Elder Jansen Hall - December 16, 2013

Hey Yall!

So Christmas is commin faster and faster. The weeks an days get busier and busier. I hope yall are enjoyin and havin a happy holiday season! Now im tryin to remember what all we did this week. Hah usually by this time of the week I have forgotten what happened in the past week. But its been good here. Nothin much has changed. Its cold just like the rest of the US.

After almost a year I finally got my camera to the temple! haha

O yes yes. So this week somethin very special happened. This doesn't happen very often as a missionary, but we got to go to the temple! I was so excited! I love goin to the temple! You can always feel of the spirit so strongly there, and you can receive answers to your questions that may not come anywhere else. Now a lot of people not of our faith think that we keep people out and only certain people can come into the temple and we have secrets in there. Totally wrong, first off its not secrets, but its sacred. Anyone and everyone is invited into the temple as long as they are livin the way they are supposed to and can treat the temple as sacred, like its supposed to be. I was also able to have a talk with President Hanks and he again taught me a very powerful lesson about bein unified, not judgin, an not holdin someone to a higher standard that they cant make at that time. One thing I have learned so much as a missionary is to be interdependent. We all have a little bit of independence in us where we want to be by our selves and do our own thing. We all also have dependent in us where we depend on someone to help us. But as we are interdependent we can rely on each other and help each other as companions. Now this can relate to missionaries, marriages, and anything else when ya have a partner or companion. Its a very good skill to develop, a hard one none the less but will bring tremendous results!

So a lot of this week was spent tryin to take care of the ward Christmas party. Im not sure what all ive told yall but basically our ward mission leader and the sister that left North Port signed us up to be in charge of the Christmas party since no one else wanted to do it. We were gonna do that Mormon.org slide show and then have food and play games. Well on top of that, our ward mission leaders wife had someone in her family pass away, so they had to up and leave a few days before the party. So we went over to his house and finalized all the plans. Now for the slide show. I didn't realize how long this would actually take, an let me tell all yall that haven't worked to much with technology, it gives ya a big head ache. What ended up happenin, was we got as many voice recordins as we could of families answerin 3 questions, Who are you? What is your testimony? How do you live your faith? Then I told everyone to email me pics and I would put it all together. Well one, I don't have a personal computer so we ran back an forth between the library and members houses tryin to get this thing done haha I spent 3 days workin on it and got it done a few hours before the party started. But to make a long story short we got the party all set up and everyone was amazed at how well we did! Everyone loved the slide show and we had a couple non members there to view it which was great!:) There could've been more people to show up at the party but it was good none the less.

The reason why I tell ya that, is because since we as missionaries had to run the whole party by ourselves, that took up most of our week. We were able to tract some more and are goin out tomorrow to see someone that told us to come back. We are still tryin to find 1 investigator but I know that we will! Today I was readin in the scriptures in Alma. Its Ammon, Aaron and his brothers talkin. I feel like this answers so many of my questions and gets me to stop complainin. So this is them lookin back on the beginning of there mission. Everyone thought they were fools for goin to preach to the Lamanites. Then when they tired the first time, they got rejected so they were gonna go back to there city. Well the Lord stopped them and told them to go back. So they went back and over a little bit of time baptized thousands of Lamanites that ended up burying there swords and dying because they would not dig them up. Here are the verses.

26 But behold, my beloved brethren, we came into the wilderness not with the intent to destroy our brethren, but with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls.

 27 Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to aturn back, behold, the Lord bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with cpatience thine dafflictions, and I will give unto you success.

 28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their asynagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been bstoned, and taken and bound with cstrong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our ajoy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

 31 Now behold, we can look forth and see the afruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are bmany; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.

When we feel like we are doin the Lords work and cant see any success, just remember this story. They were physically beaten and scourged and still knew the Lord needed them. They were PATIENT and because of that were able to effective tools in the Lords hands! Right now I haven't seen a single investigator in North Port. Everyone all around us is baptizing and I have asked so many times why we cant even have just one person. Well my afflictions are nothing compared to Ammon and Aarons, but I need to have a little more patience and pray and the Lord will help me. Let us all take this story into our own lives when we cant find answers to our questions or have a trial that seems a little to long and hard, the Lord will help us out!

I know that this Christmas season as we reach out to others and help them in their trials we can see ours start to fade away. I Love yall so much and hope yall are doin well and have a great week! Remember, "Blessins brighten when you count them." Hope yall are happy!:) Love yall so much!

Love Elder Hall:)