Buenas Tardes!! :)

February 9, 2015

Hola Amigos,

Man another week is already done with! This one went by especially fast! And because EVERYONE who wrote me this week mentioned it I guess I mine as well mention it here this week marks the week where I only lack 6 months from going home! I am trying not to count and you all keep reminding me! I guess it is time to teach a word that is pretty common here in the mission field! Here would be a general definition of the word Trunky- To be thinking about home, worldly things, ex girlfriends (dear johns are the worst for trunkiness), counting down days, constantly viewing pictures of familiy and friends, and just any kind of form of thinking that may or may not put a missionary into a depressed/nostalgic state of mind. There are two kinds of trunky though, there would be missionary trunky and then familiy trunky where everyone talks about how little time you have left and tells you how much they can{t wait for you to be home! haha Everyone don´t too trunky yet, I still lack a bunch of time! :) 

This week was an alright one, we are still chugging along trying to finish dang temporada (tourist season) all of the investigators that we had have dropped us until march because they are just so busy, and half the contacts we do are people here on vacation that really don´t want to listen to us, and the other half are people here that say to come back in march! So we are struggling a little bit, never the less the Lord still blesses us with just enough people to talk with to keep us from getting down and to keep things progressing! After talking with the offices they told me that they lack another week and a half to have the contract finished on the new chapel! So we continually pray that the Lord will help things go through like we want them inorder to get our place here in San Clemente the soonest posible! 

The weather has been nice and warm, well actually roasting and humid these last two weeks, but the coast is still 500 times better than Buenos Aires if we are talking weather wise! :) 

Also for a little update on Spegazzini, things seem to be going very well for the Silva and 

I think one of the biggest things that I am learning these days is just to be thankful for everything! I realized our lives are a lot better and a lot happier when we are thankful. I try to look at the good in whatever I can, and it is something that personally I struggle with. Sometimes I may joke and point out lots of negative things and I am realizing that is not what I want to be nor who I need to be! So my goal this week is to be positive in all moments even if I am only joking around! I am sure I will see a difference and because I am a missionary and have the opportunity to invite others to make their lives better I want to invite you all to do the same! It´s like a great scripture from Matthew 5:14-16! 

 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

I hope we can all be a light in the dark world that we live in! :) Have a great week everyone! :) 

Elder Hall  

Buenas Tardes :)

February 2, 2015

Hey Everybody! 

Well I gotta start this letter off letting you all know that after 17 months of writing an general email and hand putting in all of the addresses I learned that our missionary gmail has a contacts deal where you can make groups so it makes it so much faster! And there are some other people that I have only written a few times that I thought I lost your email, so now everyone address that I have stored in my gmail I put on the blast list! Why I didn´t figure this out sooner I don´t know.... 

This week we had a good week, the real estate office finished the contract for our the place where we are going to rent for the church, and now we are just waiting on the churches lawyer to approve it, and then President Thurgood has to sign it, and it is ours! We are so excited, I just hope that we are in it by the end of the month. It needs a little bit of work to get it ready for church meetings, and we have transfers the 23 of February. An interesting fact is that tons of missionaries are going home the next 2-3 transfers and there aren´t to many coming in. So they have said that there are tons of missionaries who are going to be doing white washes (where they put two missionaries in an area at the same time, and they dont know anyone or anything) and they are going to have to close a few areas. So it means that those who get transfered will stay in their areas for longer periods of time with out changing companions, and I have 3 transfers here, so it is likely that they take me out. I am praying that I get to stay here, I love my companion and I love San Clemente, and it is finally getting set up to have alot of success! But hey it´s all in the hands of the Lord. 

In my personal studies I have been studying el Libro de Mormón, and the New Testament (all in spanish) and I just love the scriptures I started the book of Acts this last week and I absolutely love it. There is so much that we can learn from the members of the Primitive Church (the mormon term for the church Christ established while he was on the earth) and the Apostles...wow. It amazes me the things that they did and the way that they did them. Although I am no where near being an Apostle like those great men of old, I am a missionary and for these two years I have the same responsibilty to preach the gospel, and invite others to come unto Christ. As I study the scriptures I learn so much, and I am starting to truly appreciate the blessings I recieve from studying the scriptures. 

I want to thank everyone from my ward and stake back home for the 40 day fast for missionary work that they have been doing, and for all of you who constantly pray for me and my areas and my investigators. I want to let all you know how much these prayers and fasts help, and that I feel the power of them, and have seen the miracles that have came because of the heartfelt prayers from each one of you. It makes  me so happy to know that I have people (a really long ways a way) that still look out and care for me and for those I teach. It means the world to me. We truly don´t understand how blessed we are, and the number of people that are looking out for us even when we don´t realize it. 

I love you all, I love the work I am doing, and I love my Savior. Although I fail Him alot, and I am no where near the missionary that I should be, I still feel His love and I feel the power of His Atonement making me stronger and stronger with everyday that passes. We should trust in Him and our Heavenly Father alot more, I know that if we do our lives will be alot better. I´m just thankful to know what I know, and to be able to share it with others!  Hope you all have a great week! 

Elder Hall 

What a Rollercoaster! :)

January 26, 2015

Hola Queridos Familiares y Amigos, 

We had a rollercoaster of a week, that in the end was a great one! We started out the week with our interviews on tuesday with Presidente, and then on wednesday morning we went to the temple! It was so great to go to the temple. It had been almost a year since I had gone, and it was so nice to be able to go and just enjoy the peace and the spirit that seems to only exist in the temple. I am so thankful for these sacred places, and for the opportunities that we have as God´s children to connect with Him in a place that is so wonderful. I had the opportunity to just sit and pray for a good time and I had such a sense of peace and hope that came over me not only for my family but for my converts, and for those I am teaching here in San Clemente! I have also set the personal goal to make sure that this one year period in between temple visits is the longest I have in my life. We all can become much better people, and have the spirit with us much more if we attended the temple more regularly. 

When we got back from Buenos Aires, my companion wasn´t feeling very well, and when we woke up the next morning he was sick... had a crazy cold that was almost like the flu. So we stayed home all day! Then friday he was feeling a little better so we went and finished painting the sisters house! (FINALLY! haha) and then in the afternoon we had meetings at the church. So we went all the way over to Santa Teresita, and we had a great meeting with our Branch Mission Leader and his wife the Relief Society President, we made plans to go visit people and it was great. Then right afterwards we had Branch Council. It was a disaster... Ugh. When we got back to San Clemente I literally just wanted to cry because I was frustrated, and didn´t know what to do. We are trying to work with the leaders more, but it has just been a little rough.

The next morning we get up and I was still a little down, and Presidente Thurgood called us. I am not going to lie the first thought that crossed my mind when he said he had some announcements for us is that they were going to close San Clemente, and we were going to be headed to different areas. Well thankfully I was dead wrong. The finally recieved the authorization to rent a place here in San Clemente so that we can open up a small chapel to start things up again!! 

I went from one extreme to the other! I almost couldn´t reply to president because I was so choked up from the happiness that I felt. After more then 3 months of fasting, prayers, and alot of work not only on our part but on the part of the members as well, the Lord answered our prayers. I can not tell you how big of a blessing this truely is for all of us here in San Clemente. We announced it to the members in a big text message last night, and they are all so excited. I want to first express how thankful I am to know that God truly hears and answers our prayers, and how thankful I am for all of the prayers that you all offered on our behalf. I am so excited to see the changes this brings to the area, and we hope to have it running in about a month! 

So it was a week of ups and downs but as always in the mission, the ups outweigh the downs and make everything worth it. Keep the faith! 

Elder Hall 

 Heading to the temple! Then with our entire district outside! 

Hola Amigos!

January 19, 2015

Hey Everybody!

Alright so I am pretty short on my weekly letter time, I had to do some other stuff on the computer to prepare for my district meeting, and so it cut into my writing time! This week has been a great week! My new companion E. Ridgley is awesome, and we have enjoyed working together so much and it has only been a week! So I am so excited to be able to work with during this next transfer! 

This week we spent alot of time looking for new investigators and exploring the area! One fo the best things about having a new companion (and especially a companion like E. Ridgley) is that you can try new things, and just start doing a bunch of new stuff to start the area up. I was about dead after we road our bikes like 6 miles in one afternoon, but the great thing is we were able to find some new investigators in areas that most missionaries have never touched! 

I am super excited because tomorrow morning we leave for Buenos Aires then we have interviews, our district meeting, and then on wednesday morning we get to go to the temple! I am so excited, I feel like it has been so long since I have been to the temple! (Almost a year now.) And I personally have set the goal that this will be the longest time I will ever go in my life with out going to the temple! 

Things are going good here in San Clemente, we take every day one step at a time, and little by little we are helping to change the hearts of the members and look for those special sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father that He has been preparing to recieve the Gospel. I hope your all doing great, and just one more time I want to share my testimony and express how greatful and happy I am to be here taking part in this marvelous work here in Argentina! Have a great week! :) 

Elder Hall 

PS. I attached a few photos of the wedding from last week! :) And of course the cake!! 

My awesome new companion Elder Ridgley! We have had so much fun, and it has only been a week! We cut our hair last night and this morning! He is a crack up, and the only problem that we seem to have is that we talk to much! (We both are ADD, and let me tell you some times our nightly planning sessions are all over the place!) We have had to buckle down and work, and then when we finish what we have to do start talking! I am pretty sure he is going to be one of my favorite companions! 

 I had a District Leader training in Banfield on Friday, but instead of traveling we did it over Google Hangouts (Like Skype)  and of the 7 hours I understood about 20 minutes. Lots of bad internet connection and people not talking loud enough! And while I did that my companion received revelation like Lehi in the Book of Mormon! hahaha 

TRANSFER WEEK! :)

January 12, 2015

Hey Everybody! 

Well as you all read in the title today is transfers! Yesterday at 2:30 in the afternoon Elder Racchumi and a few of the other Elders from here in the coast jumped on a bus and headed to Buenos Aires, meanwhile Elder Medina and I hung out here in San Clemente waiting for our new companions! It is a bittersweet feeling when transfers come around and you enjoy working with your companion, these last two transfers have been alot of fun and I learned alot from E. Racchumi. I am gonna miss the guy, but I also know that changes are always for the better in the mission because I know it is the Lord who leads and directs this work! 

My new companion is Elder Ridgley from Riverside, California! My second Yankee, and my second from California. He just hit his year mark this last transfer and is 20 years old. I never knew him personally  but have heard a lot of good things about him so I am super excited! 

This last week was great because we were able to celebrate the wedding of Alejandro and Sylvia! On friday morning they got married in Registro Civil (Its like the office of the goverment that deals with govt ID, and marriages!) and then afterwards we went to their house to eat a ton of empanadas, and of course Wedding Cake! The only catch is that I made the wedding cake, (with the help of my companion and a sister in the ward!) I decided I am the only loco who would commit himself to making a wedding cake, and let me tell you all it turned out almost professional! The only bummer is that I can´t send pictures this week, so next week I will send them all!) 

I am holding out the faith that Alejandro will continue to have the desires to get baptized, but the thing is him and his wife are kinda crazy. hahaha (I know that sounds mean but it is true, I say it in a nice way.) They tend to change their minds alot, so the most important thing for now is that they got married and are now obeying one of the most important commandements of the Lord, the law of Chastity. I felt happy knowing that I was able to play a role in helping them come unto Christ in that way. It is interesting all of the different ways that we as missionaries can apply ourselves! 

We are trying our best here in San Clemente to help out the members and to strengthen the leadership in our branch, one of my biggest goals is to help the branch start running smoother and get the leaders to play a more active role, because when we have that we will then have the help of the leaders here in San Clemente. So we will see what the new companionship brings and what we can accomplish in this next transfer! 

Hope everyone is doing great! Love you guys!

Elder Hall 

Chau 2014, Bienvenido 2015! :)

January 5, 2015

Well Queridos another year has come and gone! Like you all already know 2014 was by far the fastest year of my life and I imagine a good part of 2015 will be even faster! What an amazing year it truly has been filled with challenges like any other year, but I honestly feel that for me and the majority of those that I am closest too it has been a year filled with lots of blessings, more then any of us could ever count!

Here in San Clemente we had a great week, and we had the best way to start off the first sunday of the year....with an inactive sister and her nonmember boyfriend (of like 20 years) at church! POR FIN!!!! :) After more then a month and a half with only having 1 or 2 members in total from church, ( and those 2 being the most active of all the members in San Clemente) we were able to get an inactive sister Hermana Silvia, and Alejandro who we have been teaching the lessons too. The other news that is really exciting is that they are going to be getting married this friday, and if hermano Alejandro is able to stop smoking and continues progressing will be baptized at the end of the month! Couldn{t have asked for a better way to start off 2015! 

Everything is getting so busy here we are in full on ¨Temporada¨(season) and it is full of toursists! One fun thing that happened to us today is that we were able to be tourists today, because we went to Mundo Marino (Argentine Sea World)! If I am being honest it was kinda lame in comparison to the Sea World in San Diego, but it still is amazing to watch the animals perform and the majesty of some of God´s Creations that often times we don´t think about because we only see them in books or movies, (or when we go to sea world haha). I think the best part though was getting to see the reaction of the three other missionaries with me. E. Santos from Brazil and E. Racchumi and Rios from Peru had never seen anything like it so for them it was awesome! :) 

Honestly I am just so happy to be here in the mission, even with the hard times I am finally starting to understand why they call it the best two years! Love you all! Have a great week! 

Elder Hall 

(If you all notice even my name tag made it into the pic! Who would have thought missionaries could be Dolphin Trainers!!) haha

 New Year´s Eve with our Branch Presidente and his wife! We did a traditional Argentine Salud at midnight (with sparkling cider! haha) And we ate so much! (Imagine that! haha) 

Mundo Marino!

 Dolphin and Shamu Show, (theirs is names shemwah or something like that!) 

A little piece of home that I found in a restaurant today! haha :)

Feliz Año Nuevo!

December 29, 2014

Hey Everybody! 

What a great week! We really enjoyed ourselves Christmas eve with the two other elders from Santa Teresita who came to celebrate with us, we made an argentine asado, and were able to finish the night off on the roof of our four story apartment building watching the fireworks at midnight! Then on Christmas day, words can't even describe how happy I was to be able to talk with my family! It is crazy to me how much the kids have grown in the last 6 months, and the way things change! It is always the hardest thing to hit the little red button to end the call! 

As we sit here at the very edge of 2014 I look back on this year of my life as a year of so much change, growth, struggle, and just amazingness. Everyday I am reminded of a merciful God who loves us and wants us to do our best, and everyday I am reminded of the strength of the adversary and his wicked desires to bring us down. Just days away from 2015 I hope that each one of us can make the commitment to be a little bit better, to strive a little harder, and to make 2015 the year that we give our hearts to the Lord. With every year that passes we get closer and closer to the long awaited second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and each year we have more and more reasons to strengthen ourselves and our families spiritually and physically for the challenges of the world. 

I believe that 2015 will be a hard year for many people, but I also believe it will be a year full of hope and new beginnings for many. It is my prayer that for all those that I love and care for and for myself, that we can work together to change the world around us. It will only be through our small and simple actions that we change the lives of others, and that we will change our lives. For the last time during 2014 I want to bare my testimony to you all that Christ is our Savior, He suffered and died so that each of us could live and better our lives. I try to be as much like Him as I can, and it is hard to look back at the times that have failed Him, but it is through our mistakes that we get better, and we gain the experiences we need. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only church upon the face of the earth where we can find and receive all of the ordinances necessary for our salvation, and that it was restored by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I am so thankful for this gospel and the blessings that I receive everyday from it. 

I want you all to know that I love you guys, and I think about you all, all the time. Have a very happy new year, and may God bless us all during this new year! 

Elder Hall 

 We had a christmas party/Family home evening with our members from San Clemente, it was alot of fun! :) It was funny because both my family and my companion´s family said we were getting fat, we both realized it when we took this picture! haha

 This was the raw meat that we baught for our Argentine Christmas Eve Asado! :) A seasoned meat is a happy meat! Cooking the traditional way! 

 Chorizo, and chicken! We ate SOO much christmas eve! haha 

I learned how to make a traditional argentine sweet bread, that they eat at christmas! It is called ¨Pan Dulce¨!