Pictures from Week 2 in Villa Espana

 This is at the MTC in Buenos Aires, it is next to the Temple.

 At the Buenos Aires Temple Grounds

 With Sebastein at the Temple (his is scheduled to baptize him on Saturday!)

 Yo y Emillano (he was in the hospital with appendicitis) they are teaching his family.

Elder Hall & Elder Garcia at the Rio de la Plata

!2 Meses en La Mision!

¿Que Tal Amigos y Familia?

Ustedes puedan creer, yo estoy aqui en la mision for 2 mezes! ¡Esta Loco! Can you guys believe I have been in the mission for 2 months already! It is crazy! I can not believe how fast time flies by! It feels like an eternity since I have seen everyone but it feels like just yesterday I got here! I don´t know how to describe it! 

This week was more of a week of adjustment for me. The newness is starting to wear off and I am getting more comfortable with being in the mission. So Elder Garcia and I are really starting to learn to work together because I am offering my own ways of how to do stuff! It isn´t easy trying to  adjust to a whole new culture, a new language, and just the life of a missionary! But I am loving it, the Lord is always strengthening his missionaries, and I am so greatful for that! I am adjusting pretty well, and just kinda going along with things, and learning more each and everyday! 

I am growing to love the people here so much, they really are starting to become extensions of my family, and the members here have done so much, and are so nice to welcome me in, and help me with the language and everything. I will be forever greatful to the people of Villa España for helping to make my first area so great, and I really hope I get to stay here for at least one more transfer or more. I am finally starting to know the area, and the people, and I am not ready to be transfered in a few weeks! 

This was another great week here in Argentina! We were able to contact some people on the street wich is pretty rare here! And we also kept ourselves busy teaching! On Saturday we had the opportunity to attend the temple in Buenos Aires, which is about an hour trip from where I am here in Villa España! The Rama (branch) went, and we also had an investigator accompany us! Elder Garcia and I put together a small devotional for the members who could not enter the temple yet, and then we had some time to just walk around and partake of the spirit that is there on the temple grounds. I actually had a moment where I got a little emotional, because I felt so at home. Even though I am 6000 miles away from my real home, I was on the grounds of the house of my Father in Heaven. I was reminded again of the special blessing that we have, to have temples here on this earth where we can recieve those special blessings, and make those covenants that can only be made in the House of the Lord. 

If all goes as planned we will be having a baptismal service on Saturday for one our investigators Sebastien. Sebastien is 10 years old, and has become like an Argentine little brother for me! He loves to mess with the white boy who can´t speak spanish, and has been alot of fun to teach! Something really cool is he asked me to baptize him! So I was pretty humbled to have this experience within my first month of being in Argentina! It is such an amazing experience to watch people come into the church, and help them experience the spirit in their lives. We are just praying that all goes well, and we are able to do it this saturday! 

Overall another great week in Villa España, the work is progressing, maybe not quite as fast as we would like, but we are just reminded we are on the Lord´s time and we will do whatever we need to, and when he is ready everything will fall into place! 

Con Amor,

Elder Hall

The Rat That Didn't Get Away!

(10/22/13 Elder Hall emailed home for a quick minute because he had finished his online training they had to do & he had a few extra minutes & since they didn't have much time on pday he wanted to send another story & a picture of the firefighters from the last email!)

I swear it is always something! I didnt even get to talk about killing the rat at our Branch Mission Leaders house! It was hilarious we had to tear apart his entire apartment and then couldn´t find the mouse anywhere. Well he opens up a cabinet that we had already checked and the mouse jumps out, and runs across right in front of me so I jump then it gets trapped inside of the kitchen which is about the size of my closet at home! So I take a broomstick and then basically spear it! Then we all just started laughing because it was so funny! 

(Ok for those of you that know Elder Hall, you are cracking up right now because you can see him & his Brennen ninja skills (NOT!) anyway this cracked me up because he really isn't so skilled at things like this, but its awesome to laugh & hear his stories!)

The Rat Slayer (looks like a tiny mouse to me!)

Elder Garcia with the poor sad little mouse

¡Saludos de Argentina!

Hola Mi Amigos y Familia,

¡Saludos de 6000 mias! I hope all is well back home! Things are going great here in Argentina, I really am enjoying it here and loving the area that I am in! We are staying busy, but have had a difficult week getting into appointments! Tons of people are canceling or not showing, but we did manage to get another baptismal date so we are up to four of them. 2 of them I am almost am certain will progress to baptism the first part of november, the other two are progressing just not quite as fast so we will have to see! 

We are teaching a partial member family who have like 10 people who live in one house it is the grandparents some of their kids, and then grandkids as well! Well I found a little girl who I swear is the Argentine version of Laynee! She is about 4 years old and her name is Florencia, but they call her Flopy! This little girl is a crack up! She doesn´t not stop talking at all...and then she doesn´t understand that I don´t understand spanish yet, and so she just looks at me like ¨´hello are you stupid..¨ It is so funny, and I wish I could talk to her better! 

This week we also have been helping this 85ish year old widow. You wanna talk about funny. This sweet old lady stands about 4 and a half foot, and when she starts talking I can´t understand hardly anything, because it is so fast and then she will just start  busting up laughing, because she cracks herself up, and she has the funniest mannerisms. We ran all over Villa España trying to buy her medications and shopping for her, and it was a crazy little trip but alot of fun. We are headed back tomorrow for the same thing! 

Latin Companions are so much fun as well. Seriously Elder Garcia is always cracking me up. Latins are quite the jokers, so between the four of us in our apartment we are always playing a joke on someone! And them learning english right along side us with spanish, makes things alot easier, because it puts us on kind of a bit more equal playing field. So we are always having fun practicing the language. Which is starting to come along. Spansih finally doesn´t sound so foreign to me. I am starting to get an ear for the language and can understand much better than even just a week ago! I am starting to talk more in the lessons, and can get a general idea acrossed of what I am trying to say. I have been inspired multiple times to say things, and I know that the gift of tongues is real. I have said stuff when inspired by the spirit that I didn´t really even know. I also have learned that the gift of tongues can work in the fact that you might say it wrong but the people understand what you say. I am thanful for these moments that the spirit has touched me in sharing the gospel. I am learning what it feels like to truly be a tool in the Lord´s hands.

Today though was the funniest, we went to another area called Quilmes for a Zone Activity to play futbol and have Asado, the famous Argentine Meat! So we get to Quilmes after a train ride, and the elders start cooking and it is all over open flame. Well there are these big trees that are hallowed out that people build there cooking fires in. Well we get the meat put on and cooking, and after about 30 minutes a fire truck pulls up, and these fire fighters explain that someone from the school acrossed the street had called about a fire in the park. Well then he makes us move all of the meat and the coals out and away from the tree, and they take the fire hose and blast our cooking fire area! THEN (it gets better) This school teacher comes running over, and starts yelling at all the missionaries, and saying what a shame we all come to her country for the church, and burn down there parks, and just how much of a shame it was. Then she asks where we are all from and when there is no Argentines in our zone she really lays into us! We all just laughed afterwards! Then they continued cooking and we had a great lunch of Asado and Argentine Chorizo (which is more like a sausage in the casing still not like mexican chorizo!) It was so good and we had a great time! 

I am doing great and love Argentina, you are all in my prayers!

PS. If you didn´t get a personal reply this week I am sorry! Not alot of time! Next week!

Con Amor,

Elder Hall

Los Bomberos (Firefighters!)

 Hallowed out tree in the park

Preparing to cook the meat

 The meat cooking

Mmmmmm! 

Top Ten Questions for Villa Espana

1.  Do you actually have to use the beday?

    NO quite honestly I am scared to try and never have, dont plan to! (Yuck)

2.  Do you have to hand wash your clothes?

     We have a sister in the ward who does all our laundry! (Thanks for the question I had to remind my comp that we need to drop it off!)

3.  Garret wants to know what other kind of cereal you have?

     They have other types of cereal but not a whole lot, and it is super expensive!!

4.  Do you actually get mail or does the mission home deliver to you? & if they deliver to you, how often do they?

     To be honest I am not sure, not alot of people send stuff here, but I am pretty sure that the mission home delivers to our zone leaders who then distribute! Not sure how often probably once a week at our district meetings!

5.  How much do you weigh now...lol

     Not sure still trying to figure out the conversion between kilograms and pounds! Probably about the same at the mtc lots and lots of walking so I work off what I eat (well maybe!) We are always either walking or take a collectivo (bus) if we leave our area a train!

6.  Whats the one thing you already miss about the US?

     Umm cleanliness but you just get used to everything being dirty everywhere. And easy shopping. Here there is a store for everything so it takes a while!

7.  What is something you realize you can live without?

     Not exactly sure, I think snacks. They only eat at meals and I realized I am a big snacker. Nothing to munch on here!

8.  Do you have a cell phone?

     Yes each companionship has a cell phone!

9.  Is there stray dogs everywhere?

     Everywhere....but it isn´t those you have to watch out for it is the dogs that try to eat you through the fence that are the mean ones!

10.  Do you meet in a regular church building?

       We have a beautiful Capilla! (Chapel) here it is small but very nice!

First Week in Villa Espana

 Shower (fancy)

 Shower, Toilet, Baday combo

 El Latino's cuddling up watching a church movie

 Milk in a bag

 Azucopos (Argentine Frosted Flakes but better cause they are sweeter!)

 Sleeping area (Elder Hall's is the sleeping bag)

 El Pension (the apartment)

Kitchen, before he cleaned it

 Kitchen, after he cleaned it (at first glance I couldn't see a difference, however look at the wall)

 Elder Hall's favorite new treat Alfajores (he has already gained weight, he better slow down on these!)

 The street he lives on

Down the other way of the street

Arrival to Buenos Aires

 On the flight to Buenos Aires with several other Elders & Sisters

 First sight off the airplane

 Buenos Aires temple from the freeway

A better view, along with a pic of the cars they drive