New Name, New Place, Same Game

This might be weird to be hearing from me.  Many of you probably are more familiar with Elder Hall than with me, Shawn.  I haven't been much of a blogger but something recently convinced me to pick up my keyboard again.  You might have read before about my time as a LDS missionary in Japan telling everyone I met about how the teachings of Christ have improved my life and given me a sense of direction and peace that they too could have if they just decide to follow him.  I have since put down my name tag for good and am at Brigham Young University, navigating life as a single, 21 year-old college student.  So why I am writing this then?

Well, I have been called again to be a missionary and not the kind that rides bikes and can only do laundry on Monday.  Instead, I have been called as an online missionary.  Now you are beginning to see the dots connecting.  I never really talked about my beliefs with my friends or on social media before so I turned to my mission for how I can best fulfill my new calling.  I didn't have Facebook or social media as a missionary but I realized I did have my weekly emails that appeared on this very blog.  Before I left on my mission, my stake president told me to not forget about the ones I was leaving behind in America.  I thought about that a lot in the Missionary Training Center and then tried to make my emails spiritually uplifting and entertaining.  I soon found it enjoyable and once as a younger missionary, I told my companion,  "Maybe I will just continue writing weekly emails after my mission!  It is just so fun!"  "Well, Elder Hall," my wise senior companion said, "I think they call that blogging."

So here it is, my very own blog The Everyday Mormon.  Many people talk about doctrine when they introduce the church to people but I hope to show it in a more unconventional way.  I hope to show everybody how a normal kid from Vegas tries to apply the teachings of Christ in his everyday life and how that positively affects me.  I'm not shy so please share this with others online, comment on and like my blog posts and give me any ideas on how to improve it or tell me the things you like about it.  I hope that it can be a useful tool in increasing others' understanding of the LDS church and of others' testimonies.  I hope to see a lot of miracles with this and please join me in sharing the gospel online!

-Shawn Hall

Elder Hall's Final Testimony

Wake up to an alarm and you roll out of your futon.  Go to the bathroom in order to momentarily postpone your thirty minutes of exercise.  Come out and exercise, get a bowl of delicious fruit granola and then bow your head to pray.  Read a talk or some Japanese book you still manage to have from the MTC as you slowly munch waiting for your companion to finish his time in the shower.  Hear the shower door open as you are slurping up the leftover cheap milk from the nearby Japanese supermarket in your bowl and hurry to jump into the shower.  Scrub, rinse, sing a quick song and get out, only to face the ever so burdening question of "Which tie should I wear today?"  Go to the kitchen to get a drink of water and happen to see the clock at 7:59.  Finish the knot on your dangling tie, gulp your drink, and rush into your study room.  Hit your knees hard on the floor and bow your head to ask for the Spirit to guide your studies that morning.  Jump up in your rolly chair and open up your Book of Mormon.  Something doesn't seem quite right now as you rummage around for the answer on your slightly cluttered desk.  "Ah, my name tag..."  You grab it, slid it onto your white shirt's pocket and with that click Elder Hall has officially started his day as a missionary.  

That click of my slip-on name tag hitting itself against my shirt pocket has brought many mixed emotions these past few days.  I realized I wouldn't be hearing it (even though it may be a sound thousands of missionaries never quite noticed until getting to my age) very many more times.  After today I will hear it just once more as I get ready to hitch a ride to the airport to catch my plane back home to America.  That ritual ceremony every morning seems to happen as fast as my mission happened.  I came out a young 18 year old immature scared little elder and am now going back a much different and tested person.  I am so grateful for the experiences I have had and the growth I have undergone on my mission.  Now I am leaving with many mixed emotions.  On one hand I see my family again after a two year separation but on the other hand I leave those I have come to love in Japan.  On one hand I get to move on in my life to getting an education and starting a search for my next companion but on the other hand, I leave the life as a missionary that I have come to love and cherish, even with all the hardships contained in the package.

Luckily this last week was good and we worked hard.  It was a lot more normal than I thought it would be though.  Member appointments, four lessons planned on Saturday and all but one fell through.  It rained, I got way sick my last two days and had to push through it until the end.  We had a really stressful Eikaiwa party where all these kids came out of nowhere that we hadn't planned for and we had to make up an activity for them (coloring always works I learned!).  We found some good P.I.s and one really good 15 year investigator!  I liked how it was a normal missionary week.  Yeah, it would have been cool for someone to run into the church asking for baptism but just working hard until the end in normal circumstances made me appreciate and truly love the time I have spent as a missionary even more.  I wish I had just one more day to experience the joy I have felt being a full time missionary over here in the blessed country of Japan.

Even with all these feelings of sadness, doubt, and confusion, I can still feel the Spirit's sweet and quiet assurance that I truly did my best and helped people as much as I could have.  Even with mistakes, times of disobedience, times of laziness and times of disappointments, that with the help of others, I rebounded from those and was able to get back on the track of hard work and diligence.  I think that is what true joy is no matter what happens in your life, to you or to those you love, you feel that quiet reassurance that everything will be alright or that burning in your bosom knowing what you are doing is right.  Joy truly is the reward of missionary service.  Not just for others you bring to the gospel, but yourself as you lose yourself in the work.  In my call letter, it promises the following, "The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life.  Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children.  We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary." 

I have felt that promise from the prophet of the Lord come true and I feel like the Lord accepted this two year sacrifice.  I didn't part the Red Sea or anything big like that but I did see many small tender mercies and miracles from God as I tried my best to live as a missionary.  I know I will always cherish this experience.  I know that this church is God's true church and he restored it through Joseph Smith so we could find happiness, in this life and the next.  Christ lived, died and now lives again and guides this church through a living prophet Thomas S. Monson.  I know God is our Father in Heaven and Christ is our older brother who loves us so much that all that they do is lead and guide us in this life so we can go back home to live with them and our families forever.  I know the Holy Ghost will lead and guide us as we pray and ask for his guidance and seek to be as obedient as possible.  Our everyday choices determine our destiny but by being obedient to God's commandments and his will for us, we will find joy and make our lives the best.  I am excited to see my family again and know that we can be together forever.  This is my testimony and my wish that all may come unto Christ and be saved, for his burden truly is light.  I leave my final testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

See you all at the airport,

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderizing Scripture

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day"

-2 Timothy 4:7-9

Monday Flashback

"Personal Study"

"One year older and wiser too!"  6/1/2015

Pictures

This less active bro Sudo Kyoudai who just came to church for the first time in ten years!

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My very last Sushi in Japan!

My final DTM

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Y.O.S.O. (You Only Serve Once)

This week has been all over the place.  Stress, cool appointments, problems to face, meeting bros on the street, leaving the area, racing around to hunt for less active's, and comeback Sundays where your stats random,y go through the roof when the last week was abnormally low.  Just normal missionary life.  I really wish I could experience this a little bit more besides the time I have left out here.  You only serve once.  No second chances, no extensions, no callbacks.  Once it is over, it is gone for ever.  I am sad that is coming up soon.  I am really glad for the time I have left and the time I had this week as well.  Nothing out of the extraordinary, just tender mercies flying about as we try our best and sometimes trip up.  The mission man.  If you aren't out, I recommend you go.

Monday after Pday we visited a less active as we went to go find my camera that I lost which we found by the way.  Tuesday and Wednesday we went around visiting people that weren't home.  Thursday was an exchange that was way fun!  We were talking to so many good people that we had no time to make it to the people that we wanted to visit.  But, we found some people with good potential and then later invited their investigator to baptism which he kind of said yes.  It is hard to explain but it is always fun to invite because you never know what to expect.  Friday was District Meeting and Saturday we went to a city higher up in our area and talked to a lot of people and one old guy had a ten second memory and we talked about the same thing with him for ten minutes.  He was hard to leave because we would say we had to go but then he would forget that we would have to go. Haha.  Sunday we talked to a cool guy riding a bike wearing sunglasses and holding an ice cream cone in his hand.  He believed in God, wanted to hear more, and was done to meet so we will eat out with him this week!  We have WAY too many meal appointments set up because I want to eat all the good Japanese food.  I hope I don't get fat at all. #morningexercise

I have been thinking a lot about the joy of sharing the gospel.  I have been thinking of how I can measure my overall success as a missionary now as I get closer to the end.  Obviously there can be no numbers counted up or a way to know how many people you have actually changed but the only thing I can measure is my own progress.  I still have faults, I still joke around a little too much sometimes, I still let my weaknesses get to me but serving others has really changed a lot of my priorities I feel like.  I can confidentially feel like I have been able to be successful because I have changed and improved.  I am really sad at this time as I think about leaving soon but I also feel peace that so far I have been able to serve the Lord to the best of my ability.  I heard once that you have an eternity to prepare for your mission and an eternity to look back on your mission but that you only have two years to live it and love it.  Hopefully I can live this next upcoming week in order to look back on my mission and be pleased with my two years service.  I guess we will see what happens.  I will email you all again next week and I love you all!  Enjoy the increasingly hot May weather!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth! Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

- D&C 18:13-15

Monday Flashback

"I don`t think most missionaries get to see the full fruits of their labors and I don`t think most people see the effect of their good deeds and actions.  Something as little as picking trash up on the side of a street or smiling to someone can change a lot.  So I guess the lesson is to just keep on pushing, keep doing your best.  You may never see just what comes of your good actions but trust me, someone else will always be blessed as we do our best by living and sharing the Gospel of Christ.  I`ve been able to see just a glimpse of the results of my actions and I am excited to help out more and improve people`s lives once again in Numazu."

- "The Return of the Bean" 5/22/15

 My final exchange and a sweet guy from Nepal? (Yokkaichi happens to be a hotspot for Nepalese BTW)

Buddhism, my friends

Member Appointments!!

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Finding 101 and Time Lapses

Just another great week.  I feel like I say it every week but I am a missionary so I can't lie at all so it must be true!  We had a lot of member lessons again and are inviting everyone to our English class party later in the month.  The ward is sick and helps us out a lot.  On top of that they are way fun to be around!  Hopefully everyone can bring a friend or three!  Also other unrelated news is our recent obsessions as a companionship and apartment of making time lapses of ourselves doing normal things really slow so it looks like normal speed.  I will attach a couple for you.  We also had a pizza party in the middle of the woods with an older member who invited a bunch of his nonmember friends.  It was way good and we got to talk to a couple people about what we do as missionaries, even though nothing concrete came out of it.

We also spent a lot of the week focusing on beefing up our finding which has been slugging off a bit.  And boy, did it deliver!  As a zone we have been studying one chapter each week from good 'ole Preach My Gospel and this week was the finding chapter.  We were trying to think of ways on how to diversify our finding approaches.  We have a couple of activities in the making but since they are more long term activities, we wanted to come up with something more short term we could do now.  In the midst of this thinking, we decide to go to a little island thingy called Nagashima (Long Island in Japanese) that is thirty minutes away by train to visit less active's that may or maybe not be presumed dead.  Not much logic behind that decision!  We are looking for one of the addresses in this place with a bunch of rice fields and a few houses when we stumble upon a guy during some yard work.  We stop to ask him where to go and it turns out he spoke fluent English and wanted us to teach his kids English.  All in the middle of basically nowhere!  Cha-Ching!  New investigator!  Just another experience proving that the Spirit is the only way to find.  We are visiting him tomorrow to teach their family and it should be really fun, even though it is a bit far away.

The finding streak continued later this week as we were walking to the train station yesterday.  A businessman was walking very briskly past us so we stopped him and talked.  I don't know if you know anything about Japanese businessmen but they are basically some of the hardest people to get a conversation going with.  Each time you try to stop them, they just look at their watch and run off with the excuse of no time or just keep moving on their way to catch a train.  We thought this guy would be the same but luckily, he chatted with us as we walked together to the station.  It turns out he has been studying a BUNCH of different religions because he is interested in such things as "What happened before this life?" and "What is next after this life?" which we luckily have the answers to.  The stoplight before the station we all three just stopped and plunged into an hour discussion about our purpose in life, why there are so many churches, and how he can know for sure what is true.  This guy really wanted to know the truth and asked SO many good heartfelt questions.  "If I ask a different God will I get an answer?"  "If I ask about something wrong will God lead me to the right answer?"  Way, way, cool, prepared guy.  His name is Nakazaki San and he sadly lives in a different city and wasn't willing to give us his contact information quite yet.  We gave him fifty different ways to contact missionaries (our phone number, Mormon.org, LDS.org, Book of Mormon, church address, pamphlet) and even if he doesn't he will for sure study us up and eventually get back in touch.  One of the most prepared people I have ever met in my mission though.  I am lucky enough to be along for the ride with the Spirit!

These two experiences and other small ones throughout the week have made me think a lot about the Spirit and its role.  Elder Hales gave a great conference talk last month entitled, well, what else but "The Holy Ghost"!  In it he says that "the Holy Ghost provides personal revelation to help us make major life decisions... In these matters, Heavenly Father expects us to use our agency, study the situation out in our minds according to gospel principles, and bring a decision to Him in prayer."  I think it is an interesting concept.  We can't just blindly ask God for the Spirit and get it doing by nothing.  Like most things, it takes work.  We first have to study it out in our minds, come up with our own plan, and then ask for confirmation.  If we prayed all the time at each intersection we come to which way we should go, I think we would lose sight of our personal role in receiving guidance.  Instead, as missionaries, we pray to have the Spirit throughout the day and do our best to live worthy of its guidance.  We pray before planning to have ideas come into our minds and feelings into our hearts and after we make the plan we pray to make sure it is right.  Then the next day we pray over it again just to double check and sometimes we pray when our backups go out the window and people cancel.  It is my testimony that God does guide us as we seek his help, even in the little things.  Tender mercies are out there and as we do our best God will bless us with them.

I love you all and I hope that you all have an amazing week!

Elder Hall in Japan

Elder Hall on a train in Japan

More of Japan

Long Time, No Transfer

This week was CRAZY!  We had transfer calls on Saturday and I thought I was going to be transferred so we set up all these "meet Elder Hall for the last time" appointments.  They all went pretty well and we are eating out with some members tonight as well.  Biggest highlight of the week definitely was yesterday when we FINALLY got our Uganadan investigator Baker to come to church.  It was a tight squeeze in the car as we went with a stalwart member to go and pick him up (which took thirty minutes of daily planning late last night to find someone to do it).  We were kept really busy throughout the week starting off on Tuesday with a baptismal interview.  It was the first time I got the opportunity to interview someone who is Japanese because the other time I interviewed someone they were from Italy and I had to use a translator. It took some time up with travel but it was so cool to meet someone who was ready to be baptized and had a strong connection with God.

The news you have all wanted to hear though is that I am being transferred to Yokkaichi.  I will be opening an area with a second set of elders with another old missionary Elder Bunch who will kill me off.  Not exactly what I was expecting and even though I won't be with a young missionary like I really wanted, I am pretty excited to feel what a whitewash is like and just have six weeks to go Y.O.L.O. and work my hardest.  It is really sad to leave Fukutoku where I have been for over a half a year and where I have so many friends.  I have grown so much in my service here amongst investigators and my fellow missionaries and will always treasure my time here and the spiritual growth I have experienced.  It is hard to say goodbye but I guess it is a good warmup for when I have to say goodbye to Japan and my mission as a whole.

As I am transferring away to go and die, I have pondered a lot about my progress and how I was able to learn so much so that I can continue that pattern in my next area.  As I have pondered the subject, two quotes from Elder Owens conference talk stood out to me.  "In God’s eyes, the greatest leaders have always been the greatest followers." and "There will be times when the path ahead seems dark, but keep following the Savior. He knows the way; in fact, He is the way."  The times I have relied on Christ in my life are the times that I have grown the most while when I forget Him and try to rely on my own power, that is when I fail and stumble off the path.  As we follow Christ's example, we will be more converted and become the examples and leaders the Lord intended us to be.  I am sad that I will be leaving so many good mission friends in missionaries, members, and investigators but I am ever grateful for the impact they have had on me and hope that I helped them to the best of my ability. 

 I love you all and pray that we can all follow Christ's example to help our lives and those around you.  Have a great week!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"Therefore, hold on thy way...fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."

-D&C 122:9

Monday Flashback

"So it has definitely been cool to see how the area was dead-in-the-water last transfer and just see how all these crazy miracles are happening now.  We are actually meeting new people and Weekly Planning is not just the same every week because we are meeting with more people so all of our investigators needs and concerns change.  Now I just got to work on my teaching!"

- "Super Sunday" 4/20/15  

Taking Baker to church

My desk!!

My bro Ikeda San!

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Love One A-Bro-ther

This week was busy with two companion exchanges.  Funniest thing that happened was we went to go and get dinner at a restaurant at night.  I went into the bathroom, very awkwardly asked a guy how he was doing as he was leaving the bathroom and he turned out to have been fluent in English and sitting at the table next to us!  So we chatted for a little bit and learned he had taught himself English on his own in four years and randomly has a British accent.  He was reading from the Economist which I can't even read!  He said he was indifferent but said that the elders could talk to him anytime.  He was such a bro!  That is definitely one of the best parts about the mission is being able to meet total bros that you can even possibly hang out with after the mission.  I already have a bro date planned in July 2018 New York at GoGo's Curry with a recent convert here.  Also my good primary pianist friend goes to America often so I offered our home to him whenever (is that alright Mom?).

This week was a really good week for finding.  The sisters recently went through their whole phone and found a guy who had meet with the missionaries three years ago.  They handed him over to us because we can teach him easier because we don't always need to have a member to come with us.  His name is Tokuda San and he came to church yesterday as well.  We invited him to baptism and he said he would think about it.  Also we found a kid on the street Monday night that told us straight up that he had a deep interest in God and taught US a lesson.  Haha.  He wants to play basketball as well which is a big plus and a good way to get on the bro list.  We ate at Mister Donuts with another new investigator this week and he is way down for the good word of God.  Finding always gives you the most interesting stories and is the best way to find those eternal bros.

Now I would like to share a side of Dendo not really talked about in my emails.  Our last mission president, President Yamashita, had as our mission motto, We Are One.  Recently as I have pondered obedience and uniting together as a mission to build a culture of righteousness this mission motto has crept back to the forefront of my mind.  I have realized how important it is for us missionaries to have others to lean against in times of hardship.  You just need a righteous bro sometimes.  As a young missionary I fell under the category of struggling elders, looking for how I can be happy in this strange new life as a missionary and confident in my ever lacking Japanese and Dendo skills.  I was blessed to have many good examples in my trainer, follow-up trainer, and many other leaders and older missionaries surrounding me.  I was able to lean on their testimonies and follow the righteous example they set before me.  This has helped me so much on my mission, this culture of being one so that when one of us elders struggles a bit or has a hard day, they can turn to the elders around them for support and can receive the help he needs to continue in the work of the Lord.

The roles reversed on me this past week as I went on an exchange with an elder that needed a little lifting up.  I knew he wasn't all fine and dandy but as we got into the apartment, I put down my backpack and asked what the plan was.  He laid back on his folded up futon apologized for putting this load on me and then expressed simply "I'm not enjoying my mission, I might go home."  I thought he was half joking at first because some of us elders throw that around as a joke quite often but luckily I recognized it was sincere.  I kind of mentally freaked out but decided to go the chill way, be a loving bro, and share my own mission story.  A young missionary scared to do almost anything with Japanese who had really good companions to help him but still didn't enjoy the Dendo life.  It took me having an irresponsible companion to help me see what would happen if I were to give up.  I didn't learn to enjoy my life as a missionary until much later and after a couple mountains to climb.  After we swapped mission stories, it was a good transition into some formal training to help him so we decided to start off with a prayer.  I won rock, paper, scissors so I offered the prayer.  As I prayed, I started to bless that this elder could get through this hard time and began to thank God for all that he has allowed for me to become on my mission.  I don't know why but I started to cry as I had begun to think how much my mission has changed me and how this elder might lose out on it all.  It was kind of embarrassing but after the prayer, I tried to help him realize all that the Lord can do for Him as he serves him as his missionary and set goals to receive that blessing.  \ I think it helped a little bit.  I am so grateful to be serving as a missionary and for the testimony it has given me that I know will bless me for the rest of my life.  Nothing like a mission can change you if you try your best to be obedient and work hard.  I stumble everyday but am grateful for the constant support I get that has kept me growing these 22 months or so.  I love you and hope that you enjoyed General Conference!  I will share my thoughts on it after I see it this next week. 

 Love you all!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." 

-Philipines 4:13

Monday Flashback

"Even though this week has been so hard, I have come through it with the undeniable truth that Christ lives and loves us each individually.  He died for us but most importantly, some 2000 years ago, he was resurrected and still lives for us.  Whenever we have fallen and wonder if we ever can get back up, whenever we are hopeless and doubtful, there is always a hand stretched out for us to grab, a hand with the imprints of nails.  I bear my testimony that Christ today lives and that like those apostles after his death, we will one day see Him for ourselves and that we can feel his saving influence in our lives as we turn to him for strength and the enabling power of his perfect and infinite Atonement daily."

- "The Daily Gripe" 4/6/15

 Did someone say, Sakura? *cherry blossom*

Viewing the Sakura with the Satos

Happy Easter and My Testimony

After a lot of high octane weeks back to back to back to back to back to back... this week seemed a little more slowed down.  Maybe it is because I am just so dang tired like 24/7 or maybe just because the weather is changing or my zodiacs signs are off.  Whose knows, but, nonetheless this week was a very different feel for sure.  Recently there have been a lot of people that have been really hard to make appointments with which has given us some more free time luckily.  We definitely needed that last week as we put the fine touches together for Friday's Zone Training Meeting.  It was a full course buffet of Member Work, the Mission President's Vision, Finding, and Obedience.  We tried to make things fun so during the five minute break I went to the library and got a white piece of paper, wrote on it "The Title of Obedience" and taped it to a ruler.  We talked about how every small decision we make affects not just us and our companionship but it also builds the mission culture and has a lasting effect for even longer than we are missionaries.  Even our own testimonies and lives are hinged upon the everyday decisions we make when we choose to follow or ignore the little rules and commandments God has given us.  So, I pulled out the banner and pledged everyone to sign it.  I am holding it in the picture and hope to make copies of it and send one out to each companionship.  That Captain Moroni life though... united to beat Satan and disobedience, all in one swing!

Another thing this week was a Nabe (Japanese soups pretty much) Party we had at the church on Saturday.  It was way fun and really effective even though only one investigator came.  Ikeda San had his baptismal date for Sunday but we had to push it back to later in April so he can get over his smoking problem.  HE SMOKES 50 CIGARETTES A DAY!  Darn it Satan!  He wants to quit though and has faith so that is really the only two things necessary to overcome.  We met with him right before the party and then taught him the Ten Commandments (Moses, Moses! #BeforeEasterTenCommandmentsOnABC).  Also a guy who comes to church every week but refuses to take lessons joined with us in the lesson (because he accidentally came early for the party) and we committed him to live the Ten Commandments and he took a Book of Mormon and asked where he should read.  Still doesn't want to meet with us BUT we are making some progress.  Hopefully he can read the Book of Mormon and he will come around eventually.

It was Easter Sunday yesterday and no one really mentioned it at all which was weird but it wasn't that much surprising because Japan doesn't really think about it at all.  I did a lot of thinking about it though these past couple of weeks.  With bearing my testimony at my final Zone Training Meeting I have thought a lot about what my mission has done for me and last Easter's experience came to mind.  It was a hard, dark time on my mission, being with a companion that had given up, that had chosen to let his pride and own selfish ambitions, fears, and not wanting to work, get in the way of making his mission a fun, growing experience.  During that transfer, I tried my best to work with not knowing Japanese and having a companion like that with my own problems and my own struggles with being a missionary.  I have never faced a harder period of time in my life.  Last Easter season as I reflected on that transfer I couldn't help but feel guilt for all the work I wasn't able to do and for not being able to help change my companion's attitude and help him gain more of a testimony.  As I was thus in my state of despair, emailing all of you guys from the church the day after Easter I started to cry (which never happens BTW).  I felt a warm feeling like someone was giving me a hug.  I had never felt such comfort and love in my life.  A voice in my head said that it was okay and that I had tried my best, I was not at fault.  At that moment, I looked back at my last six weeks and recognized every moment that I was strengthened in my trials, that I felt Christ's love for my companion when I couldn't feel love for him, that unseen angels pushed me out the door when I didn't know what I was going to say to the people I would stop on the street.  I came to a knowledge then that Christ lives and that he loves me.  Not only that but if I try to follow him and do the little things then he will help me in my trials and help me learn what I need to to learn to be that better person so I can help and serve others.  

That moment, as hard as it was, has changed my mission and my life forever.  I have been a much different person since that my moment.  I feel as if that was the point my true conversion began.  I couldn't say it before but I now know that Christ is there for each and every single one of us.  I know He has established His church on this Earth today to teach us how to be happy in our lives and to get on the path that will get us back home so we can live in peace and the utmost joy for eternity with our families, friends, and God.  This I know and I am truly grateful for the opportunity this Easter season to be able to share this testimony with everyone here in Japan.  May you all have an amazing Easter and be able to feel Christ's influence in your life and in the lives of those around you!  I love you and everyone in America, enjoy General Conference next week!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

-Alma 37:6

Monday Flashback

"Anyways, I picked him up (my companion for a day) at the train station, said good-bye to my [current] companion, and then got lost trying to find a building that was one street away....then we talked to people as we rode bikes homes and I was wondering `Where is the apartment?`...[So], when you don`t know what you need to do and you have two canceled appointments with a bunch of time, just turn to the Lord and he can help you out.  Maybe he won`t spell the answer out for you in every detail but, with faith all will be well."

- "My Day As A Senpai" 3/30/15  

 Exchange with our dorky assistants

My last ever ZTM...

He Comes, He Teaches, He Leaves (And A Special Exchange to Boot👞)

Wow, what a week!  Just another busy, busy week over here in Fukutoku.  I don't know if I can get busier with my life.  Seriously though.  We had a lot of stuff happen this week.  I literally have only been able to do a legit personal study once this past week, and not because I am being disobedient!  Tuesday was a normal day, Wednesday we had to go to the mission home for a meeting, Thursday we helped our wheelchair-bound Ugandan friend Baker to a government agency early in the morning, Friday was District Meeting, Saturday we had an appointment in the morning and Sunday we had church.  Monday we had the assistant call us which took a lot of time as well.  This week shouldn't be as crazy though.

I just gave you the rundown of the week but here are the highlights.  After helping Baker out from 7:30 to 11:30 in the morning, we meant to finish it off with a short scripture about pondering the scriptures but then Baker revealed to us that he thought the Book of Mormon was our version of the Bible and that he forgot who Joseph Smith was.  Maybe if you didn't go on thirty minutes rants on women then you would know!  But yeah, he just opened up to not knowing anything about the Book of Mormon so he committed to read the introduction.  This was the lesson right after we committed him to baptism for the first week of June (which he gracefully accepted).  Other good stuff was a koukan (an exchange) with Elder Hastriter from the same MTC group as me which was WAY fun.  We did what I hadn't done since transfer 3 and found an investigator through housing.  We were going to visit a member but then I decided to not use the map and just wing it but it turns out that wasn't a good idea so we just went Y.O.L.O. and decided to go housing since we both hadn't in a long time.  The second person we housed was a bro and we joked around with him for five or ten minutes before we set up a English/Gospel lesson for tonight.  Way stoked for that.  College kids are the best when they are living away from home alone.  

Sunday was really busy as well.  We had two of our people with baptismal dates come to church (Haruhito and Ikeda) and they both seemed to enjoy it.  We also taught part of the primary lesson with all the crazy Fukutoku kids about prophets, complete with an object lesson about prophets.  Afterwards, we had a lesson with Ikeda San and he is still struggling a little bit with the Word of Wisdom and stopping smoking but we are going to be helping him but texting him scriptures everyday and continuing to teach him other commandments as well. After THAT lesson, the director of all foreign languages at the MTC (Brother Mills) came to our mission and half-observed, half-participated in our lesson with an investigator, Ogawa San.  He is really interested in the church but he is also really busy.  He had a question about how we can imagine God because we always talk about Jesus Christ and show pictures of him but not God.  Then Brother Mills used a personal story in beautiful Japanese and a great analogy to connect it all in.  I have never seen a human being ever teach that well; it was CRAZY!  Then we called a bunch of less actives and a couple said they would come to church and one said they had a hernia.  So one semi-legit reason to not be at church for a month.

The thought today on my mind goes along with the Ponderizing Scripture this week.  I have been thinking recently a lot how God answers our desires.  If we want to be like his Son Jesus Christ and become perfect and be in service to others, he will help us do it through his Spirit and his servants the prophets.  If we want to get by life not doing much, he will let us do it.  God will give us what we want even if it is lower than what he wants for us.  He loves us SO much to put our wants and desires first.  That is why it is so important to be humble to match God's will and receive everything he wants to give us instead of just our lower expectations.  It all starts with a desire.  Once we have that, God will grant us that desire if we do what he says.  That is why our everyday little actions are so important.  Every decision we make, every time we choose to do the right thing or every time we choose the wrong thing, our wants and desires our affected.  The future you is determined by today's you.  That is why it is so important for us be temperant in all things, choose the right, and put our heart in the right place for God to grant us what He wants to give us.  

So, have a great week and I love you all!  

Enjoy March Madness and the nice Spring weather!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen."

-D&C 4:7

Monday Flashback

"I often relate missionary work to dating for some reason in my head but if you just like a girl a lot and you don`t invite her on a date, how will you ever get married?  So invites are pretty important, for missionaries and returned missionaries alike!"

- "Discipleship in the Digital Age" 3/23/15 

 Koukan Magic!

 America summed up in a picture I drew a Eikaiwa

Bike problems... A.k.a. When two missionaries ride across an a whole area in order to go to the mission home...

The Not So 仏教 (Bukkyou) Bash of 2016

Well friends and family, life continues to go on over here for me.  This week was kind of interesting, especially adjusting to a new companion.  Even though you are in the same area as before a lot of things change.  How you teach people, how you plan, even what and how you cook changes.  The first week it is a bit hard to read your companion as well.  What they will do in certain situations, how they handle certain things, and just what it is going to take to work together well.  It is very weird.  Elder DeSpain is fun though and we actually found out that we are fifth cousins after a deep family history search of our family tree.  We have family prayer every night, even though we are a bit distant relatives.  

One thing I have noticed so far with my companion is he goes to much further lengths than me on some things, like pursuing conversations with certain people on the street that I would say "Thanks for your time! Please come to church sometimes!"  Like Friday night the last guy we talked to before 9:00 turned out to be this guy way hardcore into this weird Buddhist sect and he kept telling us that Christ was just a normal person and his church was the only way and wouldn't let us talk with him.  So my companion pursues this man to agree to a meeting in the park on Sunday after church.  We tell our Bishop about it at PEC and ask a member to go with us and he thinks it is funny and just tells us to not take a member with us and see how it goes.  We meet at the park and spent an hour of just trying to talk but he kept talking about his very vague path to happiness.  So, it was interesting at least...

This week we also spent some substantial time bro-ing out with our investigators.  Haruhito had a birthday this past Friday so we went out to eat Indo Curry with him and had an alright lesson at the church about some more faith and Book of Mormon and starting to get into the Ten Commandments.  He is way cool and someone I will definitely keep in contact with for awhile.  Our other bro Ikeda San is doing really well too and he came to church, just not sacrament meeting...  But we had a good on the fly lesson on the Word of Wisdom and he committed to live it.  He said his Mom always told him to not smoke but he did anyways so we will see how it all turns out.  We will meet with him on Tuesday which should be really good.

This past week I have been thinking of a lot about testimonies (because I am a missionary).  Especially with the talking to people on the street all the time you get a chance to experience a lot with teaching people.  I have found that the best times that I teach is always when I am straightforward and bear my testimony.  It can be something simple like, "I learned about Christ from my parents and it has improved my life."  Or something more specific to what we are talking about.  But that it when the situation gets real.  Our Buddhist friend from earlier could say Christ was a normal human, or that our church was wrong, or anything else but he couldn't say that I don't know that this is true.  I love telling people, "I have seen this church change my life so I know that if you try to do the things we are inviting you to do, you can gain that same happiness that I did."  No one can deny a pure, simple testimony if it is a sincere one, even if they try.  Somewhere, in the back of their mind or etched into their heart that is where it will truly lie.  It is then up to them whether or not they use a particle of faith to try things out with us but I feel a testimony heard will never quite be forgotten.  I know what has strengthened my testimony a lot has been hearing the testimonies of others, whether it be members in Japan or my fellow missionaries.  I am also grateful for my parents' testimonies and other family members and friends that have touched me throughout my life.  I love you and hope that you all can take the opportunity to share a simple testimony to family members, friends, and other around you this upcoming week.  

Everyone enjoy the spring weather coming up and have a great week!

Elder Hall
ホール長老

Ponderize Scripture

"And more blessed are you because you are called of me to preach my gospel. To lift up your voice as with the sound of a trump, both long and loud, and cry repentance."

-D&C 34:5-6

Monday Flashback

"We talked about inviting and how essential it was in missionary work.  Like if we don`t invite people to be baptized or to meet with us, they aren`t going to randomly just show up dressed in white in the font or at the church waiting for a lesson.  I think that is something I need to work on, in teaching and finding...It brought me back to the days of high school where wearing a BYU shirt counted as my duty to share the gospel."

- "Invitations and the Big Dance" 3/16/15 

My companion Elder DeSpain and I are related through Solomon Joseph DeSpain.  Cool eh?  

(I know it is hard to see)

2) 

Just another Squid for dinner...

SUPER SATURDAY!!

I am sure most people in America are freaking out about Super Tuesday coming up very soon but over here I am still freaking out about our Super Saturday of total positive chaos and randomness.  Hopefully I can explain our week and Saturday accurately.  It all started last Monday when on a P-day we played basketball with our investigator Haruhito, gave vegetables to a needy bro less active, and capped it off with our Ugandan investigator Baker.  What a P-day.  Then Tuesday was followed up with meeting our French friend Mattias finally and discussing why we can draw Jesus (and lesson 1 of course).  We also meet with our Canadian friend David we found last week at Indo Curry (after having accidentally eating lunch before) and had a good talk about the church.  Wednesday I went on an exchange to good old Gifu for the fifth time on my mission and had a lot of good fun with Elder Bunch teaching a couple of people that volunteer to teach Japanese to foreigners.

The crazy part of the week was definitely Saturday though.  We had four appointments and NONE OF THEM FELL THROUGH!  It was quite crazy actually.  First we meet again with our basketball college friend Haruhito and had the best lesson yet with him.  He told us that he actually wanted the blessings of the gospel and responded really well when we reviewed the Gospel of Jesus Christ and he committed to baptism on April 24th.  SO EXCITED!  Next up we had a appointment to play tennis with a couple of members and an investigator who hadn't come in awhile came.  Then we had a good chat with our Ugandan friend Baker, again.  Lastly though, we ended the night with our bro Ito San. After meeting with him at the church and giving him a church tour (including the baptismal font) last week to start teaching him, we followed up with some Indo Curry and a visit to Mister Donuts (Japan's Dunkin' Donuts pretty much).  We had our ward mission leader come and they clicked really well and Ito asked him a bunch of questions.  We talked more about God with him and he seems down to keep talking with us and try out the stuff we teach him.  Just a crazy day.  On top of things, the Spirit just majorly confirmed our plans as we randomly meet one of our Eikaiwa students and another investigator on the way to things and we got to talk to them both.  This week the Spirit has just been giving us freebies as we just try to involve him.  SO COOL!  Just by trying to follow the Spirit, the Spirit just gives us really cool opportunities to meet and serve people without us planning them.  The Spirit really is the key.

This week I read Elder Schwitzer's talk in General Conference (ONE MONTH UNTIL GENERAL CONFERENCE!) and he said "If ever there was a time when the world needs disciples of Christ who can communicate the message of the gospel with clarity and from the heart, it is now. We need the clarion call of the trumpet."  Way cool right?  As a missionary I have learned a lot about this principle.  The first part of the mission I was really scared to speak in Japanese or really talk much but as I have gotten older I have learned to take as much opportunities as possible to testify.  It really has made the difference on my mission.  It might be scary and I might stumble (like all the time) but it makes me a lot happier and it gives me more of the Spirit.  In the "Power of the Everyday Missionary", Elder Christensen says how God gives the best weapons to the soldiers on the front lines.  As members, we can be on the front lines by bearing our testimonies and serving others and God will give us the most blessings possible for our families, friends, and ourselves.  So cool right!  I've seen that a lot as a missionary and hope I can continue even after that.  So take a deep breath, do a couple of breathing exercises in your Family Home Evenings, and get out there and blast the clarion call of your own trumpet because you can't fail!  I love you all and I hope you have a great week!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderizing Scripture:

"But that ye have patience, and bear with those afflictions, with a firm hope that ye shall one day rest from all your afflictions."

-Alma 34:41

Monday Flashback:

 I know that one thing I have learned on my mission is that God does command us to be perfect, but not right away.  All we have to do is try our best to be perfect and whenever we fall short, the Atonement makes up for the rest.  I know I wouldn`t be able to be on my mission and face all these challenges and language barriers if it wasn`t for the atonement.

- Re:  (The Week I Once Again Forgot a Subject Line) 3/2/2015

After District Training Meeting

マク伝道 (Missionary Work at McDonald's)

This week was pretty bomb spectacular if you ask me.  We had a couple of exchanges this week which spiced things up a little bit.  First was my third kokan (tying him with Elder Smith and Elder Mueller for the most times I have gone with splits on someone officially in my mission) with Elder Nakamoto and while it was short because it was after Zone Conference (my last one as a missionary fun fact) but we had a good time talking to people on the street, even though our appointment for the night fell through.  

Friday I stayed here in Fukutoku with a younger missionary Elder Hovorka.  We planned to pretty much just talk to people most of the day so I could give him more experience in that regard but at night one of our investigators called us wondering if we could go out to eat.  He had eaten with us before a few times but when we brought up us being missionaries it wasn't that successful in the restaurant environment.  So, we ate with him close to the church and afterwards we were like, "Our church is right across the church by the way.  Let's go see it!"  So, with our friend Ito San we gave a church tour and when we showed him the baptismal font he was asking a bunch of questions.  During the middle of the explanation on baptism, someone called him and he told them that he was in a cool Christian place talking about this cool thing called baptism that can make you clean again.  The person on the phone asked him if he was alright which was pretty funny to hear but he is a bro!  We asked him if he would prepare to be baptized by the end of April but he said he would like to think about it.  We will see what happens next week.  It is just cool having stuff come out of the blue and then things going WAY better than you thought they would.

Thursday we met with Tatsuya (our hat shop friend) again and had a great lesson. We're
learning that we just have to keep the member helping us on a really
tight leash in the lessons and he helps a lot. If you give him too
much space he'll talk the whole time about how he's keeping the law of
chastity but not the Word of Wisdom (don't worry he has a plan to stop
in 1.5 years). Tatsuya has a lot of interest in the Plan of Salvation
and things are going well with him.

The coolest thing that happened this week though was last week.  We were biking around in the southern part of our area trying to find a less active member's house when we stopped this guy named David from Canada. He invited us to go eat at McDonalds with him right there so we went and talked for a good hour.  He asked us a bunch of questions and talked about not really have perfect faith which he thinks he why he hasn't gotten concrete answers from God before.  That then led right into the message of the Restoration and so we got to teach that, in English which, by the way, is really, really weird at this point of my life.  I was thinking that it would be nice to have an English BOM but I remembered when I was life transfer 5 I put an mini-English Book of Mormon in my bag tucked away so I pulled it out and we gave it to him.  He is moving next week but it was SOO COOL!  So random but we could feel the Spirit in hindsight just guiding us to him, even though he isn't Japanese at all.  It is so cool that Heavenly Father loves us so much that he leads others to help us other in the time of need.  I think that is why it is important that we follow the Spirit because we are the people that do the Lord's work, as priesthood bearers, or as missionaries, or as covenanted baptized members.  We will never quite see how we helped people someone when we followed a prompting or went out of our way to do to something.  So never do anything to quench the Spirit!  We all need it in our lives and I pray that we can all be worthy of the Spirit and have Him lead us!  I love you all and have a great week!

Elder Hall

ホール長老

Ponderizing Scripture:

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?...For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

-Romans 8:35-38

Monday Flashback:

"And then President Yamashita got up. He told us how that we were all great missionaries and that our light and examples have helped him build his testimony. We are always trying as missionaries to improve and to forget ourselves so it seems like a lot of the times, we have so many shortcomings and weaknesses. It was very humbling to hear all of the speakers express their gratitude for us missionaries and exteremely touching as with his tear-filled eyes, President Yamashita thanked us for the positive impact we have had on him. I felt my eyes tear up as well as I realized how much good I have been doing even when I always focus on wanting to improve, get better, and get rid of my shortcomings."

- Elder Ballard and the Parable of the Lost Wallet 2/22/2015

Picture:

 My Last Zone Conference