Changes, Greatness, Charity!!

Hey Yall!!

This week has been great! There have been a lot of changes, but change is good! This week has been super cold an really nice haha the bi polar weather of Alabama. I have gotten to help one missionary say his goodbyes to all, and the other be able to meet everyone in the ward. We have had great lessons and times where we dont know what to do. This is all in the great life of a missionary. I love it!! Nothin to much has changed here in Bama. My comps name is Elder Hullinger, he is from PG. Well more like Cedar Hills but lives really close. He goes home in April of this year. He is such a nice guy and funny! He can quote movies word for word! haha so I have him do that when i want to "Watch" a movie haha:) But really smart. There are some things i cant tell yall about him but we are gonna do great this transfer:)

This week we were able to accomplish a lot! On Monday we went back to the apt complex that we tracted last week and tried to find some of the people that said we could come back. Well one man that I wrote down I could not figure out his apt #. So we tried goin to the one that I thought it was and it turned out it wasnt him. But the man that was there let us in. We explained a little about families and the BOM. We gave him one and he said we could come back this week. His name is Scott. So well see where he goes haha. On Thursday we were able to see Mike again with Bro Lewis. We taught him bout the plan of salvation. He always has so many good questions that helps him learn a lot. He had a business meetin last Sunday, but I told him for sure he is commin the next Sunday. Nothin is gonna hold him back haha. We plan to meet with him a couple times this week. The next investigator I wanna talk about is Stephanie. So the sisters went and taught her this week and they said she is doin great! Were tryin to get her to come to church as well. But we figured out on Sunday that now us an the sisters have to swap investigators. We have a single sister and they have a single man, so it would just be easier for us to switch. So she is now there investigator and we got one of theres, Walter. We were able to meet him yesterday an he is a good guy. He is gonna take some work, but he seems super nice and willin and wants the gospel. So im excited to teach him, hopefully this week as well! An now i save the best for last. I told yall last week about a members nephew commin to church. Well on Saturday we were able to go see him. His name is Carl. And we went out to look at his aunts house which is in bad shape, as a ward were gonna help them get it more safe and comfortable to live in. But also we went out there to teach him. When we first got there the first things they brough up is how much he loved commin to church and how he loves our church. Then he said I wanna be baptized! hah wow! Outta no where! We had prayed about a date for him and as we taught him a little bout the Bom and prayer we set a date with him to be baptized on Jan 25th! So now we are workin on gettin him prepared for baptism! Yesterday durin church we were able to teach him as well an we are goin out this week to teach him again! He is such a great guy and I love people who finally figure out how great the gospel can be in there lives and the change that it brings! The area of North Port is now startin to grow so much! And its funny because the members are a lot more missionary minded now and things are startin to happen! HAha Member missionary work is so key!!

So one really cool experience that happened this week happened on Thursday night. A priest named Lathen Foote came an picked us up. There family was havin family night and they wanted us over. So we started headin up there, and we stopped at a stop light. He said "O, Nick Saban lives that way." and pointed down the road. I said I have always wanted to go to his house. Then he said well why dont we go? haha so we headed up there. When we pulled into the neighborhood he said why dont yall go knock on his door! haha so thats exactly what we did. My comp was gonna kill me but i wanted to do it none the less. We didnt want to make seem like we just came to knock on there door, we wanted to act like we had been tractin the whole neighborhood. So we knocked on the door an his wife Terry answered the door. I had a Family Proclomation to the World in my hand and said Hi mam, we are missionaries from our church goin around sharin a message about how to have a happy family." "O well how nice, me and my husband have been married happily for 42 years." Then she went on to explain how to have a happy marriage. We explained the proclomation and handed it to her. She read a little of it, then i asked, "Is your husband home?" "O no he is at work." "Well what does he do for work?" I asked. "He is a football coach, an actual football coach!" haha me still tryin to act like I had no clue, asked "Well whats your husbands name?" "Nick" She responded haha "O well how nice." I said haha i was so dang nervous and probably made a fool of myself. But we talked a little more then left. She was so dang nice, though! And after we left I realized I never even told her about how we believe we can be together as families forever! hha So we ended up goin back the next day and she wasnt there so i left a card with our number on it. haha I dont wanna bug her and make her mad at the church but that was pretty dang awesome to talk with his wife and give her some chruch material!:) haha

Well that was pretty much my week! Sorry i gotta make this a little shorter cuz im runnin outta time, but I watch Elder Hollands talk he gave the last conference. An really loved it! I think we all need to be a lot more Christlike and have more Charity toward everyone! Thats how we can be missionaries, without Charity we are nothin. Moroni 7:45-47

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 

46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail— 

47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

I know that as we have charity towards one another it will not only help them but we can learn an grow so much more! Charity is the definition of missionary work. Its what we all need to perfect in our lives. Practice makes perfect, so let us all practice charity in our lives every day!

I love yall so much! Hope you have a great week! Remember to have charity and that will lead to happiness:)

Love Elder Hall!:)