First Skype Lesson

Dear fam bam,

This week was kind of an uninteresting one. Sister Hansen was sick for
a good part of the weekend so we didn't get to go do too much. But I
now have Mountain of The Lord memorized and found myself some good
seminary videos from the 80s. #yayforipads

One interesting thing we did do was teach our first skype lesson! Katy
is the niece of our ward mission leader and she was here for a couple
of months. We started teaching her when she was here but then she
moved back to Ecuador. Boo. But we kept in touch through Facebook and
during one of our Facebook lessons she asked "Which church is true?"
and "How can I know that it's true?" Only the most golden questions in
the whole history of missionary work. So skyped with her and taught her the
Restoration and she's praying and reading the Book of Mormon this
week! Sooooo sick dude.

Other than that, the weather here is starting to hit summer. It's not
too bad, but growing up in Vegas I'm used to it. My companion however
is already melting and thinks she is going to die. We're going to the
city today to see the 911 memorial and Brooklyn Bridge
#groundsofbrooklyn #jellyalexwilson so we'll see if she survives the
city heat.

Also, this week I've been studying a lot about the doctrine of Christ:
faith, repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, enduring to the end. A lot of
us think it's pretty basic, but it's SO not. It's simple, but it has a
lot of profoundity. You all should study it this week and I'll let you
know what I find next Wednesday :)

Love you all! Thanks for your support and your prayers!

Hermana Hall

P.S. Elder Snow from the seventy is coming for mission conference on
Friday! President Morgan said "when a seventy comes to a mission, the
mission president freaks out. Guess what? I'm a mission president."

P.P.S. This is bishop's son, and I don't care how cute your baby is,
this one is cuter. It's like Satan tempting all of the sisters here...

Miracles

Dear Family and Friends,

This week I sat in church and saw multiple miracles. I watched Hermana
Reyes walk in with her son David for the first time in months. I
watched her during the sacrament as she closed her eyes and prayed and
thought of our Savior. I watched Maria and Erik Gonzalez sit together
with head on shoulder, remembering how Erik, age 16, told us once that
his mom was his greatest role model. I watched Iluminada's face light
up as she talked to us about her one-year-old daughter, Camila. I
watched Angel Cariño give his very first talk in sacrament meeting,
remembering how only two months ago he walked into the church for the
very first time, without a desire to be baptized or a knowledge of the
restored gospel. I watched Sandra, Kelvin, Andrew, and Eliut sit
together as a family in their best clothes, ready and anxious to learn
about the gospel. They know it's true now. I watched the Vasquez
family arrive in two taxis, happy as ever, without counting the cost.
I sat next to Maribel as she cried during a talk about prayer. I
watched Bishop fight tears as he told the ward how much The Lord loved
them. Most inspiring however, was watching Elvis Ibarra intently read
the Book of Mormon during the sacrament. I don't ever want to forget
that moment. A boy who left home at 14 and didn't return until 10
years later, during that time serving 4 jail sentences, smoking,
drinking, etc., Elvis Ibarra is now preparing to serve a mission, and
really discovering for the first time that this gospel is real. This
gospel changes people. The Atonement is real. I've seen it change all
of these lives and more. Most of all though, it has changed mine, and
although the mission is hard and some days all I want to do is quit
and cry and go home, there really is no place I'd rather be. I get to
see the gospel change people. For my birthday we ate dinner at Judy
Rodak's house and listened to her and her sister bear her testimony of
the restored gospel. That is the best birthday present I could've ever
asked for, and honestly, there is no where else I would rather be. I
know this gospel is true and that if you will do the things that God
is asking you, you will see His power and His hand in your life, and
He will change you. It's a miracle. And it happens every day, because
of Him.

I love you all,

Hermana Hall

P.s. That's Judy and then us at our five guys birthday luncheon.

Hermana Hall and Hermana Hansen

Judy