God Given

Our private chef

As always, I will start with the most interesting thing I did this week to explain why I am emailing today: Elder Pesnell and I were asked to go to a church owned property in Geneva to help people park for a UN conference on Freedom of Religion, so we did but no one really came in cars, so we parked four cars and then nothing. So the couple that was over it invited us to attend and it was very interesting to learn about the role of freedom of religion in countries and what is happening to make it available for people all over the world. Then we were able to go to the fancy dinner, but, since we were the peasants, we ate while hidden in the back kitchen where the professional chef was. We became good friends with him, Clement, and he gave us all the delicious, gourmet, French food our little stomachs desired. What a fun service activity! 

Breakfast at the park

Anyway, our week was great! I had a lot of cool experiences this week. Our amis are doing well also! We were able to meet with Lorrane a couple times, and when we do it in the mornings we just go to a park. Well, when we showed up, she had a breakfast there for us and the Austins (the senior couple we were teaching with). It was so kind! We taught fasting and told her of the ward fast and prayers for her to understand and receive an answer. She told us that at the same time, that night, she was trying to sleep and couldn't get to sleep at all. She eventually decided to pray and that's when she got her answer! It was so cool to see the results of faithful fasting and prayers! We also went with her to the Volpicellis house, with another member, Celine, a foreign exchange student from Maine who is the same age and height at Lorrane haha. (Were trying to convince Celine to go on a mission) And then Lorrane came to conference and loved it! She said she really liked President Uchtdorfs talk. She also wanted to move her baptismal date to the Sunday of Easter, so that's what it will be now, and since transfers are on Monday, I hope I'm still here! She also gave us breakfast again, and is going great! She was a little frustrated that MacDo was giving away free coffee last week for the first time ever, but she didn't give in! 

We also had a ward activity on Friday, and the ami of the soeurs came. She knows the church is true and just won't talk about baptism. I felt that I should talk to her, so we talked for an hour about baptism and what's holding her back. It wasn't going anywhere until the end, when the spirit prompted me to ask her if she thought God would tell her the truth if she asked. She said yes. I asked her if she had already prayed about baptism. She said no. (This is where the spirit got super strong) I said "Put him to the test" and all she could say was "Bien dit". I know if she really asks she'll get an answer! 

We also went to lunch with this super nice old member Soeur. But she walks very slow and talks very a lot, so she bought us crepes and then we listened to her, but the only problem was that we were done with ours in 2 minutes and she didn't take her last bite until 45 minutes later haha but everyone needs to feel loved, so it was worth It! 

We also were given a referral of an ancien ami who lost contact with the church for a couple months but is now ready to be baptized! His name is Lawson and he's African, and has a sincere desire. We just need to fix a couple things so it may be in a little bit, but I'm excited to help him! 

A cool little story is that I was contacting a man on the bus who spoke English. We were talking about commandments and how following them makes us happy. He said "what commandments has God given you?" So I started saying love others, go to church, etc. And he stopped me to correct himself. He reposed the question, " what commandments has God given you." I felt the spirit put an answer in my mouth and I said "He commanded me to go on a mission." I received yet another confirmation that this is what I am supposed to be doing right now, and that I have been following God's personal commandment to me for a long time now! It was a cool experience. 

I really loved General Conference. I feel comfortable saying that this is the first conference I've ever listened to where it flew by and i was left wanting more! All of the messages, as always, were inspired and I felt the Spirit so strongly as I listened to the Prophet and Apostles of God bear fervent testimony. I loved President Nelsons talk about coming to know Christ and learning of Him. I also really liked Elder Sabins talk and what made it even better was that I was able to meet him a couple of months ago, and he even made a joke about me in front of everyone so I felt a connection there. And of course, President Monsons talk was so amazing and so full of power. I LOVED IT ALL!! We are so lucky to have this opportunity! 

Other than that, we had district Meeting, were able to give a lot of blessings, ate with members and testified of Jesus Christ as every opportunity! I love this gospel and I love my Savior! I have complete faith in Him and His plan for me and each one of us. I can truly say that these past years have been the best of my life! 

Avec amour, 

Elder Hall 

Your Favorite Missionary

The Best Text I've Ever Gotten

this week we went to the regional church office-

 IM MAKING MY WAY UP hahaha

This week we received one of the best texts anyone could ever get! I don't want to spoil it right away, so I will start with the fact that I got the package you sent mom! It was so wonderful, and Elder Pesnell and I have much enjoyed all of the green candy but mostly the samoas! They don't have anything like that here so it was amazing! It's been such an incredible week, I can't wait anymore to tell you the story, so here we go!

You remember last week, I told you about our last rdv with Lorrane, where she dropped us and the spirit was very strong anyways. Well 5 days later, on Tuesday morning, we got a text from her that every missionary wants to get saying that she knows now that God has a plan for her, she believes everything we have taught her and she asked to be baptized as soon as possible!!!!! Of course we couldn't believe it, my jaw dropped on the ground and elder Pesnell ran around knocking chairs over and then belly slid on the floor! We called her right away and fixed a rdv, and she was crying as she told us that she got her answer!

Kebabs with Lorrane

Our prayers were those of gratitude and my smile wouldn't go away (I think I was freaking people out as I said "bonjour" to them grinning like a maniac haha). We have since had 4 RDVs with her, we fixed her baptismal date for the 7 April, the Friday after conference, and in lessons she just testifies and accepts everything! The commandments, the scriptures! She said that within those 5 days she stopped drinking coffee and alcohol and she has never felt more free and happy! She loved church and the members love her, she is so prepared and so humble to have received a response, even if it wasn't what she was expecting. And don't worry, English isn't her first language so when she said "I love you" last time, she was referring to both of us as good friends haha. (That's our bad...) We also went to get kebabs with her, because she's never had one before! Please keep praying for her, because we know that her faith will protect her, but sometimes the adversary tries to creep in. I know that faith, prayers and the power of her ever increasing testimony will bring strength and protection. She's so excited to go to the temple! I feel so thankful to a loving Heavenly Father that gives answers to those who sincerely seek them, and I can't wait for the baptism!

Our green lunch!!! 

In other news, we went on an exchange with Elder Wade this week. It was our last time serving together since he goes home in a couple weeks. And it's funny because he's basically a national celebrity, but he's still just Elder Wade. For anyone who wants to know, he is super humble and hard working even though all that basketball stuff is going on at home. He's a great example to me! It was a different kind of exchange, because he came up with President and Soeur Brown alone and stayed with us for a day so Elder Pesnell and I were with him. We were able to see some members, teach Ali and, let me tell you, it was a lesson that could convert anyone, and Elder Wade did such a good job teaching! For dinner we went Chez la famille Fidalgo, and then Elder Menzel and Underwood (the other assistants whom I love so) and had a great night! It was so fun! We also played a little bit of basketball, so ca va.

We had Zone conference and interviews as well. It was cool to see president Brown and talk with him. He is always so inspired and gives the best advice that I know always comes from the Lord. For Zone conference, elder Pesnell and I did a presentation about how the Atonement leaves no trace. It was cool to prepare, even though it wasn't easy haha. In the end we presented two quotes:

"However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made … , or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines"- Elder Jeffery R. Holland

"The Atonement, which can reclaim each one of us, bears no scars. That means that no matter what we have done or where we have been or how something happened, if we truly repent, He has promised that He would atone. And when He atoned, that settled that. There are so many of us who are thrashing around, as it were, with feelings of guilt, not knowing quite how to escape. You escape by accepting the Atonement of Christ, and all that was heartache can turn to beauty and love and eternity. I am so grateful for the blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ... for the power of redemption, for the Atonement--the Atonement which can wash clean every stain no matter how difficult or how long or how many times repeated. The Atonement can put you free again to move forward, cleanly and worthily, to pursue that path that you have chosen in life. I bear witness that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that the Atonement is not a general thing that is for the whole Church. The Atonement is individual, and if you have something that is bothering you--sometimes so long ago you can hardly remember it--put the Atonement to work. It will clean it up, and you, as does He, will remember your sins no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen." - President Boyd K. Packer

If you didn't read those, go back and read them haha. I learned that the Atonement is truly something that, if used correctly, has the power to erase any mistakes we have ever done. Of course, we need to allow it to, but when it does, there is no better feeling! It's what Lorrane is feeling, it's what I have felt, it's what we can all feel! Don't just take my word for it, try it for yourself! I promise you it will work.

We have all of our other amis still and we have a new one named Juan, who is a member coordonnée, but I'll explain more next time. I explained all the most important things!

I love you all! Have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Hall

Your Favorite Missionary

Make Your Own Adventure

Elder Carlson!

Ok. Well, to say this week brought some of the most unexpected circumstances I've yet to have on my mission would be appropriate. But it was a really good week anyway, and we saw some cool miracles as we went on multiple exchanges and worked as hard as we could! So we shall start from the very beginning, it the very best place to start.

Elder Caramelli! 

We can start with our exchanges! This week we went on 2 of those, and I was able to be with Elder Carlson for the first, and Elder Caramelli for the second. Elder Carlson was in the moving équipe my first transfer in the office (before it got closed and thrown onto our shoulders haha), so we are already pretty close and it was fun to spend some time with him again! 

We went to an FHE chez la famille Volpicelli, the super cool couple in our ward who love missionary work! We also ate at our bishops house, Évêque Cornetta (we eat there every week), and we did some passbacks and contacting in a little place called Bernex, where it's super tranquille. We got to see some less actives we've been trying to get into contact with, which was great, and I was able to learn a lot from him about diligence and teaching. He's such a stud!

Then I was with Elder Caramelli, he's Tahitian but his dad is Italian, so he's a stud too. We spent the day doing a lot of passes, trying to find all of the less active young adults in our ward so we can help them come back to the fold! We found a couple people, some young, some not so much, but a lot had moved. There was one apartment though, where we were able to get in and when we asked if the man lived there, the woman who answered the door said no, but the spirit prompted us to testify of eternal families and ask if she would like to learn more and she said yes! So we will return this week! Then we got to go to our DMPs house for dinner and it was a lot of fun!

st pattys lunch with the holsingers

In other news, we started teaching formerly Crazy Steve, now Rogers, and he is actually progressing. He understands now the importance of church and priesthood lines and authority and everything he needs to do in order to be baptized (which he really wants to be, but he needs to be ready first). He help set out the books before sacrament Meeting and is even wearing a shirt and tie now. The gospel really does change people!

Then we have Lorrane (and this is where all the weird stuff starts happening). She texted us and told us she didn't want to see us anymore, so we convinced her to have one last rdv. We met her in the park, and she asked if she could say the opening prayer so she did but she prayed so that we knew this was the last time we would see each other. She said she was heartbroken to have to stop seeing us, but she has some things she doesn't want to give up. We testified and answered questions, but she wouldn't be swayed, even though she told us she knows it's true! At one point, I was testifying really hard and started to cry and then she started to cry, but super biblically, that is, like wailing, and I was trying to get intelligible words out and she was like "bleingnsjwldkdh" and then she said she loved me and I stopped the waterworks and gave her a pamphlet and we told her when she's ready she can always come back. She felt the spirit to say the least.

tulips for relief society! 

We had a great rdv with our part member family, whose dad is our ami, Michel. We laughed a ton, talked about prophets and he got to know us. He's super nice and has overcome a lot of trials, but is still going strong! He is almost ready to be baptized and the family is ready to be eternal, so we're excited to see what the future brings!

Then we have Maria, who came to church on Sunday and said she really enjoyed it! Today, we got a very unexpected text from her saying that she likes me... oh my... I feel so... flattered? I just don't know what they see in me!! Luckily, our other amis are either married or guys so I think I'm safe now! Haha

Another weird story, we were waiting for our bus one afternoon and a group of kids walk up to us and start shaking our hands. Well, I thought we were going to get mugged, but they seemed nice enough to us. They started asking us questions like where we were from and what "elder" meant, then they cut to the chase and asked us how much we wanted for it. For what, you might ask? Well, they thought we were drug dealers and they wanted to buy drugs. We quickly explained that we, in fact, are the opposite and we have nothing to sell them but if they wanted something that would make them feel good, we had just the thing. They weren't too interested, and pushed a little more just for good measure and the left.

Personal tour of the UN

We went back to the UN to take down the exhibit, and then Sr. Holsinger (the couple missionary who works there) took us on a super cool tour that you only get if you are "in" with someone! We got to see all of the important rooms, we walked down the secret hallways and the gardens outside and even got to stand at the UN pulpit! Then, since it was St. Patrick's Day, we went to the UN cafeteria and ate with them, Irish Cornish. It was such a cool experience! After that, we delivered tulips to a bunch of relief society sisters in our ward to thank them and celebrate the 175 anniversary of the Relief Society. They were so thankful, and it was fun to make their days!

fun in primary! 

Something that I can take away from this week is that God never intended for life on earth to really flow smoothly, exactly according to each of our personal agendas. No, our loving Heavenly Father sent us here to learn and grow through experiences and trials that may seem pointless, but that shape us, little by little, into the spiritual and physical beings He knows we can become. That's a reason we all have agency, so that we can choose what we do with the trials and setbacks, and when we aren't choosing the right, those in fact, become more difficult to handle. When we strive to choose the right and look at life's experiences, easy or hard, we will feel ourselves changing, and we will eventually be turned completely to God, and what a great direction to be facing.

I love you all! Hope you had a great St. Patrick's Day and que Dieu vous bénisse!

Avec amour,

Elder Hall

Your Favorite Missionary

Christ's Car Wash

car show 

This week flu by. Literally, flu. The beginning of the week we did a lot of stuff but towards the end I came down with a case of "Le grippe" which destroyed me so hard. Je ne suis pas sure si jamais j'ai eu tant des choses qui sont sorti de mon corps... (that's in French because it's kinda gross haha). Anyways, no need to worry because I'm feeling better now so life is good, plus it's actually starting to be spring here! The flowers are s'épanouir-ing! Hahah

So, ami run down! 

1) Lorrane: this week she sent us this incredible text saying sorry for all the questions she asked and that she really wants to come to church! That night, we saw her on the bus and she told us that she had read in the Book of Mormon where we asked her to and that she prayed and received an answer! She said that she knows it's true, and she looked up the Restoration movie and believes in Joseph Smith. She said that ever since she's met us she has felt happier and has had the feeling of peace in her life, and she started doing things she loves again, like drawing and reading. It all just miraculously clicked, but not the biggest miracle of it all is that on fast Sunday, our ward fasted and prayed specifically for all of our amis, and what we asked them to pray for Lorrane was "so that she can receive a confirmation of the truthfulness by the Holy Ghost"!!!! It was a direct answer to prayers! Unfortunately I was sick for our rdv so we didn't see her, but we will this week! 

2) Vanessa: our Brazilian family is going well also, they seem to have more sincerity and willingness to act. But every time I think of them I get a little sick because she gave us this gross chicken sandwich casserole and it was the last thing I ate before... you know... 

3) Nelson: we have a returned missionary in our ward who has a friend who messaged him one day asking about our church, and we had a rdv with him! His name is Nelson, he is 20 years old and he is Suisse! That's incredible because young people don't usually care! He is super open and came to church and said that he thinks this is the path God wants him to be on!

4) Crazy Steve: He came to church this week and to our ward buffet after and he seems to be getting less crazy. He wore a star tie with a white polo shirt, so at least he's starting to understand a little bit.

MLC

We are seeing so many cool things here right now. I feel blessed to see this sector go from almost nothing to so many steady amis! We also had MLC this week, so we were in Lyon for a couple days. It was so fun to see all of my friends, because the district leaders came too, so almost our entire MTC group was there! Plus every companion I've ever had was there! We talked about faith, and how it's something so simple

but how it is the first principle of the gospel, and it brings miracles!

We painted at one of our members houses this week, I have surprisingly done a lot of painting on my mission, and I attribute my experience to being a janitor haha.

Then on Saturday there were 3 baptisms, 2 for the English ward and 1 for the Spanish ward, but I was sick so I just sat there through them, but it was so good!

Christ's car wash 

Today we went to the Geneva International Motor Show and saw some of the coolest cars I've ever seen. I got to sit in them and touch them and even look at them! Haha The most interesting thing I saw was a car wash, it was called Christ Car Wash. I took a picture next to it and as I went throughout the rest of the day, I kept thinking about it. For something so silly, it was actually quite profound, because of the truthfulness behind it. By going throughout life, we get dirty. We sin, we make mistakes, we fall short. However, we know that anytime we need too, if we are looking a little too muddy we can go through Christ's car wash. It is there, waiting for us to use it! Best of all, it's free! The price is already paid, we don't need to scrounge for coins, it is free and open to all who are willing to make the trip. When we come out we are spotless, ready to tackle whatever road lies before us. I invite us all to take advantage of the gift Christ has given us, to repent every day, and make that trip to the car wash. As we do so, we will feel His cleansing power.

I love you all!
Avec amour,
Elder Hall

Your Favorite Missionary

Serving the World

birthday party for Soeur Burton!

Hello from Geneva! I'm super excited to tell you all about this past week. It was the first week of the transfer and it started things off so well! We taught a lot, we ate a lot, and we did a service project for the whole world (on peut dire... 😉)!

So we had RDVs with a new person almost every day this week! It started with Maria, then we met with a man named Edward, who is from Iran but lived in London for a while. He is Jewish and our rdv was actually kind of interesting because he liked to talk a lot so he would go off on random spiritual things he's learned throughout his life of being Muslim then Christian then Jewish. Well we thought it went pretty well, but alas, we talked to him on Saturday night to invite him to church and he told us he had a dream about cutting an electrical wire and interpreted it as he should stay with the Jews, sooo.... Also, we contacted and met with this family, and when we showed up, it was a bunch of women from Brazil with all their kids haha... one of them was baptized in Brazil and is less active, another is our new ami, and the less actives sister is very skeptical of us. Then the ami, Vanessa, made her teenage son listen and he looked so miserable hahaha They quizzed us about temples and stuff, but we were able to testify of the blessings that they bring to families, and that they can know for themselves if they read the Book of Mormon and pray. En plus, I learned a little Portuguese, and they gave us a lot of food after!

elder Pesnell and I in the Swiss mountains

I don't remember if I told you about the Italian that showed up to church randomly last week as he was walking by to learn more about what we believe in our church... well we taught him and he came to church this week! He said that it was interesting, and he liked the songs because he's a professional singer and he sang so well! Also, Crazy Steve (Roger) came to church, and, although he is still so crazy, he is very, very slowly progressing to a point where we can kind of teach him. Hahaha

We also went with the Spanish elders to a mangez-vous and, because I speak fluent Spanish now, I was the life of the party! "Yo soy muchos guapos", "Yo tengo el dono de polo" and other such phrases spouted from my mouth for an hour haha... when I get home I'll speak 12 languages!! We also got a call from our ami, Ali, and he was like "hey, if you come clean my house I'll give you Chinese food" so we went to his house and I mopped all of his floors... that was definitely a first.

setting up at the UN

And about the service project we did... so one of the couples who is assigned to the U.N. asked Elder Pesnell and I if we could come help set up an exhibit for them. So we met them at the gate and went through security and got a special pass, then we walked through the campus to a building where we would be doing the project. We had about 15 minutes so we got to explore the building, we saw a big conference like the ones you imagine with the plaques of all the different countries, and art that was donated by countries all over the world. Also, it was Mother Tongue day, so everyone was dressed up in the traditional dress of their respective countries, so all the women looked like Disney princesses and all the men looked like spies haha. 

But we started, and what we did was set up the exhibit with all the big posters, arranged them, moved heavy things and made it all look good. The exhibit was on human rights around the world, and one of those human rights is the right to worship whomever, whenever, and wherever we may. That's why it's so important for the church to have good relations with all of the worlds countries, because in order for the gospel to be spread everywhere, the countries need to understand that it is a basic human right. It was a lot of fun, we worked with people from all over the world in helping these world leaders see and understand fundamental rights of all the children of God here on earth. It reminded me of the children's primary song that says, "We are children holding hands around the world, like an army, with the gospel flag unfurled. We are led by its light and we love truth and right, we are building the Kingdom of God." I testify that we are all truly Heavenly Fathers sons and daughters and that in seeking to bring others to this knowledge, whether it's by mopping their floors, inviting them to church, or educating them on the value of each human soul, we can see and feel His love.

chez la famille Fidalgo!

Also, they sell little smoothies with little knitted bonnets at the store by our house and, oh we love them so.

Have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Hall

Your Favorite Missionary

God Sent Another Mademoiselle

I think I jumped the gun on the whole spring thing haha... it feelsnice but I remembered that it's not even march yet so I take it backand reserve the right to write the exact same thing in a future email 😉 haha well today is transfer day. I am staying here in Geneva with Elder Pesnell, which I am happy about, because I am coming to really like it here, and I absolutely love elder Pesnell, we have such good times together, and I feel like we are always laughing because our personalities somewhere just clicked! He's a great missionary and a wonderful collègue. And things are starting to finally pick up here! If you want to know how, read on!

this is all for the week! It's not a real village...

So this week we decided to start doing more personalized things for members, to show them how much we appreciate what they do for us, and the first family we started with was the Muellers! What we did was take my ukulele and write a little song for them using a tune that we already knew. When we went over to their house we played and sang it for them and they loved it! It sparked them so hard! Haha we decided to do that because Frere Mueller is blind so he can't see if we have him anything, but with music, even cheesy missionary music, he can enjoy! And he did! It was so fun to make their day.

There was also an interesting experience on a bus this week, I was sitting there and the bus stopped at a stop and an older madame got on. It got starting moving faster than she could hold onto something and she fell back on her back and head. I gasped loudly, and quickly went to help her. She kind of got sitting up and I was like "madame, are you okay" and then I didn't really have any immediate reaction run through my mind of how to help, until I was like "okay... maybe... oh ya! I can help her get up, that would work!" So I got under her arms and helped her sit down on the seat and made sure she was okay. I felt a lot of sympathy because one time in Bordeaux I got laid out on a bus and it really hurt and in that instance there was also another old lady who I fell on top of but my glasses flew off and it was all just a giant mess.

So this week, we have been eating a lot of food at members houses and one night I was so full and when I woke up in the morning I felt like I got hit by a truck, so I decided to fast, you know, so that I would have a good excuse to not eat any more food, and since I was already doing it, I prayed for some help to find new amis. So we went throughout our day and I felt much better at the end of it, and the senior couple here made us homemade mac'n'cheese! Well, the next morning we were en route to a members house and we were kind of late, but we got off of the tram, and I started walking when I noticed a young woman who was looking at me on the tram, and she stopped me and told me that she'd seen my plaque and wanted to learn more about Jesus Christ and our beliefs and I said "well, fine... I guess we can fix a rdv... ugh... 😒" hahaha just kidding, I was so excited to meet someone, especially a young person, who wants to get closer to Christ! It was an answer to my fast, and I am so thankful God let us be late to find her! We had a rdv with her today, she's named Maria, and she is so prepared to hear about the gospel. She said that she doesn't believe in coincidence and thinks she's on the right path. She's super cool!

Also, we were able to talk to Lorrane a lot this week. It seems like nowadays I'm always just talking to young women... it's so stressful haha but she is always on the same bus as we are going home, so we walk and talk and leave her with little tidbits of gospel knowledge. And she's starting to grasp the message! We had a rdv with her and some other elders and she had a lot of good questions, and when we asked her to read in Moroni 10:3-5 in Portuguese, she finally understood that she needs to read and then pray to ask God. We are praying that she will get an answer, because she will be baptized one day, she just needs an answer! But it is funny how Heavenly Father is just sending us all of these madamoiselles, and maybe one day we can teach a man haha.

And last but not least, Elder Gottscheck, the Spanish elder, was sick with the flu this weekend, which meant he couldn't go to church on Sunday, so what we did to help them out is a little exchange. I went with Elder Brady-Haug to church on Sunday, the Spanish ward first then our ward. So I sat through 3 hours of church in Spanish, and learned how to say simple missionary phrases like "que tal" and "appastados una buena semaina" so that the members would trust me. Then I was asked to say the opening prayer in priesthood and I started and ended in Spanish and did the rest in French. It was fun! Then in our ward, we had 4 amis come to church but it was so stressful! Crazy Steve (Roger) came, as did Ali, Lorrane and a part member family ami. Everything was going crazy when Ali left to buy a taco, Crazy Steve wanted to give us the blueprints to his model Arc of the Covenant, and Lorrane showed up late. Eventually all was well, but I was so tired after church! We then went to a Spanish family mangez-vous and I feel so comfortable with my Spanish ability lol.

This week, I just want to testify that I know that God hears and answers prayers! He is a living God of miracles! I know it.

I love you all! Have a great week!

Avec amour,

Elder Hall

Your Favorite Missionary

As I Have Loved You

And just like that it's Monday again, and the last week of the transfer. This transfer has gone by so fast, and its gone from super cold to pretty warm nowadays! Spring is in the air and that's putting some air into my spring! Valentines Day was great, and it kind of continued throughout the week. I guess it can always be Valentine's Day if we tell the people we love that we love them, but then it just wouldn't be as fun! This week we got to go back to Lyon! I always feel like I go home when I return to Lyon, even if it's just for a little bit. Anyway, I'll stop being so vague and hop into the good stuff! 

We were traveling to Lyon for most of Valentine's Day day, so we didn't have a chance to do a lot with members, but we did sent texts to all of the missionaries in the zone with the reasons why we loved them! In Lyon, we went to the office, because we had a special night planned with the Mahaffeys! We helped out in the office for a bit, then they drove Elder Pesnell and I to a restaurant called Entrecôte for dinner (a double date haha). We talked and laughed and we planned on paying for them but then they stole the bill!! Haha but we gave them a giant goodbye and thank you card because it was the last time we'll see them here. We then spent the night with the assistants because we would be on exchange the next day. Fun fact: not only have I been with elder wade for both thanksgivings on my mission, but for both Valentine's days also! 

So the exchange was so good, I was with elder wade, which is always so fun! I love him so much, and feel so blessed to have found a friend on my mission who is so different from me yet so similar. Also, it was fun to prosélyte together in a different setting than we ever have: just us two, taking buses, contacting. We had a cool experience where we were walking down the street and there was a little girl outside with her dog, so we started talking to her and eventually Elder Wade asked if we could go inside and talk to her mom, so we did, we explained all about what we believe, and left her with a Book of Mormon and a commitment to read and pray about it! We also were able to go pass some members of Ecully ward who I love and haven't seen since I left that ward. Sr. Barachand is an older sister, and we totally surprised her, she didn't know I was coming and we spent some time talking, she offered us lunch and we caught up. She is so cute and sweet! It was an amazing day and I learned a lot from Elder Wade, just like always. 

We had a few parties this week, where we invited amis but no one came :(. They were still fun anyways! One was a Mongolian night that the English elders were doing. A member in their ward from Mongolia made a ton of delicious traditional food and we ate it, did a spiritual thought and played Loup Garous. Unfortunately, all of the Mongolian people that came spoke neither French nor English so the lesson was translated both ways by the member and I think it was good, but I'm not sure haha. We also attended the Spanish ward Valentine's fiesta and there was a lady there who elder Pesnell had contacted so we spent the night helping her integrate and it was also full of fun and food and Spanish music... haha 

Also, quick backstory before I launch into church yesterday... a man contacted us on the street this week and was like "are you the elders?" So we said yes and usually that's not a great sign because the only people that actually contact us are crazies... well... he was. He told us he had a gift for the prophet and we told him we couldn't take it because we don't know the prophet personally so he said he was coming to church on Sunday. He came, and it was ward conference and i sat by him and it was a very... interesting experience. He leaned over to whisper something in my ear every two minutes at least, but they were things like "what is the 24th letter of the alphabet?" Or "to you is the word 'mopo' a parable or a play on words?" He then asked me to be his "bra doight" which is his right arm, and a member of his trinity. Oh boy... unfortunately it didn't stop there because he came to Sunday school (we taught him alone in a different room) and priesthood, but he would go off on things like Egyptian traditions and numbers that relate to Star Wars references and the stake presidency was there and I had a big headache. Ugh... haha but eventually he left, and we had a rdv with Lorrane, our sane ami. 

She came with a lot of questions of things she'd read on the internet. We had some young members who speak English teach with us, and we answered all of her questions by explaining the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon. As we taught, the spirit witnessed to me that it's all true once more, and we were able to testify that we aren't just here to convince people or try to add numbers to our church, we are here because we have felt the life changing hand of God in our lives, we have experienced His love and mercy through the Atonement of His son and we know that it's all true! She said she wanted to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know for herself. She started out with an attitude of "I'm going to prove you wrong" and it finished with a spirit of understanding. It was so cool! 

This week, I've tried to think about love, especially Christlike love. On my mission I've learned that God shows His love to all of His children. There are those that choose to see it and by consequence are happier, more grateful and more full of love themselves. There are also those who choose to ignore it, who become bitter, and angry and who rely on the world to find acceptance. And in both cases, His love is still there. It never stops. I try to love people as best as I can, sometimes it's hard (like with that crazy guy who really tested me), but most of the time it's pretty easy (like with my amazing companions, past and present, the members, amis and missionaries who I have served and who have served me), but it will always be worth it to show, and express our love. Christ commanded us to "love one another, even as I have loved you". I testify that true love, shown sincerely, can do more to help this world and the people in it than any law, holiday or TED talk ever can. :) 

JE VOUS AIME! 

Have a great week! 

Avec amour, 

Elder Hall 

Your Favorite Missionary