"Blizzard" of the Century

Just kidding. There was no blizzard. We were all prepared with candles and flashlights and extra food to hole us in for 3 days, but it snowed less than a foot. A little disappointing, but we still got to go out and do some good work!

Guarina is doing awesome and is a whole new person after her baptism. Her husband came back from the Dominican Republic and we've started teaching him. She is the best member missionary ever! We're hoping that he will get baptized so that they can get sealed in the temple next year! Sister Dodson contacted a guy on the train who fell in love with her and wants her to come over and hang out. She says "We would love to teach you about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Is it okay if we bring the elders?" Haha. He called us to chat and got completely shut down. Better than the guy who came up to us on the street and said "Hey, I'm looking for a wife". My response: "Well, we can't help you with that. Would you like to hear a message about Jesus Christ?

Last Wednesday we got to go see the 911 Memorial Museum. It was SO AMAZING. By far the best P-day of the mission. It was awesome to be able to hear the personal stories of the people who suffered from the terrorist attacks and see the reality of what happened here when I was only in 3rd grade. I don't really know how else to describe it... Just that God really does have a plan for us.

911 Memorial Museum

We had Sisters Conference last Friday! That's right, a whole conference for just sisters. No elders allowed. We had some really amazing speakers who talked about how we can have confidence. "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God".  So if we have charity and virtue, we can be confident before God, and in turn be confident in ourselves because we know that God is pleased with us. And really, nothing else matters. Sister Freihofner shared the story of Ruth and said "If you're not living the story you want to tell, change". 

Hermana Card (my MTC Companion) and Hermana Hall

Hermanas Smart, Hall, and Dodson

Hermanas Dodson, Smart, and Hall

I love you all! Remember that God has a plan for you and a story that he wants you to write.   But it's up to you to do get out and do it!   Have an amazing week and share your testimony with someone :)

Hermanas Dodson, Smart, and Hall

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I love you all! Remember that God has a plan for you and a story that he wants you to write. But it's up to you to do get out and do it! Have an amazing week and share your testimony with someone :)

Hermana Hall

P.S.   We're going to Top of the Rock today. Pictures later :)

Awesome Week!

Dear friends and family,

We had an awesome week this week! Guarina got baptized and we had 4 investigators at the baptismal service! That has never happened to me ever on my mission. And it turns out that Guarina knows 2 of them from a long time ago but lost contact. And then another one is her husband. She's helping us by picking up our investigators for church and giving them motivation to learn more and progress and will be an awesome member present. After going to the service one of our investigators committed to baptism! She wants a brand new start on life and knows that this is what God wants her to do. Lots of miracles!

Keep being awesome back at home! Love you all!

Hermana Hall

P.S.  Here are some good pictures:
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"You distract her, I'll push"

Guarina and her husband

"Nuff Said"

Tu sabe

Soda Kills Living Organisms!!

Dear friends and family,

We had a really good week!

Funny moment: We've been getting feed SO MUCH lately, and despite our efforts of waking up an hour early to go to the gym, our bodies are being destroyed by Hispanic food, but mostly soda. So we made a goal to tell everyone that our New Years resolution is to not drink soda or juice, only water. So our investigator says "Can I get you something to drink?" "¡Agua por favor!" "Okay" she says, but then comes back with two GIANT glasses of red soda. Ugh. So we start drinking and my heart is slowing down and my body is like "Are you trying to kill me?" Then all of a sudden there is a knock at the door and our investigator goes to answer it, and Sister Dodson jumps up and grabs my glass of soda and pours it into a potted plant that was in her living room. Whoa she got brave. But then the soda starts fizzing out of the pot and exploding everywhere! And our investigator was starting to come back! One of the most horrifying moments of my life. But Sister Dodson got it under control and our investigator didn't even notice. We came back 2 days later and the plant, which was perfectly alive and healthy before, is now turning read and dying. Moral of the story: soda kills living organisms.

We've had some really cool lessons with the Book of Mormon lately. We've been doing an activity where we have our people write down a "question of their soul" something they really want to know from God, then they ask God specifically in their prayer, and then we find an answer in the Book of Mormon. We've had some REALLY awesome lessons lately. We even had one of our investigators, who is sincerely looking for the truth, receive an answer that she should go to a different church. So we told her that if God told her to go to that church that she'd better go. Never done that before... But if God wants her to go there there is a reason and we know that she is being prepared to find the truth. It's true that the Book of Mormon can answer any question that we have if we pray and ask God for guidance.

I love you all and hope you have a fantastic week! Share the gospel with someone :) and everyone!

Hermana Hall

P.S. Did any of you ever watch "Between the Lions" on PBS?

Hermanas Hall and Dodson

Between the Lions

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Ya ta sabe

Dear friends and family,

It's transfer time! I'm staying in Inwood as Sister Training Leader with Sister Dodson (the brunette one) and Sister Smart is going to South Manhattan! Which means I am officially ending my mission in Inwood! Which means I'll be here for a total of 7 and a half months! Good thing too because I love this place. And Sister Smart successfully packed everything into her suitcases! 50 space bags later...

This week has been fun. We've been preparing our investigator for baptism on the 17th and we're super excited! She wants to get baptized so bad and wants to know everything now! We keep telling her that all she needs is her testimony, and if she has that then she will be just fine. We've gotten fed a lot this week because all of the members want to say goodbye to Sister Smart and love is communicated through food. Aka three months to twig-skinny starts today.

I love you all! I hope you have a wonderful week and have an opportunity to share the gospel with someone.

Love,

Hermana Hall

2015 Bring It On!!

Dear family and friends,

What a week! Christmas was awesome! We weren't allowed to proselyte so we made good use of our time and made breakfast for all of the sisters in the zone (don't worry there's only 5) and opened presents and then took a 3-hour nap. Best Christmas present ever: sleep. Then we ate dinner with the Gifford family and they're American so we had a real Christmas dinner with potatoes, ham, and homemade rolls! Then I got to talk to the Bevans! I got to talk to Shawn too! Which was super awesome. So good to see everyone. That was my last Skype call home of the mission! What in the world? New Years Eve we had to be home early so we didn't get to party, but we cleaned and did our nails and even made some t-shirts for the zone (picture attached). 

This past week we've been focusing a lot on one of our super progressing investigators (Guarina- the one who had the dream that God dropped her on the mormon church) who has a baptismal date for January 17th. Her husband is flying in from the DR on the 15th so he'll get to be there for her baptism and he wants to learn more too! We had a lesson about the first and second commandments and told her that she had to throw away all of the Saints that are in her apartment. We were so nervous but she understood the commandment very well and promised us that they will all be gone by the next time we come over. She is willing to do whatever God asks her and she feeds us lots of Dominican food. #biggestlosersignmeup

I know that Jesus Christ lives and that it is only through Him that we can gain eternal life and live with our Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful for this holiday season and the opportunity to focus on the birth of Jesus Christ and to make new goals for the next year. I know that we all can change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, if we let it.

I love you all!

Hermana Hall

Inwood Zone

Hermanas Dodson, Smart, and Hall