never leaves our sides, only waits for us to take the time to ask for Help.

I love you all, and miss you greatly <3 Thank you for the prayers on my behalf. I feel them every day. My little piece of advice for the day... Look around you today, and find a way to lift someone who is worse off than you 

Its that time again! Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mondays?

So this week is transfers, Sister Oswald and I were basically in denial about it because we felt like one of us was leaving, and didn't want to accept it! But honestly, I have felt Heavenly Father preparing me fore these transfers in the past couple of weeks. I have seen many amazing miracles happen, and felt the spirit directing me more than ever. I definitely have needed it. Saturday night was the hardest one because we knew the call was coming. It honestly felt like Christmas Eve! I was extremely anxious to hear what was going to happen, especially since this was my first transfer call where I could potentially leave. Well 10:45pm Our Mission President Called...and we found out Sister Oswald is leaving. She Goes up to Amarillo, Texas tomorrow night. She's still the STL (Sister Trainer Leader) and is training two new missionaries. It was an exciting call. Then she handed me the phone. President Augustin told me to put on my Hiking boots because I was.....STAYING! I am beyond excited that I can stay in Clovis for another little while, it honestly is an area that is just beginning to start catching fire. I was very excited to hear I was staying...however, then came the next part of the message. Mom, Guess what? I am expecting! I have been asked to train! He asked me if I accepted the call...to which I replied, I will, and I promise to do my very best. He said, Good, because we would also like to ask if you could train two for us! So guess what else? I am having twins! haha. Yep, 3 months in and I am going to have two greenies. I am extremely nervous, however I am also really excited. Its going to be a huge learning experience for me, and I know that Heavenly Father will help me every step of the way. 

There has been a HUGE surge of sister missionaries to our mission, we use to get about 1 or 2 sisters a transfer...now it is 9-12, its pretty incredible. I don't know my two new companions names yet, or anything about them, but I'll let you know next week and hopefully send pictures. All I keep thinking is God must know something I don't because honestly I feel really inadequate. But if I have learned anything this transfer, it has been to Trust in God. He's watching out for all of us, so why not just trust him. I have faith all will be okay. There's a quote that has gotten me through quite a lot so far, it is: "I can do hard things." Every time I have to face a challenge, and I am tempted to quit, I think of this saying. It gives me strength to hold on that much longer, and every time I do, something amazing always happens. So my word of advice. When life gets too hard to stand...kneel.- President Gordon B. Hinkley.

I love being out here, tuffest thing I have yet to do, but I know its worth it!

Thats about all for this week, love you all!

Yours Truly,
Sister Amy Hall

What a crazy week last week was! I couldn't help but close my eyes last night and smile, thinking of all that happened. So Last Monday we took a tour at the Cheese Factory with all the Missionaries in our area, there were 12 of us there and President Chappell, who is one of our Mission President's counselors, is a top gun at the plant and gave us a personal tour. For missionaries, this was an exciting time haha. We took great pictures all decked out in hard hats, protective smocks, booties, and safety glasses. We looked stellar! I also got to play basketball last Monday for the first time out in the field : ) I forgot how much I love that sport!! I definitely had fun, but payed for it by being wicked sore 2 days after lol. Tuesday, Sister Oswald and I got to drive to Portales (20 min) to do exchanges with the sisters there. It was great trying out a new area and getting to spend time with a different companion for a day, No worries though, I still Love Sister Oswald : ) But a change now and then is fun! We got to spend the night there and half of Wednesday. It was Sister Oswalds Birthday Wednesday as well! We kept busy and did the usual Missionary work right up till 7pm when we got hit with a crazy storm! Since us missionaries were already at the church, and it was a tornado warning we decided that was probably the safest place for us! We took a ton of pictures of the wind and rain coming down, got really intense for a bit : D. The streets flooded in minutes cuz there is no way to drain here. The storm lasted all night so we ended up celebrating Sister O's Bday at the church haha. It was a pretty fun night, kinda crazy tho, storms here are way more intense than back home : ). Don't worry Mom all's good! Thursday the usual happened, it was a great solid work day to do service projects and got a lot done.

Friday was insane, we had to be up by 5:30am to drive to Lubbock so that Sis O could go to her Training Meeting and I got to go on Exchanges with Sister Olsen, my MTC companion, as well as another sister (Smith). It was a cool experience working with her investigators and learning new ways to teach. I think one of my favorite parts of being a missionary is learning something new every day. I always am able to see some way that I can improve or apply myself in a different way. Its awesome. We were back by 5:30pm, just in time to get some paper work from our apartment, and go to our investigators house to fill it out. We had to meet the mission president at the church at 6 for an interview. Things worked out and we made it on time!

Saturday Morning was the best yet. I feel so blessed to have had the experience that we had. Henoc, one of our investigators, was baptized! Its my first baptism that I've been a part of, and I can't describe how it feels. I know it wasn't anything I did, simply I know that I was blessed with the opportunity to be an instrument in God's hands at this time. Saturday was incredible. Sunday even more so when He was Confirmed. Its been the craziest of weeks, but amid that craziness, we saw miracles happen!
Transfers are coming this weekend, we find out what happens, and before I was pretty nervous, but now I trust that I will go where I need to go (or stay), and I will have the companion I need to have. All is well! I love being here, things got hard for a bit with everything happening at home, but I have found a lot of peace. Its helped me forget myself, and do the work that God needs me to do.

I think of everyone back home often, your in my prayers always. Remember that I love you, I'm still me, just with a new focus and purpose, and never felt more happy in my life...even though I'm surrounded by giant deer ticks, cockroaches and spiders....pray for me?

I'm thankful for your emails today, the family has been in my prayers more than usual because of the events of last week. I was definitely sad to hear that Uncle Leland passed away, it was really hard not to be there with you all to help out and be a support. I was struggling the day I found out, trying my very hardest to tuck my feelings away into a corner of my mind, but it was impossible. I finally had to go into my study room in the apartment, and say a prayer. This was what I needed the most. You cannot tell me God does not hear our prayers, I know with all my soul that He heard me. As I poured out my heart to Him, I felt at first all alone, sad, lost, and amid a dark cloud trying to pull me down. But as I spoke I began to feel the cloud disperse and feel a light begin to form. We are not alone, our Savior is with us every step of the way. His condenscention has made it possible for hime to feel everything we feel, both the good and the bad. He had to dip below everything, so that he could raise us up, what a comfort to me that He is with us, and can help us when we ask. In the scriptures we are told to be like a child, humble and submissive, willing for Him to lead us by the hand. Well, I had a neat experience this Sunday that helped me understand this so much better.

The Elders in our Ward brought a wonderful young mother to Church, she's been seeing missionaries for 6 years, but has never been to church until this last sunday. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and she sat patiently attending to her children until the very last speaker. Then she stood up and carried her 2 year old daughter with her to the pulpit. Her name is Lee Georgia, with a magnetic smile and the brightest eyes you've ever seen. She begin her testimony by thanking the missionaries for all we do, and for being persistant. She expressed her gratitude to the ward for the warmth and welcoming love she felt. The moment she walked in the doors, members left and right were trying to shake her hand and get to know her. In her testimony she explained how she and her little family had next to nothing, other than the clothes on their backs. They had been kicked out of their apartment and couldn't take any of their belongings with them. She also told us how it has been 10 years since she has come to church and that she has never felt more at home. Her sweet sincere testimony touched many hearts today. Later on Her little 2 year old, Zada Rose was walking around the Chappel, I was able to walk beside her and make sure she was safe and that she didn't get lost or into trouble : ) As I walked beside her I watched over her, and followed where she wanted to go, even though I knew she should head back to her mom soon. She then sat down on a bench sighed and looked up at me, I asked her, "are you ready to follow me?" and she smiled grabbed my hand and we walked back. We are much like this sweet daughter, In a way we are all like little toddlers trying to make it through life, we get so busy and stuck doing 'our agenda,' things like work, school, responsibilities..etc that we forget to look to our Savior and see where it is that He wants us to go and where He needs us. We need to remember to look up, and ask where it is we are needed, so that He can reach out His hand to lead us.

This week I'm really excited for. Our Investigator Henoc Mendoza is being Baptised this Friday, I'll include more details next week. We are so excited, there is a lot of good that has happened because of his faith. His family is being blessed every day! I'm grateful to be here and lov emy mission.

Sister Hall

Things out here have been pretty good the work is going steady and the sun is getting hotter and hotter every day. I finally learned my lesson of not wearing sunscreen because after 3 hours of walking last Saturday, I got a wicked good sunburn! My Farmers Tan is officially here! A cool story came from it tho! While we were out walking it got hot and we were thirsty. We'd already been outside for 2 hours and started realizing that we needed water, I was silently praying that we would run into someone who could give us water lol. The thought came to visit Melinda, an awesome lady who loves having the missionaries come by. She always gives us water and has a big heart! Well we walk there and her car wasn't in the driveway...sad face! Instead of knocking we kept going, but not 4 steps away from her yard, she suddenly opens her door and calls us over! What a blessing! Apparently her Boyfriend drove her Car that day! She let us in, gave us water and homemade tortillas, which were awesome! Just goes to show God is always watching out for us. She sent us on our way with our tortilla's and water, and we were super happy! We compared it to Moses and the Children of Israel getting 'Manna from Heaven,' and 'water from a stone'! lol it was a cool experience. Because of all the heat though we've also had a couple storms come through. Luckily Clovis is kind of the outskirts of EVERYTHING. We get a lot of wind, but only a tiny bit of rain and bad storms. We were under a tornado watch one of the days which was cool, but nothing ended up happening. They coolest things we see are huge dust devils, they go about 40 ft in the air and swirl just like a tornado, I took an awesome video the other day so hopefully one day I'll get to share it!

The members here are taking great care of us still, plenty of meals, and so many willing to work with us on missionary work. A new family to Clovis has only been here 8 weeks and already have someone they want to give a Book of Mormon too, and to have at there house for a discussion soon. Its incredibly humbling to work with great people who love the gospel and are not afraid to share it with those around them. Being a follower of Christ I think it is so important to look for ways to uplift people around us. Its something I want to be better at, looking for ways to serve others and show them I love them.

Mission life is hard, hardest thing I've ever done, and at times I miss home and everyone there more than I thought possible. But I've also never done anything more worth it in my life. Being able to see the Light of Christ shine in someone's eyes who never knew the gospel, or even knew how believing in Jesus Christ could bring so much hope and peace into their lives is what makes it all worth it.

Its a lot of work, but we have a lot of fun too! Thinking of everyone back home...Especially the Hall family. My heart breaks after hearing Uncle Leland passed away, I wish I could be there with everyone. Give Grandma Hall a Big hug for me, tell her I love her. Family is so precious, its one of the greatest blessings God has given us, I'm thankful for mine every day. I better close. Hope everyone has a great week!

Love
Sister Hall.

This is my second cousin Elder Ethan  Rodriguez.  We met for the first time at a Zone meeting in Roswell, New Mexico.