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

Round 3 -- Yonkers!!

Dear family and friends,

Transfers are this Wednesday! Sister Baker is leaving and I am staying
in Yonkers with Sister Hansen. Which also means I am driving for the
first time in 7 months. In New York. Where blinkers and lanes are
optional and turn lanes don't exist. Yaaaaay.

But Sandra, Kelvyn, and Andrew's baptism was awesome! I love that
family! Andrew (age 9) got out of the font and said "Wow! That was
fun!"

Also, we visited a family who told us that unicorns and fairies really
exist here in an alternate universe and that because our mitochondria
produce energy (which light is a form of) we need to feed our body
with light because our bodies are light. Which is the reason why we
need the gospel in our lives. Also, the 6th commandment applies to
animals and plants as well as humans. Oh the things we learn from our
members... And that was all in Spanish!

I got a blessing from the elders yesterday to help me with taking over
the area and it was awesome! God sends us places for us a reason and
He will help us do the things he sent us here to do. So here we go...

I love you all! Thanks for your love and support!

Hermana Hall

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Because Of Him

Hey we had a good week this week. Our favorite little kid ever got
baptized and his dad is next! President Morgan called a special
conference where we talked about how faith generates power and it was
legit. And we had Easter dinner with the senior missionaries in our
apt building because our ward hates sister missionaries, so all in all
it was a good week!

IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE BECAUSE OF HIM VIDEO GO WATCH IT RIGHT NOW.
Here's a link: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1559555099001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAAkVf45-E~,pmvsVwZF3OwMESK8utxiNnJseKmS5xBC&bctid=3453545792001
OR just go to easter.mormon.org.

WATCH IT RIGHT NOW

Also, training calls come tonight and I'm afraid.

Love,

Hermana Hall

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Quarantined!!

Dear family and friends,

Okay so this week was amazing!

1. We had comp inventory. The picture below shows how it went.

Okay just kidding Sister Baker had to almost get her appendix out but
then it turned out not to be that... I tried not to be excited but the
hospital is one of my favorite places ever. I did control myself and
didn't steal any medical supplies this time... So we were quarantined
most of the week. I've now officially seen every church movie known to
man. #siquasisiquatote

2. Investigators are popping out of nowhere! One of them is married to
a member and he prayed and knows the church is true because he had a
Hispanic tribe of Manasseh dream and he is SUPER excited for baptism.
He's from the Bronx and Georgia so imagine him saying "OOHH YEAH"
We're also teaching these two little boys, Kelvin and Andrew, who want
to get baptized. They're 9 and 11 and they love coming to church and
meeting with us. They say the best prayers I've ever heard. Last night
we invited the mom to come sit in on our lesson and at the end she
started crying and told us that her kids are being such great examples
to her and shows she needs this in her life too. #ejemplos4dayz Also,
we have another 9-year-old baptism from the Vasquez family. They were
super inactive when we got here but now they haven't missed a Sunday
in a month and pay for 2 taxis to get their family all the way to
church! But they love it and the husband is going to get baptized too!
#milagrospasen They're all so adorable and I love them to death!

3. I think my Spanish is getting worse?

4. Sorry about the Facebook event, because of our emergency trip to
the hospital we're postponing it til this weekend. We invite you all
to participate! Sunday March 30 8pm EST

I love you all! Thanks for your prayers and support!

Hermana Hall

Choose Celestial

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Lessons Learned!!

Dear everyone,

This week we learned that if you don't lock the church door a homeless
man will walk in and permanently destroy the church couch with fecal
odor and then he'll disappear and we'll have to call the elders to
come find him lighting a cigarette in the bathroom and then you'll
have to bleach the entire church building and possibly burn it in
order to rid ourselves of the horrific smell of death.

Also, we almost got killed by a giant pit bull (hunger games status).

Also, we tried to scare the elders in the parking lot after they got
home and Sister Baker may or may not have grabbed a completely random
stranger and made him say a nasty word... But then we laughed like we
were best friends so that was good. #newcontactingapproach

But I'm staying in Yonkers with Sis Baker and Sisters Card and
Livingston so that's pretty fly. Naw mean?

Love y'all,

P.s. Thanks for participating in our Facebook event it was SO AWESOME!
Can't wait to do it again this Sunday!

Choose Celestial

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Sleeping Hollow

Remember the story of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving?   Well Hermana Baker and I went there a couple of P-days ago.  It was legit!!

The legend is as follows: The Headless Horseman begins in a little town called Sleepy Hollow, near North Tarrytown in New York.  In life, the Horseman was a Hessian soldier of unknown rank, one of many German mercenaries hired by the British during the American Revolutionary War.

While fighting in the battle of Chatterton Hill, the Horseman was killed when his head was severed by a cannonball. His headless corpse was buried in a graveyard outside an Old Dutch church in Sleepy Hollow.

Afterwards, many people claimed they saw his headless ghost appearing at night to frighten travelers who dared to walk the lonely roads alone.

One cold Winter night, a man left the local tavern and made the long walk home along the deserted roads. It was a dark night with no moon, and the only light came from his small lantern. His path led him past old Sleepy Hollow cemetery where the headless Hessian soldier was buried.

When the man came within site of the graveyard, it was after midnight. He had heard rumors about a galloping ghost that had been seen in the area and was nervous about passing the cemetery. To make himself feel better, he began humming a merry tune.

Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a white mist rising from a grave in the cemetery. The man’s heart was pounding in his chest and the hair on the back of his neck was rising in fear. As he watched in horror, the white mist formed into a large horse carrying a headless rider.

The man let out a terrified scream as the Headless Horseman came galloping towards him at full speed.  He turned and started running as fast as he could, desperately trying to make it across the bridge before the ghostly rider caught up with him. According to folk beliefs, ghosts and evil spirits will not dare to cross running water.

Just then, the man stumbled and fell onto the muddy road. He rolled into the ditch and the Headless Horseman thundered past him and disappeared into the night.

The frightened man lay in the ditch for almost an hour before he had the courage to crawl out and make his way home. When he reached his house, he woke his wife and told her about the decapitated ghost he had encountered.

By the next day, the story had spread all over town. Some people thought that the ghost must be roaming the roads at night in search of its head. Others claimed that the Hessian soldier was still fighting the battle of Chatterton Hill, unaware that the war had ended long ago. They say the Headless Horseman continues to roam the lonely country roads on dark nights.

Hermana Kendra Baker and Hermana Shelby Hall

Hermana Hall and Hermana Baker

Shelby