National Geographic

What happens when you give the oldest missionary in the mission 3 new baby missionaries, a mini tramp and an inflatable mattress?! Chaos and hilarity ensue and someone for sure is going to poke their eye out while I just watch from the couch and moan about my old back hurting. That's what happens. This week was the craziest transfer I have ever experienced in my life. We received 25 new sister missionaries, not one over the age of 21 and most not more than 20. Their eyes are huge and they can't stop bouncing. I was getting exhausted just watching them from afar. I spent most of this week being mother duck, helping her ducklings waddle across the road. Yesterday, I turned around and I literally had a tail of 5 sister missionaries following exactly in my footsteps. It was so presh. We could be in National Geographic.

 

Yesterday I got to step, literally, into a huge family feud. There was food being thrown, people's honor being ripped apart and a dog yapping in the background. As politely firm as I could be, I let them know that they clearly need more Jesus up in the home. They stared at me for a good 30 seconds frozen, mid throw and then all agreed. And now we are teaching the whole family. Woohoo! Family feuds and home destruction: 0, Jesus: 1 million.

 

I didn't have to eat anything crazy this week, but I did get horrifically sick off American pizza. What the heck America? Maybe, it's part of my Latina transition. My blood is chilifying! 

As for lessons learned this week, there are tons. My precious sweet companion broke down the other day during companion inventory...mi malo. And no, I did not induce it, but the outcome was a really great discussion on our own weaknesses and how we grow from recognizing and overcoming them. I shared some personal experiences from my life about how I had to recognize that some parts of my personality just weren't doing me any good and that almost every talent/gift we have can be used for good or for evil. There is a promise in the scriptures that the Lord will take our weaknesses and he will make them strengths, but first we have to hand them over to him. Obviously, this is the hardest part. How do we hand it over to the Lord though? I seems that humility is clearly the first step. Ok, I admit it, I have this weakness and I want to overcome it and then I think we look to other people that we admire and watch how they behave. Christ is the perfect example, but there are many people in our lives every day whom we respect and can learn valuable things from. I think we should watch them, and with our own personality mimic the things we like that they do. There is no more perfect truth than we should be unto others as we would like them be unto us. And as I told my companion, be patient with yourself, we are not expected to get it all at once and be perfect otherwise there would be no point to this life. Take it one step at a time. Get up each morning with the objective to do one thing better. That's how we get there and you know what, we will make it because the Lord will help us.

 

Have a great week, friends!

 

xoxo,

Hermana Hall

Teenage Blood Bath

This week I inherited a mini tramp which has completely made over my morning exercise routine which usually just consists of me curled up in a ball lifting up 2 pounds weights for 30 seconds. Who exercises at 6:30 in the morning? It's the worst. It's lucky I actually get up by that time. Mission miracles.

 

Yesterday, we had a serious lack of teachers show up to church which means all the missionaries had to jump in. I got assigned to the teen Sunday school class which kept growing every 2 min because NONE of the Sunday School teachers showed up. I guess Mother's Day in California is also a church holiday, who knew. Anyway, I ended up teaching 20 TEENAGERS about the Book of Mormon. I made them all sing Book of Mormon Stories until they had the hand moves down perfectly, then I made them read scriptures and talk about it. They hated it and loved it all at the same time. I felt like I was in front of a firing squad for 45 min straight. I was sweating bullets, my blood was boiling, I was having panic attacks...it was pure torture. The moment I got 3 of them to participate, the 5 on the other side of the room started talking and laughing so then I'd go get them involved and then the other side of the room would start fighting. It was a blood bath. But I survived no doubt thanks to pure missionary power. I was so exhausted when I came out of that room I almost collapsed. But later a few of them came up to me and sang Book of Mormon Stories with the hand motions, so as much as they fought it...they were totally listening. Anyway...I don't want teenagers.

 

I went on exchanges with Hermanas at the very northern boundary of the mission this past week. That was super fun plus it was in wine country. Fancy pants. I got really confused in several appointments because of the gorgeous houses we were in and all the rich people drinking wine and holding their poodles while wearing stilettos and being fanned by the cabana boys. This is not my mission...where is the pachanga with Jose getting totes plastered in the corner and the flashing virgin de guadalupe surrounded by glistening candles and where are my tacos! That's my mission! I had forgotten the differences of San Jose and the surrounding parts of this flourishing California area. I mean, I had to use forks at dinner. I messed up at first, but I quickly corrected myself when I saw the looks of horror on their faces as I had chicken juice dripping down my chin after I shoved a piece in my mouth with my hands. Mi malo.

 

Anywho...the work is moving right along here. I had an awesome lesson yesterday with one of my favorite convert families. We talked about faith in Jesus Christ. I love talking about faith to new members. I often feel so jaded about my religious background, not to belittle my booming testimony, but I'm just so used to it. I always tell people that I just grew up knowing this stuff, I was super blessed, it was always there. But to hear someone talking about life without it and then the change they experience...wow - I love it. It's easy for me to forget the importance of such a commonly used word - faith. In reality it is the foundation upon which all joy begins. It is with our faith in our savior Jesus Christ that we know who we are, what we are doing and what our potential is. It is with this faith we can feel clean, worthy and happy. I love the comparison of faith in the scriptures to a seed, for this is truly how it begins. With our tiniest bit of faith, the Lord will really bless us with a blooming tree and delicious fruits to enjoy right now in this life and for our adventures afterward. I've seen it happen, I've felt it, I know it. Hooray!

 

xoxo,

Hermana Hall

Cinco de Mayo

Last Cinco de Mayo was spent in the safety of the MTC with the sweet package my BFF sent me full of all the "traditional" fiesta items like fake mustaches and pinatas. Turns out, real Cinco de Mayo, at least in San Jose, is absolutely bonkers. We had to be back in our apartments before dark and the only things we saw outside yesterday were Mexican flags and beer. All the major freeways were shut down and there was bumper to bumper traffic filled with trucks, cars, low riders, motorcycles draped in Mexican flags blasting Mariachi music from every possible speaker. It was insane! I so wish I had my camera, I've never seen anything like it. Now, no one has any clue what they are celebrating, but they sure now how to party. No drunken hugs for Hna Hall this holiday. Success.

 

This week was focused on bribery. We have several investigators that want to get baptized, but just can't seem to make it to church. President told me I had to do anything and everything possible to make sure they come to church. It came down to this...if you come to church I will buy you frozen yogurt and I will eat a grasshopper. Yikes. Done deal. It worked. She came. I have to eat a grasshopper tomorrow. I'm sure there are blessings waiting for me somewhere. The moral of the story is church is super important and if you need me to prove how important it is, apparently I'll eat insects. Who am I?

 

xoxo,

Hna Hall

Care Bear

Care bears. I was in love when them when I was a little girl...when they first existed which trips the babes out around here. I still remember my favorite, Rainbow, and I'm pretty sure I've kept him locked up in Mom's house. He was my joy, except for the Popables because they were just so cool. So the other day at the Pulga I found a care bear puppet and squealed as I paid the lady $1 for it. She was in a booth just down a bit from us and about an hour later she walked over and handed me two more care bears she had found in her stash and she just wanted to give them to me for free because she could tell how happy the first had made me. I almost burst into tears...out of nostalgia and out of this sweet, unexpected gesture at one of the most hard core shopping environments outside of Morocco I've experienced. One of the bears actually talks and tells me nice things, but that's another story. What I realized later is that the care bears I now own have a sun, moon and stars...my missionary brain went fluttering and I now have a new object lesson for the Plan of Salvation. The Glory Bears. People are going to be on a waiting list to be baptized.

 

On to the sweet gesture from a stranger. What a precious lesson I learned at the Pugla that day, I can barely put it into words. The mission has put my life focus on other people...something I'm not perfect at all the time, but it has certainly improved. We spend every day thinking about others and how we can help them see how special they are, how important they are and what they mean to a loving Heavenly Father. Most of the world is completely jaded, true love and hope just don't exist in their eyes. There is nothing greater than watching someone's eyes light up as they learn how important they are to the most important being in the universe. And then there are Pulga ladies...who just get it. I'm sure it wasn't a huge sacrifice for her, but to me it meant the world and it reminded me that we are here on this earth for others. We really can change someone's day and we can really help them understand who they are to change their life. These things really do lie in our hands and with the help of Jesus Christ we can make a difference not only in our earthly and eternal happiness but in everyone we encounter. The Care Bears are about just that, they care, they bring joy...oh how I want to be a care bear and wear happiness on my belly to bring that happiness to others. Have a care bear week and share your happiness with someone too...they probably need it more than you do.

 

xoxo,
Hna Hall

Satan's wasps

It comes down to this...I've really made Satan mad. While contacting people in the street the other day, I was attacked by wasps and bit three times on my neck. I've never been stung before so I thought there was a slight possibility I could be allergic so I called the mission nurse...oh man I shouldn't have done that. I sent all the office staff into a mad panic, they were convinced I was going to pass out and die at any moment. Three wasp stings - no one survives that! I was then instructed to go purchase cigarettes (yup) and take out the tobacco (yup)  to make a paste (yup) and apply to my neck. I calmly agreed knowing full well there was no way I was going to do that. She called back to make sure I took my name tag off first. Uh. Yeah. Obvs. Then she called back to tell me that instead I should go buy meat tenderizer and make a paste - that'd be much more Word of Wisdom friendly. However, at this point I had already taken an entire bottle of Benadyrl and was not fully functioning so the other sisters ran out to get some for me. A fun little fact, there are two kinds of meat tenderizer...the seasoned kind and the unseasoned kind. Another fun fact, although the seasoned kind might be cheaper it will also stain your neck orange and leave you smelling like meat the rest of the day. Alas, missionary work could not be stopped, but it was more than clear I could not drive so the other sisters dropped us off at an extremely important appointment where apparently I gave an extremely entertaining lesson on the Plan of Salvation and secured another baptismal date by the miracles of the hand of the Lord. Later I said questionable things at a dinner. Nothing too out of norm there. I ended up passing out at 8:45 smelling like steak. Satan is so mad at all our baptismal dates right now he sent wasps after me. The moral of the story is, I can totally teach lessons completely plastered, Satan can't stop me - not even with wasps and benadryl. 

 

In other events this week, I ate BBQ with 5 strange Filipino men in a garage while teaching about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith. Normally, I do not think I would stop...at a stranger's garage...and eat meat, but the mission changes you. Plus, it was really good. And now the poor English Elders have 5 more investigators. Solid. 

 

My mission has certainly been colorful. I'm with a baby missionary right now. It's pretty obvious, but she is so pumped to be a missionary and things are hopping. I could do without all the strangers asking me if she is my real daughter. What the?  

 

I can't remember if I already shared this...the weeks just blend into each other around here. Speaking of which, my year mark is in like 4 days - woah. But the other day we were teaching a lesson and one of the kids was watching Nemo in the background. That is like my biggest challenge, televisions in homes. I just can't...it's so hard. Anyway, we caught one part where one sea creature is telling another sea creature...you just gotta keep swimming. I then turned that into a lesson about enduring to the end. Now, that's my new motto. This is life, we have to just keep swimming. Thank heaven we have little floaties to help us when we are tired with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

If you'd like to know more about how Jesus Christ can help you have floaties in the ocean of life...ask the missionaries.

 

xoxo,

Hermana Hall

Changes

There were a lot of changes for us this week. I got a new companion. She's from Mesa, Arizona and she is 20. She's very excited to be a missionary so I plan to milk that for all it's worth. We also had to move this week...that was interesting. The only time we had was in between Conference sessions on Saturday and that's what we did. We squeezed in a lunch lesson and then in 40 min moved everything. Thank heavens we don't have much stuff as missionaries or that could have been a nightmare. We had to move into an old Elders apartment so I'm obviously being a brat about the state of the furniture. They don't even have real desks, they were using a hutch...what the? Elders.

 

Cute things my new comp did this week:

1) Thought she could handle an entire Serrano in one bite. Hilarity ensued...for me; she was in complete and utter shock as her body spent all of its efforts rejecting every trace of the chile. I studied while her body returned to normal. I think she'll believe me next time when I warn her about 'picoso'.

2) Asked a Honduran if she was Mexican. Oops.

3) Learned that Taco Bell is not real Mexican food.

 

Things I learned at Conference: in Spanish, the women speakers don't annoy me. Also in Spanish, it's even easier to fall asleep. President Monson is hilarious and fire and dry grass are always terrible combinations. There were lots of wonderful talks on marriage and family that as a missionary touch my heart in two ways. For one, I'm thinking about all the families that we teach that really, desperately need the gospel of Jesus Christ to center their home, to establish good principles to protect their families in these troubled days. Second, I just want to get married. Whatever, I said it. It's true.

 

While waiting for my new companion I got to spend two days with my previous redheaded companion. We had such a blast together and I was reminded of the joy this work brings. Also we got 2 new baptism dates so that was a sweet bonus. Sometimes I get so bogged down with the Spanish I still can't speak, the scriptures I don't know, the gospel principles I'm not sure how to clearly explain to this family that so desperately needs them that I forgot this is all the Lord's work, His way, His time and you know what, it's a blast. When I stop for a second, take a step back and remember that I am just His tool in this effort I can see and feel all the joys that it has to offer. There is a reason that Ammon comes back from his mission so excited that he passes out - there is such happiness here and it's a blessing for our efforts. They talked about this yesterday, each responsibility we have has members to share the gospel - right now I'm doing it all the time and for that I get to see all the blessings every second, but I have seen it in the lives of members who take those steps of faith as well. It sure seems scary and overwhelming, but the Lord is guiding this and I promise as we make a plan to start He will direct us with blessings and joy.

 

xoxo,

Hna Hall

Habanero soup

Someone served us habanero soup the other day. It was supposed to be chicken soup but she ended up putting an entire bottle of habanero chile sauce thinking it was something else. Oops. We all about died...but mostly the Chilean and Spaniard who can't even handle the spice of pepper. That was kind of funny. I sweat quite a bit, but I'm totally Latina now so I took it like a champ.

 

One of our recent converts told us that every time she reads the Book of Mormon she has bad dreams that night so she doesn't think she should read anymore. Oh dear. We explained to her that it's actually probably the telenovelas that are the root of the problem and that the scriptures are a way to bring peace. I'm not sure I convinced her yet, but next time I think I'll trick her into reading the Book of Mormon by telling her we are going to read some telenovelas. tehehe.

 

We taught a women in Taco Bell the other day. That was new. I felt super awkward praying and reading scriptures while I chomped on a Doritos taco (which I do find amazing - Cyn, they have cool ranch flavor now, just sayin). I'm not really sure how much spirit was able to cut through the blazing Taco Bell music and smell, but I think we probably got in a good word or two. Desperate times.

 

This week in primary I struggled to keep the children from climbing up on my lap. It's just so enhancing and they don't really understand mission rules, they are just like her lap is so warm and inviting, I want to sit there. I can understand that. They actually were quite sneaky having one girl distract me while the other would casually throw her leg up on one of my knees and before I knew it I had a kid in my lap. After about the 5th time of putting them back in their own chair, I gave up and let both girls sit on my knee while I prayed President wouldn't randomly walk into our primary class. Then 5 minutes later one of the girls handed me her purse to open for her...for the half eaten apple she had been saving as a little primary snack. Good call, my young one.  

 

I lost my Spaniard today. I'll be getting a new missionary on Thursday. She is going to be super excited to get a missionary that invents Spanish. This is going to be epic!

 

xoxo,

Hna Hall