Halfway Through Transfers

So if anyone doesn`t know what Globalization is, let me try to explain it to you in this way: a Brazilian and an American knock on a door in Japan and talk to a Peruvian In Spanish for an hour.  Yup, welcome to the 21st century everybody!  And also there is a bunch of Western culture here too.  Japan is now going through the same Frozen craze that has swept the whole North American continent and we hear songs from it in Japanese and English as we are shopping on P-days or biking past shops.  Also, Smith Choro and Martini Choro (the other companionship that happens to live in our apartment) heard of the untimely death of one of the funniest people in Robin Williams from a random person they met while finding people out on the street.  But Western culture is alive and well even a whole ocean away.

Besides listening to my companion speak mangled Spanish (as he only knows a little bit of the language and mostly infuses Portuguese words when speaking in the fourth most talented language) a couple of times this week (during which I got super excited when I heard a word I know like propheta, iglesias, or puedes) I was able to go bowling today with Elder Siedschlag and a less active member who both beat i/us handily by getting a strike the first four times he bowled and got 203 in the end.  I was in third with 109 (as I only got on strike on the very last frame) and Siedschalg got 117 so at least I was close.

My adventurous act for this week was pressing the pink button on the toilet.  I suggest no one of my gender try the same and just stick with the blue-green button.

This week I also had my first District Training Meeting on Friday and I got to leave my area to go to the Fuji area.  I don`t yet have a picture of Fuji-San for everybody but if it would stop being cloudy I could give it to you.  We talked about Paul`s awesome missionary example and then went out and ate at a crepes place which was pretty good.

 Also this week, I had the opportunity to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting, dun, dun, DUN!!!  Last Sunday I was asked to share my testimony for this week but an hour before I found out it was to be at least a five minute talk, if not ten minutes.  So, I busted out a couple of scriptures and tried to get the pronunciation down before I spoke.  It was about five minutes and I talked about how souls are great in the sight of God and that God has commanded us to feed his sheep.  And then I challenged them to pray for missionary opportunities and that if they do they will be able to have them.  At least that is what I thought I said according to the notecard I had my talk written on.  It was really cool to be able to actually talk to everybody and I felt great.  After I talked and sat down on the stand, I had this huge feeling of peace come me.  Yeah I was finished with my talk and relieved but it was a bit different.  It was the feeling that I had gotten many times before at the MTC or even before in firesides or sacrament meeting.  As I looked over the audience of about fifty people I felt like I almost belonged.  It still surprises me that I can cross the Pacific Ocean, walk into a church building where everyone speaks a langauge that I barely know, and still be taught a lesson about Joseph Fielding Smith during Priesthood or that I can go and partake of the Sacrament.  The church building is super small here and the ward is smaller than what I am used to but it has that same sense of belonging that I felt at Rainbow Crest, or at the 129th Ward, or at my Grandma Bevans`s ward in Cardston, Alberta, Canada, over here in Numazu Japan.  I am really grateful that the church is growing and that I can play a small part in it and be able to feel the Spirit and have friends and a support group every I go throughout the world.

Hope everyone has a great week and that the last few weeks of summer will be enjoyed!

Elder Hall

And by the way, thanks everyone for all of the birthday wishes in letters and e-mails.  I really all enjoyed them!  And here are pictures of the ocean and me eating sushi!



 

Happy Birthday to Me!!

I once heard an elder from Japan tell me that there are three types of missionaries in Japan. 

1. The Want-A-Be`s  This cateogry includes those missionaries that have always dreamed of going to Japan.  Most of these missionaries either had a relative, usually a father, serve in Japan or they are anime geeks and always wanted to learn Japanese to watch anime without subtitles.  These also include those missionaries who studied Japanese in high school or have, before their call, studied such things as hiragana, katakana, or kanji.  A love for Japanese food may or may not include some missionaries into this group.

2. Blood Related  These missionaries have some Japanese blood running through their veins, whether it be a parent, grandfather, or just an Aunt or Uncle.  Or they even could be full Nihonjin.

3. The Outfielders  These missionaries probably thought they were going Spanish speaking, stateside, or even to Europe and were compleltely blind-sided by their call to Japan.  This doesn`t mean they don`t love Japan, just it wasn`t what they were expecting before their call.  Most of these missionaries get most of their previous knowledge of Japanese culture from when they watched the Karate Kid and The Last Samurai.  The closest thing most of the missionaries that fall into this category probably had before their call concerning Japanese food was either Panda Express or the rice that was found in their mother`s brocolli, cheese, and rice casserole.

Ever since then I have considered myself an outfielder as my closest connection to Japan before the mission was I once swam in the Pacific Ocean on the coast of California and that ocean goes all the way to Japan.  But, ever since the member appointment I had Saturday night I am starting to think there really is no such thing as an outfielder missionary.

So we had a dinner apppointment with an older couple in the ward, and we were chatting as I struggled to pick up every last grain of rice with these two wooden sticks and they asked about my family.  Being the well prepared trainer he is, Elder Siedschlag told me beforehand to bring my photo album of my family.  So, I pulled it out of my handy-dandy shoulder bag and introduced my family.  We got to a picture of all of the kids in the fam-bam wearing our Canadian shirts, and I told them that my Mom was Canadian.  They had actually been to Canada before and had gone to pull out some pictures over there in the land of the Great North.  Now I didn`t think much of it at first when they were showing me the pictures on a plane and everything but then things got interesting.  Those familiar with Albertan geography pay close attention.  The couple showed me pictures of them at Lake Louise and I was like `Jasper, Banff!` pointing at the pictures.  And they were like `Hai, hai`.  And it was pretty cool because I had been there camping before.  And then they pulled up pictures of them at the Cardston temple, and I was like `That`s where my Grandma lives!`  And then things got really weird.  They said they couldn't remember the places name where they went to take pictures by a waterfall and I looked at it and immediately recognized it.  `It`s Waterton!`  And then I dug through my pictures and pulled out a family picture of us at the same waterfall this couple had been to!  It was trippy.  So it was then I realized I actually had a lot more connections to Japan than I thought.  What if I had seen one of my investigators up in Canada one time?!?  So I guess I have connections to places that are hotspots for Asians and Japanese tourists?  Like the strip is full of them and Canada is easy to fly to from Japan.  So when I get back, it won`t be hard to keep speaking Japanese!  So I`ve been starting to re-think this whole `Outfield` label.

Anyways, as the subject line suggests it was my birthday Friday!  And I celebrated it the best way possible by doing missionary work!  But besides that the other three elders I room with surprised me by going to a buffet with tons of Sushi and a grill on the table so that you could cook your own meat!  So that was fun.  And the birthday card from the family was pretty excellent too.  And also, it was a little bit late but my mission president，President Yamashita, and Sister Yamashita called me this morning, and sang to me and wished me a happy birthday.  Now this will be the only time I brag about this but, my mission president happens to be a member of the First Quruom of the Seventy or basically just two steps down the ladder of authority as the prophet.  So, I was wished a Happy Birthday by a Seventy who has spoken in General Conference before.  Talk about a birthday present!  But I still haven`t decided if our mission was so bad that they had to give us a General Authority to keep us in check or if it a reward for being awesome.  But anyways, that will be all you hear on that subject.

This week I was also adventurous and at a Sushi bar we went to I tried raw octupus!  It wasn`t bad but it was just rubbery and it wasn`t favorful.  Maybe I was supposed to Wasabi to add that extra kick.  But other than that I haven`t tried anything I haven`t like so far.  But I can`t remember any of the names of the food so I will probably have to get back to you on that one.  

Hope everyone has a good week and love you！

Elder Hall


The following picture is at Zone Training with President and Sister Yamashita!!

August 6, 2014

Nihon!

After two months of boring everyone with stuff that was happening in the good but bland town of Provo, Utah, everyone can finally read the good stuff of about being in Japan!  

My journey started in Provo at two a.m. when we woke up and left for the Salt Lake City airport at three thirty a.m.  Then we went through security and they confiscated two tubes of toothpaste I forgot to take out of my carry-on and we got on the plane to Detroit.  We had a three hour lay-over there and after visiting Tim the Toolman Taylor`s backyard, we embarked all twelve of us to the Nagoya airport.  We got to Japan thirteen hours later [2:25 a.m. Utah time] and were greeted by the mission president and Sister Yamashita.  We slept the night over there, filled out some paper work, had orientation and then went to the chapel next door to the Yamashita`s house and met our trainers.

Mine happens to be Elder Siedschalg (you prounce it `Zeed`schlag) and he is from Brazil so I guess no Nihongen trainer for me.  He is pretty fun and has been out for a few months and speaks all of the Nihongo because I can pretty much only bow, say thank you, and teach the first discussion so that was very helpful when I went and got my sturdy bike.  Our first week or half a week I guess since I got out to my area has been trying to get everything set up since we just converted our apartment from two people living in it to four of us.  It might be a bit cramped but I think that it is funner with more people around to talk to.

My area is called Numazu in the Shizuoka zone and it is in the corner of the mission in the southeast area.  So I am basically as close to home as I will ever be in the next two years where I am at now.  Mount Fuji is in the area over and we can see it on a clear day but won`t be able to hike it because it is too long and not that safe but we can maybe go to a certain point with our district on a P-day.

In our district there is Axthelm Choro who was my dai senpai at the MTC but I haven`t been able to see him yet and in my zone there is Dickenson Choro who was also my dai senpai and Orellana Choro who was my Chilean friend in my district.  So I have plenty of friends around me.

The weirdest thing I have experienced so far is the toilets.  First the seat is heated which was a shock the first time I sat down and you can also choose to have it spray water at you.  I finally got the courage to have it spray my butt and it was kind of refreshing but then my butt was still wet afterwards so I don`t think I will continue to do that!

Another weird thing was that we taught English class my first full day out in the field and they were having a good-bye party for someone`s grand-daughter in the ward who had spent the summer there and was leaving to go to Dixie State.  So I got to talk English for a little bit which was a bit weird.  But if anyone in the St. George area or at Dixie State sees a Mia Hart tell her Elder Hall says hi.  And speaking of English, we have a Polish investigator who speaks English but he canceled this week`s appointment so I wasn't able to teach in my native langauge.

Anyways, things are good over in Nihon.    Have a great and safe week everyone!

Learning to use chopsticks

Selfie with Elder Siedschalg

The Last Weekend

On Monday I will be leaving the MTC! The very thing that I have been waiting for but am kind of sad to leave. I have grown a lot at the MTC (both spiritually and physically and will be very sad to leave it. Especially since it is Provo that I am at right now where I have a lot of memories from my good 'ole BYU days. And we got to go to the Marriott Center for a devotional. And speaking of which, a couple e-mails ago, I told you about how we got to watch 17 Miracles on the Fourth of July but this Sunday in the Marriott Center, we got to hear from T.C. Christensen who directed it! I actually met him and shook his hand and told him how grateful I was for his devotional and the work he has done. My companion Elder Ricks works in the film industry and also wanted to talk to him really quick. So I got to meet both Eric Mika and T.C. Christensen and see six plus apostles. So as far as celebrities and general authorities, I got more than I could ask for.

Grandma will be very glad to hear that I was able to play the piano. I told the music coordinators in our district I would be willing to as long as I got to pick the hymns so I picked the easy hymns of "Come Follow Me", "I Stand All Amazed' (which has one note on the bottom hand half of the time) and "Be Thou Humble". I was able to get most of it without many mistakes but I kind of struggled with the tempo of the hymns. I guess I need to practice more for next time.

But playing the piano was not all I did in Sacrament Meeting, I was asked to give a talk, IN FULL NIHONGO!!! The way it works is that each week coming into sacrament meeting, no one knows who will give the talks so everyone will have one prepared. Luckily, I had prepared mine and when I he announced my name along with the sister I was speaking with, I was ready for my three to five minute Nihongo daka talk. The other Elder Hall in the zone was a bit freaked out since he just got there two weeks ago but the Branch President clarified and made sure he knew that I was the one giving the talk and not him. The subject was endure to the end and I quoted Job(which in Japanese is Yobu so everyone was a little bit confused when I said where the scripture was and it didn't help that I read the verse a little haphazardly because it was in Hiragana), and I talked about 2 Nephi 31:20 which was my mission scripture. Each week someone will sit in the back of the room with the Branch Presidency's wives who know no Nihongo and translate for them. My companion was the translator this week. For the most part I saw him able to understand my Nihongo, and I was trying to use the grammar patterns we had just learned so I hope others were able to understand me. But it was really cool to realize that I had just given a sacrament meeting talk all on my own effort without any google translate. Just some grammar books, a dictionary, and my knowledge.

Monday we went to a meeting with a trainer named Brother Mills from the MTC who had been a mission president in Fukuoka and served in the same mission of Nagoya and all the elders in the district. We talked about how our expectations will affect the way we work and the way we approach things. In the end of the meeting, the person who was leading the discussion in the meeting told us that we need to have a fine line of expecting many baptisms and hard work but also realizing that because people have free agency, our investigators or others won't be willing to accept the gospel sometimes and that it is not our fault. After the meeting I was kind of confused on what to expect in Japan as I had never really thought about it before. I remember being told at that meeting that to help change our expectations we can pray to the Lord to help him give us the expectations that He wants for us. So, I got down on my knees for nightly personal prayer and asked him to give me righteous expectations. Like a lot of times at the MTC, my prayer was answered at a devotional.

On Tuesday night, we had Stanley G. Ellis from the Quorum of the Seventy give our devotional and instead of talking the whole time, he let his eight kids who had all served faithful missions bear their testimonies on missionary work. One of his daughters talked about hope in Christ, and Elder Ellis talked about promises that God gave us missionaries and these two things really stood out to me. I realized then that hope is just what I needed to have righteous expectations. Before I came to the MTC and even in it, I have been aware that Japan is not a baptism crazy place like some stateside and South America missions. I knew when I opened my call, it wouldn't be easy and I probably wouldn't have as many teaching appointments as some of my friends going to other places around the globe. In the expectations meeting, Brother Mills said that he thinks that the work in Japan could be improved and when Elder Ellis's daughter talked about hope I remembered that. I have come to realize that my expectations should be a baptism everyday and a lesson for every meal over in Nagoya Japan. Is that what is happening right now? No. Is that what is going to happen when I go over there? I guess I won't know until I try. If I go in thinking or wanting anything less, I think my work will suffer. I'll be happy with a little improvement or one baptism but that isn't what the Lord wants. The Lord wants all of his children to come unto him and be saved and if I don't want that too, I shouldn't be here. I know that I won't convert everyone in my mission, but I wish that could happen. If I go in thinking that this person might reject me when I street contact them or that this person we are giving lessons to will drop us soon and it happens, it won't concern me. But if I go into everything thinking that the answer will be yes, I will work so much harder to bring them closer to Christ and teach them the gospel. I'll be rejected and I'll have my hard days but I know that if I try my hardest to help everyone I meet, that many, including me and everyone back home, will be blessed. Elder Ellis quoted Proverbs 3 that the "Lord shall direct they paths" if we are righteous. And the thing I have learned in the MTC is that if we are righteous and follow Christ, that the Lord will direct our paths and that we can be the best us we can be. I know that when I go to Japan, I can have the Spirit to be with me all the time and that the Lord can make me great.

 Thank you so much for the support as I feel it everyday. May the Lord bless all that may be reading and I will talk to you next in Japan.

 Love you all!

Branch President and wife and Shawn

MTC District

Elder Hall and Elder Meservey (Las Vegas Buddies in MTC together both going to Japan)

Elder Shawn Hall with Grandpa Woodruff

A Week (and a Half) Left

So the end of my MTC experience is coming fast.  We get our travel plans this Friday and then we will know when exactly we are going to Nihon!  The three da senpai who left for Nihon almost six weeks ago flew to Detroit and then Japan so don't be surprised if I randomly say in a couple weeks that I went and ate at a McDonalds in a random city in the Midwest.  And then I will finally be catching up to the number of states that Shelby has been to.  You might have been to Illinois, New York, and Mexico without me Shelby but I will hopefully catch up to you with a random midwestern state for my layover and with Japan.  I will win this battle one day! とにかく,

 I have kind of mixed feelings leaving.  I finally get to go to Japan but then I won't have my amazing teachers anymore to always ask questions to and I won't be in the same district.  But, on the other side, I can finally cook my own food.  But then again I will have to find out how to cook Japanese food.  Hopefully my trainer will know about all that stuff.  I am trying not to worry too much about the language and focus on just doing my best to keep focused on learning and growing as much as I can.

Yesterday we skyped with an actual Nihongen for forty minutes and we kept the conversation going without much dictionary looking up.  He was living in California but had joined the church in Nihon forty years ago.  We talked to him about the importance of prayer and it was cool to actually see someone on the outside world, even if he was a member, be able to be touched by what we said. This past week me and Ricks Choro have been working with our one-on-one coach (who gives me Jazz updates every once and awhile) on preparing a lesson plan.  And it has actually worked really well the last three lesson.  Monday was Chie no Kotoba (Word of Wisdom),Tuesday was Junketsu no Rippo (Law of Chastiy) and Wednesday was Eien no Kekkon (Eternal Marriage).  Our lesson yesterday was my favorite.  In my pre-prepared, broken up Japanese, I testified to my investigator Taira Shimai about the blessings of my parents being sealed and married in the temple.  It was the first time in our lessons that I felt the Spirit hit me really strong.  It was like POW!!!  It was so strong when I told her that I know that because of the temple, that after death, my family will live together.  It has been amazing to teach the gospel to our investigator and learn about all of the blessings of the commandments.  We also try to make that the main point of the lesson so when Taira Shimai had to give up tea in order to live the Word of Wisdom or to find an apartment so she wouldn't be living with her boyfriend anymore to keep the Law of Chasity, no matter how hard it was to do, she could get through it because she had the blessings in sight.  I guess I never really focused on the blessings of many of the commandments and just followed them blindly.  But through focusing on the blessings of the commandments, it made me realize how much God loves us and how he gives us commandments so that he could bless us.  I know that if we follow the Word of Wisdom, we won't be numbed to the feelings of the Spirit and that if we keep the Law of Tithing the Lord will bless us much more than the money that we are giving up to follow him.  When we show self-control and keep these commandments, it shows us love for God and he will bless us for that.

 I love everybody and I hope that everyone can have a good week!!!

 またね!!!

Sixth or Seventh Week.....I Can't Remember!!

Hello Everyone!!

This last week was pretty sick, both in the real part of the word in which I am still recovering from my sore throat and in the figurative language that it was a pretty good week. It started with a bang, quite literally, on the Fourth of July.  We had a special devotional after dinner in which we listened to some cool, patriotic musical numbers and then heard from a speaker talking about how real hero's are disciples of Christ. Then, we were all allowed to watch the pioneer movie 17 Miracles which is one of my favorites. It was so cool to see a film I had seen before the mission and how much more I could relate to the pioneer's struggles now that I was on a mission. I am truly grateful for the sacrifice of all those early pioneers and my ancestors who crossed the plains and suffered illness, death, and setbacks just so they could be a part of the Lord's work. If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here in the MTC today.

 I am also so grateful for all of our founding fathers and those who fought for freedom throughout American history and not just in the Revolutionary War.  God truly did help in the creation of this great nation so his gospel could be restored back to the Earth and flourish in America and now in some many others parts of the world.  It is weird to think I will be leaving this great country that has offered me so many blessings these last 18 years of my life.  I truly will miss it but and so proud to be able to be an American.  After the film we got to watch the fireworks from the Stadium of Fire here in Provo.  Our Brazilian and Chilean elders really enjoyed the holiday and it was a nice treat to be able to stay up watching the fireworks past our bedtime or until 10:45. 

 A couple days after the fourth, our senpai (those in our zone that came in three weeks before us) left for Nihon.  It was super sad because I had become good friends with them all and I learned so much from them and their examples.  My favorite teacher Clark Kyodai also left us this week for a three week vacation to Rome.  I'm kind of jealous and sad we won't be able to see him before we go but going to Nihon in two weeks and a half will be an awesome adventure.  What we lost with our senpai we gained again when we got kohai or in other words we got two new districts that are six weeks younger then us come in yesterday.  Me and Ricks Choro went over to give them a big welcome because they are in a different residence hall then us and low and behold there was my good friend from high school Ryan, I mean, Elder Meservey!!!  So we talked a little bit, and I will be able to see him a lot in the next couple of weeks as he is in my zone.  One of the kohai is named Elder Hall too but he is from California and part Polynesian so I think that rules me out of being related to him. #100%whiteboi  But it is super fun to have more than just our district in the zone again, and we will try to not corrupt them too much and be good examples. 

 Perhaps the best part of my week was the devotional on Tuesday night.  Neil L. Anderson from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles came and spoke to us about the Spirit.  It was so cool!!!  This last week I had been challenged in coaching by our Brazilian elder Correa Choro to try to recognize the Spirit more in my life since I had voiced to him some of my concerns of not being able to fully listen to the Spirit when I was teaching our investigators lessons.  That was on Saturday so I spent the next few days trying to recognize the Spirit more and more in my life and trying to follow it in my lessons so that are investigator can come closer to Christ even though our Nihongo might be terrible.  So I had been trying to do that the past few days and then I went to the devotional.  The Spirit was so strong throughout the whole thing!  He talked about the blessings of the Spirit and how it can sanctify us, comfort us, help us find answers to our prayers, and bare testimony of simple truths not only to our investigators but also to us!  It made me realize how important the Spirit is in not just teaching but in our everyday lives.  Through it, you can feel God's love for you and learn of simple truth.  His wife talked as well and she bore her testimony on the Holy Ghost and how we can have a member of the Godhead be with us all the time.  The devotional made me realize that I need to strive to have the Spirit be with me always so that I can not only come closer to Christ but help others do so and without feeling the Holy Ghost, one cannot come unto Christ and learn of his true truth.  I am so grateful that God has given us a means to always have him be with us and feel his love 24/7.  I know that the Spirit can be with us always if we continue to choose what is right and try our best.  I hope that everyone can strive to feel God's love for them in their lives and can't wait to hear from everybody today! 

Have a great next week!

皆さん　あいしてます!!!

Half Way There

Hello Everyone

Well this week has been weird.  First off, the last couple of days my sore throat has struck again with slight nausea so I slept through service to try to recouperate the other day (don't worry the doctor said I could if I needed to). But I didn't miss any class. Also today I went off of campus again for Elder Ricks's physical therapy on his knee. We had to go pick up some sisters from the West Campus so I drove past my apartment in Wyview and my job at the MTC Cafeteria and got to show my companion just how close I was to the MTC without actually realizing it. And on the way to the physical therapy place I was on the road to my grandparents so that was kind of weird for me.

 But other than that it has been a good week. Especially since us Japanese elders beat the Korean elders at soccer after a few days dry spell during gym time. And we will be having a special devotional/fireside for the Fourth of July tomorrow even though we didn't have one for Canada Day. But that should be fun, especially afterwards when the fireworks at the Stadium of Fire go off here in Provo.  And the glow sticks that I got from my Mom will be fun to use as well.

After three weeks of having a Member of the Quorum of the Twelve speak we had a former seventy speak named Elder Snow.  He mostly talked about sacrifice in missionary work and made me want to give up even more to have bigger blessings.  It is crazy to think that even after giving up all these things for two years there is still more to give!  It is mind bloggling to me that even after we come so far that there is still a long way to go. Luckily we have Christ's atonement or this thought would be way too much to handle.

 < あいしてます