it's for the Long Haul

I knew that I shouldn't have said anything about transfers in my email
last week. I had all the stats and fun things and good memories all
lined out, having a good time recollecting my time here, only to find
out this morning that I am staying in the Old Settlers/Stony
Point/Pflugerville area for another six weeks. In case you are
wondering, this is a long time to stay in one place as a missionary.
This is a rarity.
This week was highlighted by the baptisms of three children. We had an
excellent turnout to the baptism and the spirit there was great. Their
parents recently reactivated and have come back with a great fire.
Their dad was able to baptize them, and a member of the bishopric
confirmed them members of the church. It was a great occasion. I can't
wait to see them in the temple together.
Yesterday was Pioneer Day. At church I got to sing "Come, Come Ye
Saints" three times, one for each sacrament meeting. It was fun to
teach the investigators and recent converts what Pioneer Day is and
why we celebrate it. But goodness, we had the most depressing pioneer
story told over the pulpit. We celebrate Pioneer Day for the courage,
faith, and perseverance of these people, not to recollect on the
bleeding feet and the dying family members and the maggoty bread.
Pioneers were some of the most amazing humans who have lived on this
planet. Their hearts and determination were some of the strongest
you'll ever find.  The spirit of the Pioneers is found to this day in
the culture of the church.
Today is July 25th. Merry Christmas in July!
A member told me the other day, "the stress you feel on a mission is
nothing compared to the stress that you have when you get a family,
career, real life. The stress I felt on my mission, that wasn't
stress." I think that missionaries get scared of that stressful
feeling that they have on their mission because the think it is
stress. But I think that Brother was right. Perhaps it is more of what
J called, an "over-anxiety." Perhaps this is not a stress, but an
urge, something that we've never felt before and are struggling to
find the right word for it. Many missionaries call this feeling "the
fire." That still doesn't describe it perfectly. It is like a realized
desire, a moment of clarity that lasts too long. At any rate, I liked
what he said, so I decided to share it with you.
It's hotter than heck out here, in case you were wondering. It's been
over 100 every day for the past while. I grew up in the Central
Valley, where it gets fairly hot as well. I used to think that it was
cool to be hot. The hotter the place you lived, the cooler it was to
live there. That philosophy died abruptly when I came to Texas.

Elder Richard Hall

1. The District
2. The B Family. The Elder on the right is Elder B, from
Edmonton. He taught the B family his first day in the field. He
leaves for home Wednesday.

By the Numbers

Everyone is playing Pokemon Go. Everyone. Our last three dinner
appointments are playing Pokemon Go as a family. If there are people
outside, they are playing Pokemon Go, or they forgot their phone in
the car.
Okay, not really, but everyone we talk to seems to be connected to
this game. I don't really know what it is, but I guess it's the
coolest thing to get popular while I've been on my mission since the
hover board. One time I saw two teenagers trying to talk to each other
on a sidewalk. One was walking, the other one was going at a slower
pace on a hover board. Why?

This started out great with an emergency transfer. Elder Castorena
went from Round Rock to Kerrville in a matter of hours. Just like
that, our trio became a duo once again, and the work just got a lot
more difficult. Our work load was already pretty big, but now we'll
have to adjust to this new way of covering three areas. I'll miss
Elder Castorena. He was a great missionary. I'll see him around soon.

There is going to be another baptism this week! The B kids will be
baptized this Friday at 7:30. It will be a great experience. We have
been teaching them ever since they moved into the area a few months
ago. They moved in from another area in the mission, where the parents
were less active in the church. Ever since they moved into this area
though, their fire for the gospel has ignited. The children are more
than prepared to be baptized and the parents have been coming to
church for most of June and July now. This opportunity is great.
One of the missionaries that taught them in the past is going to be
finishing his mission next week. He's now serving in the area East of
us now. When we told him the kids were getting baptized, there was a
mix of confusion and joy in his voice. It's a good way to send an
Elder home.

After Elder C was emergency transferred, I realized, there's a
lot of crazy things that have happened to me while I've been in this
area. Next week is transfers, which usually I don't think about it,
but time here is looking like it's running out. I've been in this area
for seven and a half months now. That's a long time. I wanted to do
some fun stats to show just how long I've been in the area.

Before I start the list, I just want to say- I had an extremely
powerful experience at church this Sunday. I was sitting in
Pflugerville sacrament meeting, enjoying a talk by a young woman who
just returned from a stake girls camp activity. Her talk was so open
and honest. It was about a humbling experience that she had. Most
people don't show these experiences because many people believe
humility is a sign of weakness, when in turn, it shows an increase of
spiritual strength. To listen to her talk in front of a Ward she knows
and loves was, well, humbling. It reminded me of times that I was
humbled and then shared my testimony with other people. Sharing a
testimony of humility, or repentance, or however you want to describe
it shows a change of heart. I want to bear my own witness of
repentance. True repentance brings forth true forgiveness. Preach My
Gospel states that the joy of redemption is experienced through the
companionship of the Holy Ghost, and the forgiveness of sins (PMG 2).
To be humble is to take part in the joy of redemption.

31 and 5/7 total weeks I'll have served here
222 total days I'll have served here
42 days spent in a car
164 pages of an 180 page journal filled during that time.
2 Skype calls home
3 different assigned areas without being transferred
1 day where I went south of Austin
2 emergency transfers
13 missed call from the mission president in 1 night (that was a fun one)
11 missionaries that have served in the three wards (Old Settlers,
Stony Point, Pflugerville) since I got here
6 of them have been my companion at one point
14 convert baptisms between the wards (including the Bices)
3 of them I didn't teach at one point before baptism
450 (approximately) lessons taught
1 Christmas Day
1 Pioneer Day (transfers will be past July 24th)
11 missionaries in the district in May
6 missionaries in the district currently
3 different leadership assignments
2 of the 5 areas in the district had a car
3 out of 3 do now
2 Bike crashes
2 Bike tires that lasted me the whole 7 and a half months
17 trips to Torchy's
185 hours of church (not including other meetings)
Infinite handshakes given to members and strangers
2 companions I saw go home
150 (approx) hours or community service
4 District Leaders
5 Zone Leaders
Countless memories
1 Elder Hall

1. My mission president, his wife, and I
2. Elder A, my trainer, and one of the best missionaries you'll find
3. Today's Torchy's run, featuring knokies and some of the secret menu
tacos- the Matador, and the Hipster.

This One's for all the Marbles

We were having dinner with a member family in the Stony Point Ward on
Thursday. Who was it with? The P family. Brother P
is a half-Brazilian from Uruguay and Sister P is from
Brazil. What are they doing in Round Rock, Texas? He's in the MBA
Program at BYU and interning at Dell. In fact, he was in the same
program as my brother! He has probably talked to my brother more than
I have for the past year. It was mind blowing to sit down with this
family who knew my family. That doesn't happen on a mission.
Yet it all felt familiar to me. Here I was, having dinner with a
Brazilian family, the Dad interning at Dell from the BYU MBA program,
talking to them about my brother and his wife and his family. How
could this be familiar?
It's because it happened to me a year ago! The G family had us
over for dinner last August. He was interning at Amazon and coming
from the BYU MBA Program. They're originally from Brazil. There you
go. Let's see what happens next summer.
Wednesday we found out that our amazing investigator, M, will be
unable to be baptized for at least a few months. It was a little
disheartening, but M understands the reason perfectly. He came
to church with us all three hours for the first time this Sunday.
Afterwards he helped us put up chairs with the Elders quorum and
talked to his fellowships in the hall afterwards. It was like he was a
member like anyone else. And that is how it should be. He was
completely in the church. It was like he was another member. It's a
blessing to be able to teach Matthew.
The B family came to church. The kids will get baptized in less
than two weeks. I do not understand the B family. We are not
teaching them, we are reminding them what is right, and then we are
aren't inviting them, they are telling us that they're going to do
what we were about to ask them to. When we first started to meet with
the B, the goal was to reactivate the parents. Now, the children
are getting baptized. What can you do?
I was able to teach the T for the first time in two weeks. It's
not that we haven't been teaching this family, it's just that we have
been going on splits almost every single night with the amount of work
that we have in between the three wards, and I've been missing out on
some of the best lessons of my mission! With most families, going two
weeks in between appointments isn't that big of a deal, but we teach
the T about 2-3 times a week. So it was a happy reunion to teach
them again. They have to be one of my favorite families I've taught on
my mission. And I can thank that to the missionaries who first taught
them, Elder G and Elder A. Elder A is one of the most
amazing missionaries I have ever met. It is no surprise that I am
doing his work. I'm glad that he is one of my trainers.
I got to give one of my recent convert families a call to see how they
were doing. New members of the church are exciting to talk with. They
are still fresh in the gospel but have a confidence and faith that is
so powerful. I know that the blessings of being a member are
unmatchable to any perceived blessings that would come outside of
having a faith in Christ. One of my favorite scriptures of late comes
from the Book of Mormon. It is part of a beautiful chiasmus in Moroni
7,
"For behold, God knowing all things, being from everlasting to
everlasting, behold, he sent angels to minister unto the children of
men, to make manifest concerning the coming of Christ; and in Christ
there should come every good thing."
We don't have to guess or struggle with what is of God and what isn't.
We don't have to question. Every good thing comes of Christ. He knows
all things. His laws will be good, and they will be from everlasting
to everlasting. Otherwise, they are not of God.

Elder Richard Hall


1. Me and the P family
2. Me and the G family, back when nobody told me that I
couldn't wear skinny ties
3. Me and the A family. Apparently they're good friends with
my Brother's family.

Building the Kingdom

Happy Fireworks everybody! Independence Day comes around again. Last year I enjoyed the Fourth
 of July in  the Missionary Training Center, which was a shame, because I was sure that having the
 Fourth of July in Texas was going to be great. So far, it's felt like any other day in the field. I guess when
 you do the same thing day in and day out, the holidays seem to glaze over.
I find it truly American that we celebrate the birth of our nation before we could make sure that we existed. 
We celebrate the agency we expressed when we declared freedom and sovereignty, not when we made the
 treaty of peace that ensured our country's safety. But that is what makes America America. We celebrate
 the risks,we honor the faithful.
This week we were blessed with two excellent baptismal services, and we have two more planned in a 
few weeks. The baptisms that we planned for were both for part member families. One of them was for the
 C girls, who should have been baptized long ago, but sometimes things don't work out. Many missionaries
 have been teaching this family, and their efforts have finally paid off. It was a great service, filled with the
 spirit. I am very proud of that family and the progression they have made.

The other baptism was for I R and his sisters, S and C. It will probably be the fastest baptism of my mission. 
Two and a half weeks ago we got a referral from the bishop of the Pflugerville Ward letting us know that a
less  active family wanted their children to be baptized. We had to to teach them all the lessons before the
 interview, which had to be before the Sunday of the baptism, and then we had to establish expectations with
the family to be active in the church. They are coming to church in the Spanish branch as of now, and it seems
 that they are enjoying it. It was great. We are excited every to teach the new member lessons to that family. 

This Sunday was highlighted by three excellent sessions of church, which was spiritually filling, to say the least. 
The wards here are fantastic, and I can't help but feel like this is where I was meant to be. We all have these
moments of clarity where the Lord lets you know that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. It is 
profound, it is simple, it is true. The Lord has a plan for all of us. He is waiting for us to recognize it. And perhaps,
 recognizing means exactly what it says. We re-cognize the plan that God made for us at the beginning. We
re-member ourselves as his children. We re-collect the knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and his words
 of truth. It is not that we are learning truths made from the air or the earth, we may very well be re-learning that
 which was known by us before. That is why the spirit is familiar, it makes us feel confident, it makes us feel at
 home, because at one point before our lives we were already there, already knowing, already repenting, already
 living. The gospel is nothing new, it is simply re-stored here on this earth. We now can partake of an atonement
 that has been applicable since the very beginning. 

We also received a new mission president this week. He is a giant teddy bear. Can't wait to meet him some more.

I also ran into someone from my home Ward! Brother Ellis from the Round Rock Ward. He's lived there for two
years and I remember him moving from Jerome Idaho to somewhere in Texas. I've been serving around him for
 the past six and a half months. I've seen him many, many times before, but it never hit me that it was him, because
that's too crazy to happen- until Elder C was talking to me about a man who gave him some essential oils on an
exchange in Round Rock. He pointed at him in the hallway and said, "That's Brother Ellis." And then it all clicked.
This man who looked exactly like Brother Ellis actually was Brother Ellis!  I now cover every Ward that surrounds
his own Ward. Who would have thought. 

Well this is long

1. Ramirez Baptism

2. Clark Baptism

3. Brother Ellis and I