What a WEEK! I don't know how Sister Barlow and I fit everything we do into a day. To elaborate I want to illustrate what my day usually consists of here in Lubbock:

6:20am-wake up/bathroom (TMI?? :) )

6:30am- work out

7:00am-get ready/breakfast

8:00am-study

9:00am-companionship study

10:00am-phone time/contacting people or Contacting on Texas Tech Campus

11:00am-lunch

12:00am-lesson

1:00pm-6:00pm lessons with investigators or recently baptized members

7:00pm (dinner if we get to it) or Lessons

8:00pm lessons with less active members or lesson with investigators.

9:00pm make plans for the next day (goals)

10:00pm updating our records

10:30pm fall into bed.

Its a PACKED DAY everyday. I don't know how we do it all other than to say that God really blesses us! Last week our ward had a record teaching experience. Between the 3 sets of missionaries serving in the student ward we had 32 Lessons with members at the lesson. That is insane. We are teaching so many great people. I don't share this to boast but to just help people get an insight into how God is really helping us work harder and opening more doors. The work is definitely hastening! Really amazing to be apart of it.

Some highlights from this week are that I met

a Canadian Sister Missionary FINALLY. I've been the only Canadian Sister my whole mission, we just got a new one from Edmonton last transfer and I got a picture with her : ). Her name is Sister Oviate. I also saw Miss Lindsey Blumell! We ran into eachother on campus. How funny. Two people from little ole Rosemary, Alberta in the same city! Loved it!

I had a great Easter weekend...we did missionary work lol. I got some extremely nice things from my family so that was awesome! I love it here in Lubbock, the people are definitely smart and its forcing me to dig way deeper into the scriptures than ever, but its great! I'm scuba diving- as sister Lori Hall used to say : )

Hope you all know how much I love you. and also, next time you have a dust storm, just remember little sister Hall and sympathize with her...it SO WINDY AND DUSTY here haha. 

 
love

Sister hall

Hellooooo!

Well its been a full on week, the University ward I am in is a BUSY area, we teach a ton and contact on the campus all day long. My days have been packed, sometimes even taking up our dinner hour. I love every minute of it. Its an adjustment for sure to be teaching young single adults and not families, but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be. My new companion is Sister Barlow from Syracuse, UT, she's 20 and came out the transfer after I did. We get a long smashing and she is a way hard worker! We talked about our gifts of the spirit and how we teach, she is super faithful and bold, and I am gentle and loving haha so we balance one another nicely. I'm learning more about being bold with love and its increasing my confidence each time we teach! Last friday we taught 5 lessons and all of them we basically in the same area of the university, we would finish a lesson, pray say goodbye and then the next person showed up. Incredible!! 

Lubbock is DEFINITELY in the Bible belt, people here are so smart when it comes to the scriptures and its humbling to get to teach such great people. They ask more questions than I have ever thought of in my life- so its been stretching me, but also helping me gain more knowledge and a stronger testimony. I'm loving this area a lot, its so different, but great. Already I've discovered something about my purpose for why I'm here. Its to "be, rather than just seem."

Its easy to look like your doing the right thing, to look like you have a testimony, but if we don't become the very thing we believe (become like Christ...at least try) then we are merely going through the motions. This idea of being and not seeming came from a missionary meeting last week and its really stuck with me. I want to BE not seem, Do not just appear. How do we do this? We live the gospel, love others, keep commandments- not because we are told, but because we love God and it brings so much joy to our lives. IF we BECOME then we will serve others out of love and not to be praised, we will go out of our way to lift others burdens, out of genuine sympathy/empathy, not because its what we should do. Also, when temptations come you'll say no, not because " I can't" or "shouldn't but because we don't want to. Be dont just seem...Something to ponder.

Love you all the way from Texas!

Sister Hall

pics-goodbye NM

One of the fam's from my old area...hard to say goodbye!

Another favorite from Roswell <3  

Well I'll be saying good bye not only to Roswell tomorrow, but also to New Mexico! I will finally be a Texas Lubbock Missionary!!! I'm getting transferred to Lubbock, Texas to serve in a College ward which will be incredibly challenging and exciting! Texas Tech University is the campus we work on so get ready, I might become a Texas fan yet. I'm really grateful for the lessons God has been teaching me lately. Something I'm learning is that God really does love us. He does want us to be happy and all the things we go through is for a reason. I was thinking about how sometimes we feel alone, and unloved, or that God...if he even exists is cruel. I would challenge you if any of these ideas run through your minds to take this invitation to heart. Get on your knees...ask God three things. Are you there? Do you Love me? Did my Savior really overcome these trials for me? I promise he will answer. In a very real way I felt this answer come to me. Read Matt 26:39; Luke 22:40-44; Matt27:46; and then ask, did he endure that So that I could be happy? He really did, in truth He would have gone through all he did if only one of us would have believed in him. I know that is true. I know he loves us, and that ultimate eternal expression of love is the way we can return to live with God!

its true. If you don't know ask.
Love you All!
Sister Hall

Being Transfered

Well I'll be saying good bye not only to Roswell tomorrow, but also to New Mexico! I will finally be a Texas Lubbock Missionary!!! I'm getting transferred to Lubbock, Texas to serve in a College ward which will be incredibly challenging and exciting! Texas Tech University is the campus we work on so get ready, I might become a Texas fan yet. I'm really grateful for the lessons God has been teaching me lately. Something I'm learning is that God really does love us. He does want us to be happy and all the things we go through is for a reason. I was thinking about how sometimes we feel alone, and unloved, or that God...if he even exists is cruel. I would challenge you if any of these ideas run through your minds to take this invitation to heart. Get on your knees...ask God three things. Are you there? Do you Love me? Did my Savior really overcome these trials for me? I promise he will answer. In a very real way I felt this answer come to me. Read Matt 26:39; Luke 22:40-44; Matt27:46; and then ask, did he endure that So that I could be happy? He really did, in truth He would have gone through all he did if only one of us would have believed in him. I know that is true. I know he loves us, and that ultimate eternal expression of love is the way we can return to live with God!

its true. If you don't know ask.
Love you All!
Sister Hall

Another Great Week Down in the Texas Lubbock Mission!

I was blessed to get to stay in Roswell, New Mexico for another Transfer with my companion, Sister Plante. We were extremely excited to hear that we were staying because SO MUCH IS HAPPENING : )...also we truly are loving it here. We are working with some great people, and we just had stake conference that really got the members of the ward excited to do missionary work! Its exciting to get to go into their homes and challenge them to do missionary work, motivate them, and encourage them. Miracles are happening too! its not enough for missionaries to be sharing the gospel alone anymore, the members have an equally important role to play in sharing this important incredible message of hope and joy!

When was the last time you really thought about why you are happy? What makes you happy? How can you be happier? A young women in the ward we are in pointed out the scripture in the Book of Mormon to me the other day, Alma 41:10 (scripture mastery yo.) which says "wickedness never was happiness." Our choices greatly affect our lives, that is why the message we have about the restored gospel is SO important. It helps us LIVE the gospel, love God and Jesus Christ more, love others more, and to have greater peace in our homes and families than we ever could without. I have seen this first hand so many times. When we do right, we feel joy, peace, and confidence...when we choose things that take us further from God, thats when we aren't happy. Something to think about. This alone should motivate us to share what we know : )
IF you haven't heard about the church...ask someone you know who is a member, or a missionary. Its not scary PROMISE! : ) Our message CAN bless your life in so many ways.

Okay... well I guess to update on my life as a missionary these days, All I can say is that its busy. Your up at 6:30, you pray, exercise, get ready, study, then work till 10:30pm, pray, sleep and do it again! It doesn't sound like much, but that time between 10:00 am and 9:00 pm that we are out working has been changing my life. We were out working one day and had the feeling to go knock on a couple doors. we met a woman who has been struggling with the burdens that many people face. Sometimes we reach our breaking point, and she was close. We shared our simple but clear and powerful message of the restoration of the gospel, and tears filled her eyes. She thanked and hugged us with more sincerity than I have ever felt. This message is so important.

I hope you all know how much I love you! I miss everyone back home a lot, but this is worth it!

Love Sister Hall

spring is here

ps. spring is here...which means blossoms on trees<3, and...the bugs are back : (

Short one today since I left this with 3 minutes left of emailing. woops. don't hate.

this weeks been a good one, lots of good stuff happening. The most powerful experience had to be when we took a member out with us to teach a lesson. The lady we went to see was sick so we couldn't teach the lesson. As we walked away, a young man came walking by, we talked to him for a few minutes, gave him a card with our number and walked away. Yesterday in sacrament, the member who was with us shared his version of what happened. When we were talking with the guy, he was smoking a cigarette and he purposefully blew the smoke in our direction as we talked to him. There was no wind so it should have blown right in our faces. Just before it would have hit us tho, it suddenly shifted and was blown in a different direction and avoided us...without any wind. Just goes to show that God really is protecting us. This moment helped this member decide that He really did need to go on a mission. I love these experiences and being apart of a work so much bigger than myself.

Keep the faith all, "when life gets too hard to stand, kneel." President Gordon B. Hinkley.

Love

Sister Hall 

We've been having a wonderful busy week, and have had lots of adventures! I'm still tired from it all and trying to recover, I'm so happy we have pday to kind of reset. We did a lot of traveling with meetings and exchanges, over all I drove about 700 miles in 3 days. SO FUN. We went down to Hobbs, Carlsbad, and Lubbock then back to Hobbs, and finally Roswell. It feels so good to be back. We have been seeing so many Miracles!!! I feel like new years really helps people open up and they are much more relaxed than in the holidays. Its been wonderful! We are gearing up for transfers this week, I honestly don't know what is going to happen, Sister Muaina is done training next week, so one of us could leave : ( I would be really sad cuz she is wonderful, we really work well together, but I also know that what ever happens it is inspired so all is well. I love being on a mission!

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years...If your looking for some inspiration. Look this up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZij9MSTRI

Don't look back, look forwards! who's to say the future isn't going to get better than the past!
Love you Always,

Sister Hall