Movin on up!! :)

(email from March 25, 2015)

Buenas Tardes Queridos,

Well this week is a little different because it is Wednesday, after putting my mom through what I imagine was a small attack of the nerves from not hearing from me until today I am finally able to write! Monday and Tuesday were some kind of Argentine Holiday so we changed our PDay to Wednesday this week and I forgot to let everyone know! But thats ok, my mom showed her care by emailing the mission offices, so I definitely will be hearing about it when I see Presidente and Hermana Thurgood on Saturday! :) hahaha

This week we had a good week. I am pretty sure that because I am like 90% sure I am leaving San Clemente on April 6, it makes time go by even faster because I don´t want to leave! The weeks and days just fly by so fast it is just outrageous. In church we had 24 people a mixture of members and investigators and there was such a sweet spirit. I think every one can feel the love and although we are a small group the spirit was strong and we left church feeling so uplifted. Every Sunday I just get kinda choked up as I sit and look over the members and thank the Lord for the many blessing that He has given us here in San Clemente!

ANOTHER GREAT ANOUNCEMENT! La Hermana Nelida Gasibe was baptized this Friday! What an amazing opportunity to participate in her baptism. It was a simple service in the afternoon and the spirit was super strong. My companion performed the ordinance and the sweet little lady got pretty emotional afterwards. That night we went to her house along with 5 or 6 other members and we ate and just enjoyed the night. Neli shared a few words and it was a great end to the day.

On Sunday I had the privilege of confirming Neli a member of the Church and giving her the gift of the holy ghost. I prayed every single day and every single night that she would be able to feel the spirit and that when she was confirmed a member it would give her an even stronger confirmation of what she was doing. It was an amazing experience to be able to put my hands upon her head and using the authority of the holy Melchizedek priesthood  to confirm her and to give her a blessing. The spirit was present as we all place are hands upon her head and I felt the guidance of the Holy Ghost as I blessed this wonderful lady that forever has impacted my life. I gotta say sometimes just a handshake is not enough especially when you grow to love someone so much, I wanted to give her a big hug but with tears in her eyes she just grabbed my hand and told me, ¨Gracias, muchas gracias Elder Hall¨ The rest of the meetings were filled with a wonderful spirit. Neli is the first person to be baptized in San Clemente in about two years. I don´t claim any credit to anything that has happened since I have been here, honestly it could have been any missionary I just happened to have had the luck to get sent here right when God opened up the gates and let the blessings come flooding in to this area!

This Sunday President Thurgood and his wife are coming to the meetings, and because of the amount of people that are already attending church there is already talk about looking for an even bigger place. No one expected we would have such a turn out. I have been telling everyone for almost 6 months now that the Lord was preparing San Clemente and that is was about ready to take off. Speaking honestly, there were alot of people who didn´t believe me, or who thought, ¨this is what every missionary says when he gets into an area that is really progressing..¨ I think the thought might have even crossed Pres. Thurgood´s mind, but I knew it was true! I have felt it since I got here I just never thought I was going to see it.

This last week we have also had some great lessons with some investigators that I got to know in November when they came for vacations, and then at the beginning of the month they came back to the coast! So we have had quite a few discussions with them. They were super evangelicals before but their pastor robbed them of a ton of money all of course ¨in the name of god¨ and so they stopped going. Well then the missionaries found them and they started listening, and now they are are the road to conversion. Adriana already has a testimony of the Book of Mormon, and excepts everything, her husband Miguel during this last month started to read the Book of Mormon, and he promised to go to church with us this Sunday! 

So we are really seeing the two ends of the spectrum the baptism of the catholic of Catholics and a huge leap in the process of conversion in the lives of two devout evangelicals and all because of the Book of Mormon. The power and spirit that this book contains changes lives. It allows each and every one of us to gain a testimony that God speaks to all of His children, and it helps us to understand the wonders of His eternal plan, but most of all the Book of Mormon helps us to grow closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I add my testimony along with the testimonies of millions of people around the world that the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God, as we study it and the Bible we receive the fullness of the Gospel and we can achieve a higher level of peace and happiness in our lives. I am grateful for my Savior and for what He did for me, words are never enough to describe how I truly feel, I am also grateful that He has allowed me to have a knowledge and testimony of these things in this moment of my life and this great opportunity to share this gospel with others. Read the Book it will change your life, I promise.

Hope everyone has a great week! Love you all!

Elder Hall