Nov. 18, 2013

Hey family!!!! How are you?! Ok so I had this nice big intro but all of it erased.... so I am just going to skip most of it but I love hearing your stories about what is happening at home! I really do and they help pick me up. That is nuts that dad sang in sacrament meeting with the choir but so cool! Wish I could have heard it... my butt is really chapped that the whole thing erased.... oh well. Ha-ha

Q and A
1. Ok so this week not a lot has happened. We waited for changes this week and I was really nervous. I get a new companion that is Mexican called Elder Hernandez. We will be in the same Baquedano sector but I really hope that he wants to work hard. I am ready for it. Elder Leiva goes to a different sector. He was bummed and I felt bad for him. So I meet my new comp tomorrow! Nothing is new with investigators. NOTHING. It kind of stinks but that will change!!!

2. Yes I got the camera thing figured out so it works more efficiently. It is sweet! And also I got my Christmas package today. I was really surprised! But happy! =)

3. There are usually two splits a change, usually in the middle and towards the end with the zone leader.

4. I would love instant oatmeal and jerky!! And that is about it. Just whatever you want to send. I am the luckiest elder I think. I get packages and letters so often... I feel spoiled but I love it!!!

5. No I haven’t mailed any letters yet but I will get on that.

The thing that I have learned about the most this change is the Atonement... through all of my pains and trials I have grown so much closer to my Savior and I am forever grateful to him... thanks to Him I can have all the happiness I can ever get with my eternal family and living with Him and our Heavenly Father again. I love the theme that you had at church yesterday! (Strengthening home and family)  Love you guys so much and thanks for all you have ever done for me so I can be who I am and be on the mission! Love you soooooooooooooo much! 

Love always, 

Elder Tegan Hall 

P.S. I couldn’t get pictures uploaded today but I will try again next week. Some of the computers here are crap... but I thought I would let you know I walked more than 100,000 steps this past week!!! Ha-ha crazy! Love you!

Nov. 11, 2013

Elder Porter and I about to eat some lunch!

Me and my comp

Paintballing from last p-day!

Thank you for your words of encouragement! I appreciate it greatly! At times I feel that I am not good enough in the sight of God but then if I wasn’t good enough I would always have His help with me. But yes I read my patriarchal blessing but not as frequently as I should! I need to read it more and I will start doing that! I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and my Savior too. And what more? My family!!! =) love you guys 

Thanks for the update on your week. I love hearing about it and that everything went well!! You guys are such a great example to me and I am so proud and thankful to call you my family!! =) love you guys

Q and A

1. The week was pretty good. I feel like that my companion is unmotivated and he feels like the zone leaders always put him down because he isn’t exactly obedient but he tries to be. When he gets put down, I get put down.... it is hard but I have prayed and fasted for the help of the Lord to help me out with this. During my fast on Saturday, my companion wanted to go to internet to work on the lists of people that we need to verify but I told him no because it wasn’t our assigned day. With inspiration and revelation from the Holy Ghost I was able to help us both figure it out and it went well. Thanks to the help of the Lord I was able to help us figure out our problem.

Last Monday when we were in the super market buying our food, we saw an old investigator. Turned out he wanted to talk to us and we put a visit in our schedules. We visited him the next day, David, and his wife. We talked about the restoration and he was really interested. He promised to go to church yesterday. We also made various visits to less actives this week and recent converts. But yesterday, only two people went to the church under our charge, a less active and a recent convert. That was a bummer. But it is all good because we are going to go to the houses of the people who didn’t come and lay down the law. ;-) We had interviews on Friday with the president and my interview went really well. I was able to talk about some of the difficulties I have had and President Warne was very helpful and gave some good advice, '' be an example through your obedience and service''. I have tried that the past few days and from what I can see it has helped. Yesterday we ate lunch with the Kohle family. It turns out that Brother Kohle was companions with Tyson Stewart!!! How cool! We took a photo and I will send it to you. But that is about it for the week besides that it flew by!

2. We find out our new companions and areas on Saturday. You will know next Monday!

3. My calling in the young men’s is alright. The Young Men’s president is pretty hard and closed to advice. We try to help him out with how we can get young men to the activities but he doesn’t listen. He just says that it is their fault and thanks to that, none of the young men want to go to mutual and even the church. We are trying to figure out a solution.

4. Ya, the house is pretty gross but it feels like home kind of... nothing like Idaho. But we have also done a lot of cleaning this past change and the house is a lot better than it was the first change. So that is a plus!

P.S. I received a packet with some pecan brittle on Friday!! And some other things too! Especially a card from my two favorite girls in the world! Love you guys thank you and I would say that I am definitely the most lucky of all the missionaries there is =) 

Thanks for all you words of advice from you and from other people. I am so glad that you are always trying to help me out! I love you guys so much! Over all, I love the mission and although sometimes I am kind of tempted, I could never go home until I have finished my service because this is what I want to do. I know that my Savior lives and thanks to him, I am happy!!! A happiness that will endure forever! Thank you for all of your examples, thoughts, prayers, and everything! Love you and ttyl!!!

All of my love, 

Elder Tegan Hall

Nov. 4, 2013

Hey everyone!!

I am pretty darn good. Sometimes I just feel like I am alone and doing this by myself with someone who doesn’t care much for me. It is tough but I just have to keep my chin up and remember my Savior. Sometimes I wonder if I am good enough for a mission. The standard is so high out here that sometimes I feel so incompetent, like I am not cut out for this and that Heavenly Father is, I don’t know, half pleased with what I am doing.... but I think he is happy with me when I try my best right even though if I didn’t do everything perfect?? This is definitely the hardest thing that I have ever done and sometimes I just want to give up.... call it good... take a nap... but I know that the Savior has suffered the pains I have too so with Him I can do it, even though it will be hard...

1. Ok the week was mediocre... we didn’t find one new investigator this whole week in our sector and the numbers for lessons with recent converts and less actives were ok... I feel like we lose time and people’s houses but this week is a new one with 7 new days to do something good! The worst part is we didn’t find any investigators in our sector but the best part was that we did find a new investigator (Me and elder Leyton) in Rengo when we did divisions. Elder Leyton told me lets go to that house. I saw dirt bikes in the back and I thought, “We are in!” =) The guy was outside and we started talking dirt bikes for a bit and how I rode when I was home and then we ended up teaching him the restoration of the gospel. It was a great lesson!!! All three of us felt the Spirit so strong and it was cool. Elder Leyton and I both have the same amount of time in the mission. Elder Leiva and I are doing pretty good. This change is already two thirds of the way over! Crazy... 

2. Halloween was just about like the USA but there weren’t as many pumpkins because they are expensive down here. But kids still trick and treated and Elder Leiva and I gave out pass along cards of the church to some kids! Ha-ha it was cool. The missionaries didn’t do anything special for the holiday.

3. My feet are getting better. I talked to Hermana Jett and she got some cream stuff for my feet and they are on the mend.  I think I have allergies in Chile too because I am waking up with a stuffed nose now and sneezy but I have some medication.

4. Last Monday I received three letters, one from you, Casey Carpenter, and Alan Sargent, and two packages, one from you with peanut butter and treats and from the Windmillers with jerky! =) I couldn’t be any more lucky than last p day! Ha-ha and Elder Leiva loves jerky so he is always asking for it but I don’t want to eat it all right away! Ha-ha but I do share.

5. The thing that I love about Chile is the food (except this last week we had some nasty seafood stuff like clam with poop and dirt) and then I love the people, especially the kind people who say hi back in the street and also when they let us in their house to teach and talk with them. I hate the dogs right now. They are always barking and it is hard to hear at times but I am accustomed to it. 

I love your emails and am so glad that you send them to me with everything in them. It is a stress reliever for me which, trust me, I need every week. I don’t have much more to say other than I am going to send some pictures your way of this week. I am going to try and start taking and sending more! And I will try that idea with the camera. By the way, we went paint balling for p-day today and it was a blast! Loved it and it was a killer-way to relieve stress!! ;) I love you guys so much and I miss you all extremely. Thanks for the letter you sent me this last week. It was dated Sept 4. I have read it a few times to help me get through some rough times. Thank you. I love you guys. I wish I could just give you all a hug and then return to work... I love the work but it is definitely hard! I will talk to you all next week. Love you so much more than I can say!

Love always, 

Elder Tegan Hall

Sorry for no photos. Next week. I am out of time! LOVE YOU ALL =)