Sunday, September 29, 2013

9/23/2013



Hey all!

Guess what. 4 MONTHS IN THE FIELD! :D It's crazy. CRAZY. I'm really starting to see how missionary life just becomes life, and then it's really hard to get back into things when you get home. Good thing that won't be for another 14 months. ;P It's still not easy though, for sure. But it's fun. Gollee it's fun. :D So! To business:

An Update:

It was a bit of a slow week this week (numbers wise), but full of miracles and biking in the rain (it's starting. Blleeerrrgghh). We taught some really spirit-filled lessons, met some great potentials, had awesome member meals and met some really solid new investigators. Bah! The investigators were probably my favorite: one, Shannon (a dude) from Kentucky (accent and all). Works with the Navy, really into the Bible, but calls himself a Doubting Thomas (puts a lot of stock in Science's evidences of religion, etc.). Had a good sit-down with him about the Book of Mormon though; he said nothing we told him really violated his beliefs, but that he wanted rock hard evidence for it. We directed him to Moroni 7:15-17, and he said it sounded like something he would've written himself. We're going back on Wednesday. And AMBER, ran into her, had taken lessons forever ago with some Sister Missionaries (though we have no record of her in our area book), and said she wanted to take them again! Super prepared. We thought she was a less active member she's so ready. Very exciting.

An Experience:

Last night we had a crazy crazy lesson with this woman named Angie. Angie has been out of the church for 20 years, but lives a super put together life; very blessed. She drinks coffee and tea, and feel that going to church she would be very judged by the members. Turning point of the lesson was when the member we brought with us (Staci Walton) confessed to having smoked some interesting substances in her time of lapsed activity just a few years ago. Ha! She's got a couple tattoos as well (though she didn't share that in the lesson). Just does my heart good to see that people of all backgrounds and histories of activity can engage themselves in the church and the gospel. AWESOME.

A Spiritual Thought:

Christ asks us all throughout the scriptures to 'take up our cross' and follow him. I've always wondered what that phrase meant, what 'taking up our cross' really was. But! I got some insight on that this week.

Luke 14:27 (with JST)

"And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Wherefore, settle this in your hearts, that ye will do the things which I shall teach, and command you."

What? Yes! Made the connection! 'Bearing your cross' is deciding to do the things Christ and Heavenly Father teaches and commands us to do. Often times that means doing them in faith; without knowing from the outset what will happen when we decide to change our lives to match what he asks. It also struck me that 'bearing your cross' is an awfully similar image to 'bearing Christ's yoke'. I think it's two images trying to get at the same thing; choosing to disregard what we want to do instead what God wants is a burden (or can feel that way). BUT. Giving all means we can receive all. We (our stubbornness, unwillingness to submit) are the limiting factor, and when we turn things over to Heavenly Father, we get it all back in return.

A Recommendation: 

ALL THOSE (Parents? Benjamin? Pre-Missionaries? Those on their missions? People with crazy lives? [I think that covers everyone]) who want to spend $7 (plus a little shipping) to change their lives and make it awesome, GO ONLINE AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK:

The Power of Everyday Missionary Work by Clayton Christensen

It's become a bit of a textbook for our mission, and it's awesome. Funny and down to earth for one, but also helps missionary work seem A) Desireable, B) AWESOME, C) Achievable (which I think is the most important thing). I wish I could go into it now, but so many great tools for how to do missionary work. And it's a quick read! Written by a super awesome Harvard guy. If he can have success in irreligious New England, you can have success anywhere. GO BUY IT.

Alright. Off the soap box. But for real, go get it.

I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU ALL!

Sister Hale

9/16/2013

Hey all!

Man, just sorting through my email pile this week I'm struck again with how blessed I've been in my life with wonderful people to love and who love me. It's incredible that making the sacrifice to come on a mission seems only to strengthen that love and those bonds, though I'm sure plenty of people would say it's too difficult a sacrifice to make. Incredible how the Lord compensates for all the sacrifices you make for him. I feel super super grateful.

But! To get outside of the mushy: the business!

An Update:

We're doing really well. Ah! Super blessed. Let me just remind y'all: I was terrified when I came into this area. Neither I nor my companion knew anything about the place or the people, I was in a family ward for the first time, on bike for the first time...it was terrifying. But as we've tried to work hard and use our time well, we've been super blessed. We actually made almost all of our goals this week, and surpassed some of them, which, in missionary world, is kind of unheard of. And some of those goals I was pretty resigned to not making. But! We were miraculously blessed with a new investigator and a member-present lesson yesterday (missionary lingo, sorry) that we weren't expecting, and were hit with a media referral today (like on mormon.org, someone going on and referring themselves to be taught by the missionaries. Missionary gold.)--the first one of my mission. I just hope that we work hard enough and are capable enough to live up to these blessings. All and all though, the work has been a lot of fun this week (if still a challenge, as it often goes).

An Experience:

Ah...where to start. Conner, the sweet boy we taught this week is on date to be baptized! It's incredible the joy I felt when I saw them and their Mom coming into church, all dressed up and looking fine. It's so cool; you don't plan on this work bringing you joy and you don't always expect it, but it does. As to a particular experience...man, there are so many. How to choose one. Met a wonderful woman Judy this week who is a retired chemist and lives alone with her sweet dog Joe. We talked for a good long time about God, how the universe (both macro and micro) testifies of how he does exist...and a little bit about the fruits of living a believing life (fruits of being honest, treating others well, working hard, focusing on education, all of that). We have another meeting set up with her for next Saturday, and are going to be sharing the Restoration with her. We hope she'll be open to learning more.

A Thought:

I read 2 Nephi 28 this morning, and it's a great read. I recommend it. Verse that stuck out to me was vs 29:

"Wo be unto him that shall say: We have received the word of God and we need no more of the word of God, for we have enough!"

I can't tell you how many times I've heard that so far on my mission. "Oh, thank you, we have a church, we have the Bible (or 'I'm an Atheist') we have enough." And it's true; there are many reasons why people don't accept the missionaries (the least of which maybe being that we ride around in skirts and white helmets. Weird.). But I wish they would. I wish that all who believed they had enough would be open to receiving more, and evaluate for themselves what we have to share with them.

Also, I watched this video this week, and was really touched by it. Almost a tear. :P If I was on facebook at home I would definitely share it...but for now I'll just share it with you.


If we're serious about protecting diversity, that means religious diversity as well. And what a light and strength religion is to people of all faiths. 

Love you all! Have a great week. :)

Sister Hale

PS. Super long email. Sorry about that.

9/9/2013



Hey all!

Whew! Alright. So another crazy week, but luckily a little less crazy than weeks past. It's so strange; with the extra responsibility of being Senior companion and training a new missionary, I feel like I've been out on my mission forever, but in reality it's only been 3 and a half months...blows my mind. I know it will go both fast and slow. We had a really great Stake Conference yesterday (one of these new broadcast-general-authorities things the church is doing), and one of my impressions from that that the mission really is very quick--only a year and a half--and that I should live it up while I can. And that's what I'm trying to do. :)

AN UPDATE:

Alright! So I am adjusting to Oak Harbor, and starting to realize what a small town it really is. It makes sense for us to be on bikes, because no where's further than maybe a mile and a half away...good exercise and good opportunities to contact everywhere we go. We had some really great lessons this week, and Sister Mailau and I (wish I could get you a picture) are meshing better and better as companions (bonding over a love of Jello Pistachio pudding helps). We were blessed to find 4 new investigators this week, and now are just feeling the responsibility of helping these people progress in the gospel. 

AN EXPERIENCE:

Probably the best lesson of this week was taught to Connor and Rylee Burlington. Their Mom is a single mom, and didn't know very much about the church when she went a few years ago (and thus hasn't really been coming). She's open to the missionaries coming over though, and very sweet. Her kids have a LOT of energy. We taught them about the Restoration of the Gospel last Friday (complete with pictures to color and the Restoration movie), and I felt the Spirit testify to me as I was teaching them that the things we were telling them were right and good. When we left the kids were so excited about prayer, they wanted to go to bed SO THAT they could pray again, and Connor told us as we were leaving "Thank you! You've made me really believe in God now!" That was a really neat experience. 

A SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

I've finally gotten through the Isaiah chapters of 2nd Nephi, and found this gem of a verse in 2 Nephi 25:28:

"...Wherefore, I have spoken plainly unto you, that ye cannot misunderstand. And the words which I have spoken unto you shall stand as a testimony against you; for they are sufficient to teach any man the right way; for the right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not; for by denying him ye also deny the prophets and the law."

The right way. That phrase just stuck out to me as I was reading this morning. The right way is to believe in Christ and deny him not. It is only through Christ that we can be one day "reconciled with God", which means being brought to a fulness of peace and joy in this life and the life to come (vs 23). I know that that's true, and that the Book of Mormon is a powerful evidence of Christ's divinity and mission. I love sharing the Book of Mormon with people, telling them that there's more truth to be had. I encourage all of you to read it, or if you already are, to further engage in your study of it. It is powerful evidence that the work we are engaged with is real and right.

I love you all! Be safe, and don't be afraid to write.

XOXO

Sister Hale

Monday, September 9, 2013

9/3/2013

Whew! Wow. WOOOWWWWWW...wow. Big, crazy week. I'm still reeling a little bit. It's been a lot of fun though, if crazy, and a lot of learning in a very short amount of space. Quick aside: I didn't write yesterday because it was Labor Day and the library (where we get our computer access) was closed. Sorry if you didn't get the memo. But! Let's see...how to lay this out...

An Update:

So! It feels like just about everything that could've changed DID change as part of this last transfer. I am...*drumroll*...NO longer in YSA, I'm training Sister Mailau from Tonga and Utah, we're assigned to a family ward in Oak Harbor (on an island), and I'm on bike. YEAH. AHHHH...so nothing familiar, absolutely nothing. Crazy. I started to sense how similar I could be to my Mom when I was up late at night stressing, not eating a lot etc...but things are better now and my appetite has returned (if the double tacos and brownies of the last few days have anything to say about it), and we have been blessed to see some awesome miracles in the last few days. 

Sister Mailau is awesome. Super motivated, here to serve and work, and eager to learn. I have to do a lot of work to keep up with her. She's also incredibly blunt! In response to my stress of the first few days, she told me that I was "really strange" and that she'd "never met anyone like me before." Very helpful. :P A few days later though after things had died down, she thanked me for the great week. And it's true! Though we've had a lot to organize, we've also been blessed to find good things to do and not run around like chickens with our heads cut off, which is a blessing. One of these experiences cataloged below!

An Experience:

On our very first day walking around we met Mia and Andrew. Mia is a less active member, pregnant with she and Andrew's first child, and very sweet. Her husband is in the Navy and not a member, but he knows the Bible really well and is interested in learning about what the Mormons believed. We continued to run into them day after day throughout the weekend, and I think they're a couple that really needs to be taught right now. Though Andrew doesn't seem 100% prepared, I hope that as we teach him and bring the spirit into their house that he will have the desire to make his family eternal; to commit to the Gospel and find the ways it can bless his family. Moving into family ward my testimony has been strengthened already of how the Gospel blesses Families, and how the family is such a fundamental unit of the church and of society at large. It can become 'a little bit of heaven' as we found it on the teachings of Christ. I know that that's true.

A Spiritual Thought:

D&C 76:53

In describing those who will receive the Celestial Kingdom (eternal life living with God forever), this scriptures says:

"And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father shall shed forth upon all those who are just and true."

The first time I read this, it sort've bummed me out. That first phrase 'overcome by faith' made me think of someone being overcome by the spirit, overcome by the goodness of the gospel, and rejoicing in it all the time. It seemed like an unreachable standard; that perfect saint that never suffers doubt or fear, that constantly understands where they are before God and what he wants them to do. However, I took a second look at the verse...and I don't think that's what it's actually saying. Instead of saying "and who are overcome by faith" it says, "and who overcome by faith." What? Yeah. At second reading it seems to me that that verse is speaking to people like me, people who encounter challenges and difficulties, and often come short of the expectations placed on them. "Who overcome by faith." I may not be constantly overcome by faith, but I can overcome by faith. Why? Because that is a choice. It may not be a choice to encounter a tough circumstance or challenge to our faith. But it is a choice what we do with that challenge. We can choose to have it eat at us, to dwell on it, to allow ourselves to wander and lose hope. Or--we can overcome by faith. Put our trust in the things we've learned and our past experiences. Put our faith in prior manifestations of the Spirit and journey onward,  'continuing as you are until further directed' (JSH 1:26). I know that that's possible, and that that choice is rewarded in the life after this, perhaps even moreso than being one who is 'overcome by faith.'

I love you all and my prayers are with you. Be safe and continue in the joy of the Gospel!

Sister Hale

8/26/2013

Whew!
So yeah, 3 months out. Crazy, huh? Even crazier...*drumroll*...I'm getting transferred tomorrow, AND training! Bah! 'Whitewash training,' it's called. For everyone not well accustomed to mission slang, that means I'll be moving somewhere else in the mission (and probably not be working with Young Singles anymore...though maybe! I have loved it...), and I'll be the first companion of a new missionary who's just come fresh from the MTC. Woot! I'm a little nervous about that, maybe...but who am I kidding. It's gonna be a lot of fun, and y'all know I love to be in charge and start something new...so it's going to be a way fun week. Woot! Alright, down to email business.
 
An Update:
 
It's been a great week! Very solid. We were super blessed to have LOTS of people come to church this last week, including Jessica (getting baptized on the 14th) and her surrogate sister, Spencer (who is female. Apparently that name can go that way. Pretty awesome). We did a lot of preparing the ground my first transfer, and it's been wonderful to see that ground begin to bear fruit. It's been so much fun being here, I don't know how I'll cope with leaving. It's going to be super sad to leave Sister Wayman as well. She is a marvelous companion and we've had a lot of fun together. We found cards in our table drawer this week, and most of you know what that means...POUNCE THIS P-DAY! :D More reports on who wins later. 
An Experience:
 
We had a lesson with Hillari this week, who just moved up from Utah and hasn't been attending church for some time. We'd had her read some from the Doctrine and Covenants, and she shared with us some things that had stood out to her from D&C 50. The beginning of the section talks about how false spirits imitate good ones, and she mentioned that for her, she'd been letting a lot of false, short-lasting pleasures take the place of the better ones. She then shared with us (with some emotion) that our coming to her house a few weeks ago was the first time she'd felt the spirit in a long time. That was really cool for me, that she could discern a difference between our being there and not, and she knew what that difference was. It was also cool for me and Sister Wayman to be able to bring that to someone, weak instruments that we sometimes are. She'll be coming to church in the next couple weeks; even with work conflicts, she says that that's something she really wants to do.
A Thought:
 
Kay, so this one is awesome. READ ON. Sister Wayman and I went to an Institute class on repentance this week, and this quote just jumped out of the page and shook me a little bit. So here it is for you:
 
"What progress can there be for a man unconscious of his faults? Such a man has lost the fundamental element of growth, which is the realization that there is something bigger, better, and more desirable than the condition in which he now finds himself. In the soil of self-satisfaction, true growth has poor nourishment. Its roots find far greater succor in discontent...The first step to knowledge is a realization of the lack of it; and the first step towards spiritual growth is the belief in a higher and better life, or conversely, a realization of the meanness of one's present state. Repentance is the turning away from that which is low and the striving for that which is higher."      
 
--David O. McKay, Gospel Ideals 12-13
 
I know that that's true. That as long as we're reasonably well satisfied with ourselves and our circumstances, true growth is impossible. Recognizing the possibility of something better--for each of us--is the first step to coming to a fuller measure of joy. I know it's possible, and that greater joy comes in a greater embrace of the Gospel. As C.S. Lewis says, God cannot give us happiness apart from himself, because he it does not exist. If you want it, or joy or peace or any of that, you've got to abandon yourself and go to the source.
 
I love you all. And I love getting letters, so don't be shy. ;)
 
XOXO
 
Sister Hale
 
And the address, if it's buried in an inbox somewhere:
 
Sister Hale
Washington Everett Mission
PO Box 13390
Mill Creek, WA 98082

Monday, September 2, 2013

8/19/2013

Woo!

Hey y'all, what's going down?! For some reason 'y'all' has been my favorite word today, which is weird, because I'm pretty far from Texas in both mind and location...but whatever. How you doin?! This week has been a lot of fun. Read about it below!

An Update:

Sister Wayman and I have had a great week. I love her. She is completely grudge-free and never takes things personally...heaven knows what I'll do next time I get a really sensitive companion...;P But this transfer has really been a blessing and a lot of fun. Jessica, our on-date investigator is still progressing towards baptism, though she wasn't at church last week. Heather was though, to our surprise. We love her, and hope she gives up smoking soon.

An Experience:

The most incredible blessing of this week was talking to this guy named Z (or Andrew Zinkland, as he occasionally goes by). Z is rough. Tattoo'd up and down his arms, has a serious past history with both drugs and the law, and has a scowl to rival the devil. Funny thing is, he's a member and he's active. He's at like every activity, at church every Sunday...but most of the time he sits out in the foyer and looks so angry, like you wouldn't want to touch him with a ten-foot pole...still, we've been talking to him, and had this running joke going about how to be chill, not super super missionary-giddy as per the usual...BUT. This last Tuesday, out of the blue he asks to meet with us. His brother says something big has happened, and we're majorly...I don't know, just weirded out; didn't know what was going on. We met with him though, at 7:45 at McCollum Park...and he proceeds to tell us of his miraculous history with the Gospel; how he's been changing the past few weeks and has had some crazy communication with Heavenly Father that has served to heal some wounds of the past he thought would never go away. It's incredible. Since having told us that, he's been changing so fast. He's given us referrals for his friends, come to Outreach, read his scriptures every night, and even wore a shirt and tie to church on Sunday. Besides that, his countenance has changed; his face has really opened up, and he's opening up to others...it's incredible to see the spirit work in him and the transformation that's taking place. I know we're not responsible for it, but it's a serious blessing to witness.

A Thought:

My thoughts aren't really organizing themselves into one coherent thing this week, so I'll just share the end of the 13th article of faith, which I love:

"If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."

I love this. You can really tell the difference between good and bad in your life; between that which invites you to do good, spend your time well, love God and love and bless others, and that which encourages you to keep to yourself, become isolated, and care not for God or anyone else (Moroni 7:16-17). Pursue those things which encourage you to do good. Take a chance and say yes to an opportunity to serve someone or learn something delicious, because all these things will increase the presence of the Spirit in your life, and bring you to that much more joy. Plus your life will become a whirlwind adventure of taking advantage of every opportunity; pleasant side-effect.

I love you so much! Please don't hesitate to write as well. One of those service opportunities that will bring you joy, I promise. ;)

Love,

Sister Hale

8/12/2013

Hey y'all!

Alright, a little short today I guess...but here goes! 2 weeks from transfers and almost 3 months out. Crazy. I'm starting to worry that I'm going to be awkward when I get home. Maybe that's one of the reasons I've been put in a YSA ward to start out; to keep me fresh, crazy and normal. It may all go down the tubes though if I get transferred to a family ward this next time about, just letting you know. :X

So! How do I do these again? Ermmm...

An Update:

Work's going well! It was a bit of a tough week because we dropped like...5 or 6 investigators. Whew! Mostly those we couldn't get in contact with/were homeless and we couldn't find/weren't reading...but we had one girl drop us (Patience) who I thought had a lot of potential, which was a bummer. She had read through like...2 Nephi in one week. But...! Her time will come, we're hoping. On the flip side, we found Jessica Hernandez (like we mentioned last week), and she's got a baptismal date for September 7th! :D May have to move it because it's stake conference, but it's super exciting and a huge blessing to work with her. We're teaching her later tonight.

An Experience:

So last night Sister Wayman and I were knocking doors because the person we had gone to visit wasn't there...and we commented to each other that neither of us had ever been let in to a door we knocked tracting. It's just kind of not the culture, right? Anyway, we knocked one door where a nice lady informed us that she was very Christian etc., and had to get to bed, then knocked another one...and they let us right in. Wow! There goes never having been let in, right? We sat down and talked to this older guy and his wife for a minute, and...turns out he was born into a Polygamous home, was formerly FLDS and now is a fundamentalist Christian. And...then came the bash fest. Or what could've been a bash fest, had Sister Wayman and I chosen to engage (around whether or not baptism was necessary to enter the kingdom of God, that sort of thing)...but luckily we chose not to engage and we got out of there pretty peacefully. A definite blessing. 

A thought:

1 Nephi 19:3

"And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness."

I love this verse; I've been sharing it all week. I love that it says that if we choose to keep the commandments of God (an act of faith), that he will nourish us and strengthen us; enable us to do it. That's incredible. So if you think it's too hard, think again. All things are possible with God.

And I wish I could do a picture, but the camera cord hasn't turned up yet which is making me super unmotivated to take pictures. I'll try to sort it out, but it's hard when you're not googling stuff. ;)

I love you all! And I continue to love to hear from you. Please send mail! It's so fun for me to get, and really brightens up the week. Not to mention that Sister Wayman's mail pull has totally been putting me to shame. :P Have a great week everyone, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Sister Hale

8/5/2013



8/5/2013

Hey y'all!

Super short today; apologies. And I have no camera cord, so no pictures. Blek.

Experience: This week we miraculously found an investigator that we had totally lost contact with. She was super on fire, and then she just dropped off the face of the earth...but Sister Wayman felt like we should go see her after going to a member dinner, so we DID...and it was wonderful. She was home and totally still into our coming around. She's accepted a soft invite to be baptized (there are soft and hard invites, if you didn't know. Seriously, get with the mission lingo.) and we felt super blessed to be around to watch her develop into her relationship with God.

I'm doing great! We taught 20 lessons this week, which is AWESOME, and have a goal to teach even more this week. Sister Wayman and I work really well together and are having a lot of fun. As to specifics...I've started to run in the mornings, which is awesome (not far and not long, but still), and I'm ever seeing how people struggle coming off of mission life. I've only been here 2 months, and it's pretty clear the transition out is going to be a little messy...but I've got a while till I have to deal with that. Never thought I would say it in the first couple weeks of my mission though, and here I am already.

Thought!

1 Nephi 15:24

"And I said unto them that it (speaking of the rod of iron) was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction."

I just like this; it's a promise that if we hearken (hear and act on) to the word of God (the scriptures, words of the prophets, personal revelation, etc), and hold to it, that we will be supported in temptation and liberated from the blindness of the world. That's pretty cool; that something as simple as reading the scriptures and acting accordingly can have such powerful spiritual impact. I know that that's true...and if you haven't been reading, start reading! :P

I love you all. Thanks for your support thus far...and keep me updated about your lives, I wanna know what's going on!

Sister Hale