Week 52 El Bosque

Enjoy this weeks updates.  More specifics about investigators.

Hey Familia,

Yeah this week went by really fast and I cant believe the change is over now and thanks for the money. I am going to buy the new one today. What should I do with the old camera? Also I am going to buy a Sony so no worries on the same type of camera. Well I am glad to hear you liked the pictures and you can tell I lost a ton of weight and look different. Also I sent two letters about a week ago for your birthdays of Emily and Mom. So I hope you enjoy them and whenever they get there lol. Wow Dallin is leaving soon!! Also mom I did do some dumb things but not too dumb lol. Also everyone is growing up so fast now and leaving for their missions and Scott comes home???? crazy how everyone is starting to come home soon. Well I was hoping to have Pres. Riggs as my Stake President when I came back but if the Lord calls him somewhere differently thats fine. Also the same as Bishop Trendler. Ummm as for working next summer maybe at Jakes I would love to work there again. I have some ideas but who knows I dont like to think about it untill the ttime is right. One thing is for sure is I dont want to come home early to go to school. I want to complete my two years officially. Hey where did Jake Packer go for his mission????

 

Well this week was okay we didnt find to many new investigators but we are trying to progress on our families. They are so hard to encounter together. We have the family Amaya that are progressing well and want to hear from us. The only problem with them is teaching them more and coming to church. But now that the church is done and ready for next Sunday that will help a ton for us to have people come to church. Then we have the brothers of the family Sauceda and their wives. They are good but super hard to encounter them all together. The husbands or brothers are members but we are trying to teach the wives. They both seem interested and we hope and pray for them to progress especially with the church done now. We had a cool lesson with Carlos and Belkis. Carlos is a member and Belkis is not. We just wanted to get to know Belkis and talked about the church and the blessings. We talked about how the families are important and she started to cry and we hope we have more confidence with her now to teach. She is kind of hard and has some doubts about the Book of Mormon and Baptism. She was baptized before and so we need to explain all of that. We are going to work really hard for them and  see if they want to be married and baptized. We have one lady named Yadira who is an old investigator and knows everything about the church she just needs to make a decision to be baptized or not. We pray for her to make the right decision but thats all we can do to invite her to be baptized. Nothing else happened this past week. So yeah this week are changes and we will see what happens. Let you guys know next week. Love you all and hope you are safe and sound. Cuidanse mucho.  

Love,

Elder Hall

Week 51 El Bosque

Interesting time in Honduras as they truly take a week off for Easter.  He sent some very interesting pictures of the road art that they did in the city with colored Saw Dust.  See them pasted on the gadget list in the blog.


Dear Family,

Well sounds llike Easter was fun for Navy and everyone is doing fine. I am excited to see that everyone is going well. How is Emily doing? Also what is up with all of the wimps at the lake? I miss the lake but we will for sure go when I come home. I am glad to hear that the Grandparents are doing well and my cousins are getting married pretty soon. 

Well this week was vacation week for the country because Easter is a big holiday for the Catholics here. It was cool and bad because everyone leaves or stays in their house and dont really want to talk. We struggled with finding new investigators but went to see some cool art culture stuff that the people do here. On Friday we went to so see this big event they do which is called the La Alfombra which means a carpet of pictures of Jesus Christ. The fact is its not carpet its colored sawdust and they close off the street and draw designs. It was super cool to see and enjoy the culture of a different country. we took a bunch of pictures. As for the work might baptize some more people this weekend but it all depends on the church of Buenos Aires. Its done but the people say there is still some other things they have to figure out. Which is super annoying. We are going to baptized some references that a member gave us. They are the grandkids of this member family. They are funny. Also some news is my cameras screen broke and is all white. It takes pictures but I cant see if they are good pictures. So do I keep using this camera or should I get a new one. I can buy one here which is more easier but you might have to send me some money for it. But Let me know by next Monday because changes are coming up on the 18th of this month. So I think I might have changes. Well not much else to report. We could baptized some families this week also but we are going to see what happens. Sorry I am boring but it was a cool week but kind of boring for the work. Thanks for everything and I pray for you guys everyday. I love your letter and support. Tell everyone I said hi. Also when  you go for Landons and Cassies weddings tell them congrats. Cuidate mucho.

Tu Hijo,

Elder Hall 

Week 50 El Bosque

Chase received some tough news from home last week and he is responding in this email.  His response is a good indication of his willingness to learn from whatever comes.  We also see that the Lord balances the challenges with tender mercies that he describes as miracles.  Charity is the pure love of Christ and Chase is definitely seeing his brothers and sisters through that pure love.  It all starts with hope, then moves to faith and finally the ability to see things through Gods eyes......Charity.


Hey Family,

I am really sorry to hear about the miscarriage and the death of Sis. Hatch. I cant believe Emily had one! I am going to pray for her a ton. I cant even imagine how to handle that. Well that baby is saved in the heavens. I dont have a doubt about that at all. Well conference was amazing and I learned a ton. I love all of the talks that were given and I learned a lot about families. I learned how to raise a family in times of difficulty. I love conference so much and look forward to it every 6 months. Its interesting because I only have one more conference here in Honduras and then the next one is at home!! Crazy huh?! One thing I liked a ton was the talk about God desires and how we can know if we are doing Gods desires or Satan desires. This helped me realize or check if I am doing what God desires me to do. Well that sounds like the good old summer in AZ and I am excited for my piece of the temple! 

Well this week was a miracle! We started off the week kind of bad because a ton of our fechas were falling or pushed back till April. So we were kind of disanimated until Wednesday night we visited Cyntia and her kids. We talked to them about baptism and to see what they think and if they would like to be baptized with their mom. At the first of the lesson they werent to positive but after we explained what it is and what they can get  out of it their hearts changed and wanted to think about to be baptized on Friday with their mom Cyntia. It was cool because Cyntia told us she will be baptized on Friday with or without her kids. So she was pretty much set to go. Then I had to do divisions with some Elders on Thursday because of the interviews for our baptisms and work another area. So this week was busy and crazy. Because on Friday we ended up with 3 baptisms. We baptized Steven, Cyntia, and her little boy Armando. The rest of Cyntia kids will be baptized later hopefully. We are still working hard and changes are coming up fast. I think I will have changes but who knows until the day of. I love conference though and I received a lot of guidance for my mission and what is to come. I am really sad to hear that for Emily and Bro. Hatch. I hope they are doing well. That was our week and I would say rewarding. After the baptisms we had i felt something really different when I came home. I was exhausted and ready to go to bed and I felt a peace that I was doing my job as a servant of the Lord. Even through all of the hardships and disappointments one miracle can change a view. I wasnt sure how we had these baptisms but they were miracles. I love this work and I dont know where I would be without it. I love this work. I love my Savior. I love all of you guys. Talk to you guys next week. This week is Semana Santa or Holy week. Its when they celebrate Easter and its a big thing here haha. Well thank you for everything and I love you all. Take care. 

Con Amor,

Elder Hall

Week 49 El Bosque

Dear Family,

The dreaded hot summer finally comes! I remember going golfing the heat and just sweating like crazy. Good times! Well sounds like everything is going well and still making good friendships with the Valle family and why you telling me to date the cousins of them?? Still have 10 months left family!! Also Cassie is getting married???!!!! I though she was waiting for someone?? Crazy and I am missing two of my cousins weddings! I would love to be there, but I am sure they understand. Tell Aunt Melissa I said hi please! Also do you have the address of the Sparks family. I havent heard from them in a while. How are they? How is Zak? Well I am glad to hear everything is going well. Tell Josey that Labero is the most important and best position on the team. She should wear a head band too lol.

Our week was good we had some bad and good things happen. We were trying to work with Cyntia and her kids to be baptized but not all of her kids went to church so only Cyntia can be baptized. We are going to see of Cyntia wants to be baptized with her kids or no. Cyntia would love to have her kids baptized and go to the same church but she doesnt want to obligate her kids and so we are going to talk to her about it. She is soo ready to be baptized for any day of the year. I am hoping she gets baptized soon because she is ready. Also Steven is ready to be baptized. No problems there at all. Then I did divisiones with some other Elders on Jueves and that was super fun. I went to this area called Sagastume which is behind my area. I went with Elder Chapman from Arizona haha. He is super funny and I found out he went to Queen Creek high school and lives 20  minutes away from our house lol. He is funny and has red hair. He has the same amount of time as Steven and so that will be another homecoming you could go to if you are still in Arizona. Then we put some new fechas for some new people we are teaching. We are trying really hard to teach the families we have. We put some fechas with the kids and the wife but the husband wasnt there. So hopefully next time we can teach them together. Oh yeah Jaffeht, Axel, and there sister want to be baptized when the Buenos Aires church is done in April. So that is a little frustrating but we cant do anything about it. Nothing really new though. We are just working and finding everyday. We found some potential investigators but we will see this week. Also conference should be awesome!!! I am so excited. I need some guidance though. Anyways thanks for everything and hope everything goes well with you guys this conference. Well love you all and yeah the package and just anything else that would be good. haha. Well thanks again.

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Hall

Week 48 El Bosque

Another week


Dear Family,

No I didnt have changes mom. I am still here in the woods lol. I am glad to hear the water was flat and no one was there haha. I miss those days with the family. But sounds like Emily begins her sickness again lol. I am praying for a boy lol. 

Well I am glad that you are good friends with Alejandra still and I ran into Gabriela the other day in Centro. She was happy to see me and talk with me for a little bit. She wants me to come over to her house and talk with all of them again. I need to ask for permission to do that and I will see if I can haha. I love the Family Valle. They were such good people to talk to. I am trying to learn how to make beans also. I can cook rice pretty well now  haha. Or at least my companion says it tastes good. 

Yeah I was super excited to hear to receive letters from Cody and Kati. I am glad to hear that they are doing well. Cody is staying in Texas for his mission and he seeems to be taking it well. He sounds like he enjoys the mission a lot. Cody sounds different now and has a new way of loooking at life which I am glad the mission is helping him out with that. Katy is great and  I am glad she made it into BYU and enjoys what she is learning. She was fun to hang out with in Utah when I was up there. Hopefully I can do a trip like that again haha. I wrote them both back last week. 

Umm the dedication I dont know when the exact date. I would love to be here for that but I might just be here for the open house which would be cool. Well I heard a new rule about missionaries visiting their old areas at the end of their missions. I heard you have to go back home and then come back to visit. So I guess we could do that but I am not worried about it right now. So I am not thinking about at all.  Yes I did receive my package today and thank you so much for the stuff. I am excited for the new hymn book now. It helps investigators see the letters more haha. As for requests skittles, starbursts, cookies of any kind. What else maybe a cool book to read about the church or doctrine. I dont know really. I will let you know about specifics next week. 

Well the work for this week we worked hard but our numbers didnt really show it. We did encounter two new families that we could baptize next month. One is the Saluceda family and the other the Amaya family. The Saluceda family is really nice and the husband, Carlos, is a less active member and wants us to come visit his family. We have an appointment with them today. Then the Amaya family we contacted. They live close to members and they seem pretty positive and receptive to us. They dont have much but they are very humble. As for baptism we have four that we are going to baptize for the 30th of this month. They are Steven who has really changed and wants to be baptized. Then Jaffeht and Axel they are brothers. Also Cyntia who is super pilas. We had a Family Night with her on Saturday and it was an awesome lesson and we had it with some members. Cyntia brought some of her kids who seem positive and we hope to baptize some of them with her. She is such an awesome lady and loves going to church every week. Also she loves having us over to teach and talk. Cyntia does have some struggles because she is very poor but she doesnt let it hold her down. She told us that she would rather be poor and happy than rich and sad all of the time. So she is just such a cool lady. Her kids are really funny with us and like to have us over also. Anyways we are going to continue to work hard and find more investigators. I figured that I need to take everyday step by step and not worry to much about after the mission. That will come in time and I will worry about it later. I just need to focus on whats going on right now in my mission and not after. Anyways crazy how time flies here and thank you for everything. Love you all sooo much!! Until next week! 

Con Mucho Amor,

Elder Hall

Week 47 El Bosque

Time is moving quickly for Chase and as you can read there is much activity for him. El Bosque had been closed for some time but clearly they are making progress finally.


Dear Family,
That is super awesome that you met Elder Brooks or Cameron Brooks. He is super funny and such a nice guy. Chelsey should go on a date with him. He has my approval! Also thats awesome how is he shared that story about the family that we were teaching. They were an awesome family and yes it was sad to stop teaching them. They progressed so well and hopefully they get another chance in their life. Aww Cameron was one of my favorite companions and made laugh all the time. We would share stories about the stuff we did in Arizona and comes to find out that we didnt live to far away from each other. Also did the same stupid little things when we were in high school. I definitely want to keep in touch with him. He said he is going to Utah to study with his brother. I miss him a ton but its time for him to go home and move on with his life. I hope and pray for the best for him. It was sad to only be with him for a change but he really did change his life around. I come to find out also that I am forgetting some english words and I cant pronounce some english words also. I am kind of worried when I come home and totally have an accent and start saying some spanish words by accident. Well I hope you guys had an awesome trip in Roosevelt. I always wanted to go see what the lake looked like. sounds like a sweet trip though. Good job chelsey on making new friends and dating other guys.  College is such a good experience to make new friends. 
 
Anyways this past week was a good week. We contacted some less actives which led us to more families. We found this one family that has kids that are members. But they are all bigger and live in there own houses and have kids also. We are going to see if we can contact all of these families and try baptized them in the next couple of months. Another family that is pretty big that we found is okay. They arent the most positive but they like having us over though. They are hard to teach and dont have a solid religious background. There are a few less actives in the house that we could work with to teach the family but we are fighting to see if they will progress or not. The Family name is Familia Montoya. They have 4 kids and the daughter and the dad are less active members. We will see what happens though. Then we are teaching this one lady named Cyntia Urbina and she is super pilas. She has been to church twice in a row and loves going to church. She learns so much and feels super welcome everytime she goes. She loves it when we teach her and she has so much faith. We have a fecha for her on the 31st to be baptized. Then last night we met her kids and they are really funny and asked us a bunch of questions about us and the church. There are five kids and we met four of them. The youngest has 10 years and the oldest has 21 years. So we are hoping to teach all of them and baptized them also. So we will see and we have  some others but we will see what happens with them. Another change with my trainee and I think I am going to leave the area. We will see this change will be a good one though. I havent seen the package yet. Also its my companions Birthday this month on the 30th or 31st I cant remember. Also forgot to tell you I took out like 26 dollars two weeks ago. We had to pay for the wedding and stuff. So yeah sorry it was to much though. Just so that you know. Also last week I was thinking about my mission and where I am at right now. Like if I was becoming the missionary that I am suppose to be or that my Heavenly Father wants me to become. Also was thinking about my life after the mission and what I am going to do. I know its a little early but I just started to think of these things. I dont know. Its hard to tell if I am pleasing my Heavenly Father with the work I have been doing. I am praying and aksing what I need to do to become a better servant of the Lord. So I am going to keep looking and searching for that answer. Anyways I was just thinking of my life after the mission and my mission right now. I am not sure still though haha. I am going to wait a little and see what will happen. My first priority is to finish my mission. The whole two years. Then I will think about what I am going to do after a little later on when I am finishing my mission. We will see though. But thanks for the love and support. 


I did receive a DearElder from Kati Briggs and a letter from Elder Booher. They are both doing really well. Love to hear that my friends are doing fine. Well thanks for everything and I will talk to you guys later. Love you all and be safe on that trip. 

With Love,
Elder Hall 

Week 46 El Bosque

Another week gone by......His sister is expecting or at least we think so.  Too early to have a definitive yet until she goes to the doctor.  Life certainly changes as the mission proceeds.


Hey Family,

I am suprised that my package got to you guys quickly. But also happy you enjoyed the tape recorder. Its kind of a cool thing to do.  Also WOW I cant believe Emily is pregnant again!!! That will be exciting to come home too. I didnt think she would have another kid until I came back. But I would assume Navy needs a little brother! Also the boat would be sweet!! But are there lakes in washington??? Or are you guys going to store in Arizona still?  I want to know when they start to divide the Stake Center. Also the schedule of the temple I want to go to temple when I come back. Well the heat is starting to rise here too. Luckily I am not in Choluteca but we do have changes this week though. I think I will stay with Elder Castro again but there might be changes with me. But I will let you know this next week. 

Well this week we did work everyday and started to find some new investigators whom seem pretty positive. We have some potenticial families we could baptized in April. We put a fecha with one family that the wife is not a member. She is really nice but she doesnt really have the desire to be baptized. But we put a date for her and we are going to work really hard to have her have the desire and  be a member with her husband. Their little daughter wants to be baptized also. So we are going baptized her also. Then we are also teaching a kid named Jaffeht who is wanting to be baptized also. He has 11 years and likes to listen to us. We also met with a house of a bunch of people who live together. There are some less active members also but we are going to try and teach more people in that house. We have some potentials in the future. We are working hard and we are still working on teaching together. We have been having problems about Castro talking the whole time and teaching everything and not giving me a chance to talk at all. But we talked last night about it and we are going to work on it in companionship study. Nothing really exciting to report. but we are working really hard for future baptisms. Well thanks for the love and the support and hope you all have a great week.

Week 45 El Bosque

Chase continues to have a lot of activity going on with investigators each week.  His letters remain very upbeat and they include words that certainly must be part of the Mission lingo.....Pilas, animato etc


Hey Family,
Sorry for the email being a little late, the power went out today almost the whole day. So the power came back on just about a couple hours ago. Also mom relax we are fine and there are no prisoners that we have encountered. No worries!! Dang I miss the cabin trip those trips were so much fun even though the leaders got mad at us for giving back massages lol.  Good times. I am so happy you are making some missionary efforts and there are some jovenes coming to the activities and church. Those activities are huge for the youth. I loved going to mutual every week. Well I hope Josey doesnt get to tall and Navy is going to look so different when I come back. Well Josey and Navy will look way different. 

Well this week was just a crazy week! First Elder Castro was still sick and we couldnt really do much, but we did do divisiones with the ZL´s so I could do somethings for the area and other missionaries. We didnt leave the house for a couple of days. I was so bored!! Also we had to marry Andres and baptize him and another young man named Carlos. So Castro wasnt doing to well but we had to run around Tegus to turn in paper work for the wedding. We married Andres and Francisca on Wednesday. That was an awesome day!! Then Andres still was smoking cigarettes and we told him he cannot smoke anymore or he cannot be baptized. Then Carlos is a young man that has 19 years and is studying to be a doctor. He is super pilas and has a testimony. He was in Olancho almost the whole week because he is from there and he studies here in Tegus. So we were waiting for him to get back on Friday so we can teach him a little more and do the interview. Well Friday came and we showed up to the house he lives in, but he wasnt there!!! We were a little worried but his brother told us he is coming right now from Olancho. Carlos arrived finally and we taught him and another Elder did the interview. It was cool because the Elder that interviewed Carlos, Elder Cac, said that when he asked the final question of the interview questions Carlos started to cry. Carlos said that he was waiting for this moment for a long time. How cool is that!!!! Then we ran to Andres´s house to have him interviewed also. We married Andres and Francisca on Wednesday. That was an awesome day!! Then we had to run around doing a bunch of interviews for other Elders because last Saturday we had a stake baptism or the whole zone had baptisms for Saturday. Well the Stake set up a huge activity for the baptisms of all the missionaries. It was such a big turn out because there were members and non members there. It was an awesome day. We did baptized Andres and Carlos!!! Even though we had a lot of problems and craziness going on in the area, we did have the baptisms. Totally worth the craziness lol. Oh yeah the whole zone ended up with 18 baptisms that Saturday!! The stake was super pleased with the turn out!! Well i dont have anything else but we are trying to find new investigators and this is the last week in the change. So we will see what comes next. I am pretty sure I am going to stay with Elder Castro but know one knows until next Tuesday in the night. Well thanks for the package and the love. Love you all and hope you are all safe. Thanks a ton!!

Con Mucho Amor,
Elder Hall