Week 69 That's Why God Loves Cowboys

Hey,

This week was really fun, we did a lot of service that just put me in the Christmas spirit. Good things are happening in the Pleasant Hills. 

Tuesday

We went demolition mode round two at the historical society. It was just as much fun as the first time with a lot of debris flying everywhere. We're all little boys at heart.  We shared Light the World with Bro. Koslasky who was reactivated when I first got here. He isn't the most exciting person in the world, but we love him anyways. He's had a rough go with life and it's left him pretty sour. We try our best to help him and encourage him to get to the temple. We'll see what happens! The Ballards had us over for dinner which is always a highlight for me. It feels like being with friends from back home every time we go over there. They're awesome! We've been doing a lot of home teaching team ups with members of the ward to help boost home teaching. It's a struggle in this ward (and every ward) so the bishop wants us to step in. We went with Bro. Millet to see a lady he used to home teach before the ward boundaries were  changed. She has a few mental issues but it was so sad to hear her say: "I thought you guys forgot about me." I learned an important lesson that just because boundaries or assignments change we still have to minister to the one. It was powerful. 

Wednesday 

We had a big list of people we wanted to contact and we went after it one by one. We tried a lot of our less actives without much success, but we did get to talk to a few people on the street which was nice! Hearts are softened at this time of the year! Our big focus this week has been getting referrals. We did a few 10 minute visits with members just to show them the video and ask who they knew that we could share it with. It's generated a handful of referrals so far which is awesome! We hope it continues to work! 

Thursday 

We went on exchanges with the Pitt ZLs which put me with Elder Walker! We had a pretty good day and got in with a few less actives. One of them is Bro. Vates who we just found pretty recently. He let us in to show Light the world which was great. He loved it and wants to start coming back to church! I hope he does and doesn't get too "busy." He takes care of his mom and he told us he was really busy waiting for the phone to ring...  People like that crack me up. He's a good man. We had dinner at the Upper Saint Clair Temple aka the Crossleys house. It was a hardy meal of vegetable soup, salad with squeezed lemon dressing, and some sort of roll with cabbage and onion stuffed inside. It stuck to my ribs and may have been the healthiest thing I've ever put in my mouth. It was quite the experience. We were getting ready for bed at 10:00 or so when we got a call from Pres. Johnson. They were gone for interviews and needed someone to go to the mission home to turn the faucets on just a hair to prevent the pipes from freezing over. So we saddled up in the bitter cold to break into the mission home. The dang garage code wouldn't work so we ended up feeling like fools. Moral of the story is nothing good happens after curfew even if your mission president wants it to. We did eventually get in on Friday though, all is well. 

Friday 

We did a little service at the fire department which was good! The Crossleys came so the church was well represented. They had some big food drive and we just organized the food a little bit. We then exchanged back with Pitt which took far too long. They live right by Pittsburgh University so it's always a mad house over there. It took us an hour to go 11 miles. Welcome to Pittsburgh. It was a good exchange and I learned we need to prioritize our time a little better. Put first things first yanno? After the exchange we did some weekly planning and had dinner with Sis. Gray (member in the Ward) at Olive Garden. She was a referral machine! She started writing down a list of people she wanted us to see! I love people like that. 

Saturday 

We helped move a lady in the ward out of her place and it was just the four of us missionaries and her neighbor. Sad day. We got it done just in time to meet up with the district to go caroling at this apartment complex. The sisters set it up and it was awesome!! We sang on all 8 floors and handed out a ton of pass along cards. Everyone was so grateful and it made me so happy. "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." Christmas on the mission really allows you to turn outward instead of inward and it's the greatest thing. 

Sunday 

We had a crazy day. We were sitting in gospel doctrine when one of the members of the bishopric told all of us that we were canceling 3rd hour because the roads were bad... I think everyone was pumped to leave church early haha the roads weren't even bad! Oh well. Meanwhile, the cars at the mission office were all being flooded. (See pics) The mission office is right next to this little river and we park some of the cars that aren't being used right next to it. That's all fine and dandy until you get a crazy flash flood.  We ended up changing into service clothes, grabbing the tow cables, and going to the rescue. It was pretty sweet and I think some of the cars are still going to work.  Elder Kotter (king of the cowboys) is fearless. He went out into the freezing water to hook up the tow cables. That's why God loves cowboys I guess. We wrapped the day up with some less eventful lessons that were still good! People are being reactivated! 

Random thoughts

• Merle (one of our investigators) has fallen off of the face of the earth. 
• Lightning visits with members at this time of the year can be a hazard to your health. Everyone has too much sugar. 
• I found two Latinos this week so the Spanish game is hanging on by a thread... My faith was renewed that they do exist out here. Latinos escondidos. 
• "Turkeys look disgusting when they're naked." -Hurst child talking about Thanksgiving 
• "Why is everyone named Sister?" - 3 year old kid at church

Well folks it's a good time to be a missionary in the PPM. I'm happy and we're being blessed! I hope your Christmas finds you surrounded by loved ones and family who share the love of our Savior. Merry Christmas and may God bless us all! 

"We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings having a human experience." Teilehard De Chardin (Jesuit priest)

Just Believe, 

Elder Halls
Pictures: Caroling!; The great flood