December 19, 2016 - Augusta / Evans, GA

Hey Y'all!

This has been a very crazy week! I'm feeling way better than last week and pretty much all recovered. The medicine and the inhaler really helped and after I got the medicine and the inhaler I was feeling pretty much 100% a few days later.

 

I cant believe its a week til Christmas and its crazy how time goes 

On Monday, P-day was such a busy/stressful day and it was hard getting everything we had planned that day done and done well. One hard aspect about this area is because the other 4 Elders in this area are on bikes so we have to pick them up and drop them off at different places where they need to be and making time to take them home is sometimes hard so it really makes you communicate plans for the day because if you don't then that's when your late for things. The highlight of that day was going to the Pahuambas for FHE and we are really excited for that family. They live in Augusta and travel close to 40 minutes to church with 7 kids and they are at church every week. They have seven kids and two of them want to get baptized and we are preparing them for that. Its amazing how the Lord works in mysterious ways because I use Spanish as we teach and I remember my Junior year having to make the decision if I wanted to continuing Spanish to Spanish 4 and at the time it really didn't make much sense for me to take the class but now I'm so grateful that I continued in studying Spanish and learning more because in this area I've used a lot of Spanish. Now don't get me wrong I cant fluently speak it but I cant remember alot of phrases and verbs to conjugate that I can make a broken sentence in which they are able to understand the point we are trying to get across. So my testimony in the gift of tongues has been strengthened alot since I've been here. We taught the Pahumabas about prayer and we made the analogy to the kids about toothpaste and asked the kids..."When you brush your teeth do you squirt out the whole tube at once and brush your teeth once for the whole month or do you use a little and brush multiple times a day?"  They all laughed and it helped them understand that God wants us to talk with him multiple times throughout the day. But they are really working hard and their testimony in Christ is growing!

On Tuesday, We started the day off with interviews with President Grayson and I always love spending time with him and learning from him. He is really a bright teacher and knows the gospel really well. The highlight of the whole day was that night we talked with Corey and had a great lesson with him. We both felt very strongly that we should share a story from the Book of Mormon and as we help him understand and have experiences with the Book of Mormon the more that the material we teach will be more inviting and applicable. We both felt that we should share 1 Nephi 8 talking about Lehi's dream and how coming to Christ is the message in which the Book of Mormon begins and ends. We read at the end of Book of Mormon of Moroni's final words at the end of his life to come unto Christ and that is the message of the Book of Mormon and as we explained and related Lehi's dream to how the world is he really seemed to understand and yearn for more learning from the Book of Mormon. Watching someones testimony grow in the gospel from feeling the Holy Ghost are some of the most memorable times you'll have in this life and even the next life.

On Wednesday, we had planned to do a new way of contacting people called Windows of Heaven. The concept of Windows of Heaven is all about finding the Lords elect and we do that through alot of prayer and aligning Gods will with our efforts. We had planned to go contact people at Lady A and its amazing how as we were making plans for the week that the slot on Wednesday from 3:00 to 5:00 just kept drawing us a blank as to what we should do and it almost felt that we were going to have a memorable experience there and that there is a person there that we need to talk to. We met a lady named Theresa who was the second person we talked to and a large part of windows of Heaven is contacting everyone you seee and promising the Lord that you wont let one person you see go without be talked to.  Theresa was walking somewhat fast with music on and we stopped her which was super awkward but she had gone to the park to get her mind off some recent events in her life. She just lost her mom, divorced her husband and she was in a point in her life that she didnt care what happened to her. We talked to her for two hours and within 5 minutes she was crying because she saw this as a sign from God that he does care for her and as we talked to her we answered alot of her misconceptions of our church. She accepted to read the pamphlet and we are going to see her this upcoming week! Is it odd or is it God? It was a really memorable contact for me because our human nature would say not to bother her while she was walking and all human instincts are holding a red flag saying she wouldn't be responsive but spiritually we committed to God we would talk to everyone and we did and because we did we helped answer someones prayer. 

On Thursday, we beat the world record for unloading a 25 foot moving trailer into an apartment! We unloaded the whole trailer in 20 minutes!! Granted we had 6 people but its still really impressive. It was funny the people working in the complex asked if we wanted jobs at the complex because we did that in such a fast rate. But maybe after the mission or somethin'. The next part of the day also showed us that God plays a part in this work. Throughout the whole week we had been having scheduling conflicts for Thursday trying to figure out district meeting, and the move for Brother Barclay that morning and after working it out it made our lunch break be kind of late in the day. After the meeting a few people here wanted to go out to eat and it didn't make sense for us to because we didn't have much time but we decided to go to Taco Bell. I'm not sure if y'all remember the man I talked to out the the car last week and handed him a Book of Mormon and I wasn't able to write down his number to contact him and it just so happened that he recognized us at Taco Bell and it was exactly one week from that day where we randomly met up at Taco Bell and got his contact info. If that isn't God manifesting himself I don't know what is! Crazy stuff! That day we also met with Larry where we had a really memorable meeting where we talked about the baptism questions and he was worried about not being ready to be baptized. Larry has been working so hard at being ready to be baptized and wants to understand the material. He has a learning disability so it makes it hard for him to remember a lot of material but we have been breaking the lessons down into very simple, easy material. 

On Friday, we as a district are making plans to really change the culture in this area from the stereotypes and really involving the members by making a family mission plan, an app where they can track their successes. We are trying to do big things here in Evans and things are looking up. That night we met with Larry who shared some really personal past experiences with us that he felt he should get off his chest and its saddening what humans do when they aren't surrounded by Jesus Christ and some of the experiences he shared were rally hard to believe. We also met with Madison and her parents and had a great dinner with them. We planned her baptism and she asked me to baptize her next Wednesday so we are excited to watch her make those covenants with the Lord. She has a waited a good amount of time for this day and its exciting to finally watch her be baptized! 

On Saturday, we played ultimate Frisbee and it was only 3 on 3 but it was still really fun and cold! A member here was talking to me about joining the Army. The things he was talking about made me think about it but ultimately I want to play college basketball and make my dream come true. We set some plans up for the day and the week and met with the Bishop to discuss the work and some plans that we have.

On Sunday, it was a really special service. There was a special musical number where they played "Where are you Christmas?" It brought the spirit into the room so fast and it made me think of home for some reason. The Hinds family talked a lot about how God has played a role in their life and everyone in the room was feeling the spirit. We talked to Eddy Hamrick and finished the week off well. The church is true and I know that the gospel is true. I've seen my life change over the past 18 months and have found something that I want people to know and understand as well. I also found out that Dan Nguyen got her patriarchal blessing this past week and from what she said God expects alot from her. She is doing so well and I'm so happy for her!

I cant wait to see you on Sunday and I HOPE HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Elder Hill

#1weektilIseeyou     #TheWorkisMoving

 

Foggy Winter 2016!

Christmas Brawl 2016!

​If we arent talkin' Christmas I aint wanna talk!

 

 

December 12, 2016 - Augusta / Evans, GA

Hey Y'all!

It definitely was a week out of the ordinary for me! Having a bronchitis definitely wasn't expected and came out of nowhere, but I'm doing a lot better than I was earlier this week. I'm not sure how much Sister Finlinson told you but the doctor prescribed three prescriptions for my bronchitis.  I'm trying to get as much rest as I can there have been a few events this past week that I had to be at and prepare for and some unexpected events that I'll tell you in my letter, but yes I'll try to slow down as much as possible.

As for my week, it was a bit out of the ordinary but it was one to remember!

On Monday night, elder Goodsell and I helped out with a baptism for an 8 year old and gave talks on the Holy Ghost and baptism. After the baptism there were a few kids in the gym playing basketball that a member invited to play at the church. Bishop had some things he needed to do so he asked us if we would stay and wait til these guys got done before we locked up the building. I was like YEAH! So all four of us missionaries got to play basketball against 5 guys and we won!! It was sooo much fun and I hadn't played at that tempo in a while and it was good to get back in the game speed of things! The people we were playing with asked us a bunch of questions and they were interested  in how I left basketball and came to serve the Lord for 2 years and they were pretty interested. 

On Tuesday, I woke up and started feeling pretty fatigued for no reason and for me that is really out of the ordinary and I woke up with a really bad sore throat and cough and the bronchitis started... However we had a meeting in Macon that day for the Zone Leaders so instead of getting rest we went to a meeting in Macon. The meeting was really motivational and lots of ideas and thoughts really helped me figure out what more I could do in my mission and how can I serve better. Elder Ballard gave a training for the "Windows of Heaven". It's where as missionaries we pray to know where the Lords elect is, and how God leads us to these people. We plan to be an area and talk to everyone that we see, he shared many stories of different  blessings and people he has met through doing the finding activity called Windows of Heaven. We are excited to try it this next week. Because I was coming down with Bronchitus I had to leave the room multiple times to blow my nose and I felt bad because I was disrupting but its not like I just couldn't be there. After the meeting was over I drove the Augusta zone leaders back to their area and it was a very fun car ride back haha!

On Wednesday, I woke up and I was very fatigued and in my head I was staying positive and telling myself it was a cold but after trying to focus and go through the day I was just being drained and I was like it's not like me not to have energy. Because of the plentiful amount of meeting we have in December, we only had one day to prepare ourselves and everyone else for ZTM. After planning for ZTM, we had a few hours to go and see people and we were able to teach a few people about the Restoration and had some good success. We actually had one guy on a porch call us over because we saw me cough and sneeze a few times in a row in the street and he handed me some cough drops and some medicine and I thought that was very thoughtful. (Don't worry the medicine hadn't been opened yet). That night we had dinner at the Bridge's home and at this point in the day I was drained physically and for me it was just a strange day because I kept saying to myself it's not like me to not have energy. After dinner we had bible class in which I was able to rest a little bit. We were almost ready to get some rest except for an appointment at 8:00 with one of our investigators. We helped teach Justin Carabello the rest of the Plan of Salvation and I was so glad that we went over and talked to him. He had a really spiritual moment and realized how much sense the Plan of Salvation has and how much of truth there is. The only downside to the whole lesson was it was outside in a brisk night where I was sick and knowing it was good for me to be outside, but for the pain/discomfort I felt, it was all worth it because Justin felt that love and comfort. 

On Thursday, I woke up and knew it was going to be a rough day for me. We had ZTM and we had a bunch of small details we had to straighten out in not a whole lot of time. In the end we got everything figured out and we headed out the door for ZTM. I was feeling pretty fatigued/runny/stuffy nose/cough/chest congestion/body aches/ and a HEADACHE! I was worried as to how ZTM would go with only one day to prepare but I said a prayer and prayed for strength and I know that God granted that to me because for some reason during ZTM I had my energy back. I still didn't feel 100% but I felt well enough. ZTM was a really powerful, and spiritual meeting. My training went really well and I trained about living what you learn, but a good majority of it was motivated and finding your passion to overcome hard times. I know for me before my mission a huge motivation for me in overcoming hard times was my love for my family and for reaching my dreams. For all of us to reach our potential and work through hard times you have got to find what you love and have a passion for improvement and never be complacent. Life was meant to be easy, if it was easy there would be no point for us to be here on earth. Growth comes from willingly giving of yourself to satisfy ones need. After ZTM, we were driving to get some lunch and we were at this stoplight and this man started talking to me in his car. He asked a few questions and I offered him a #Lightheworld pass-along card and he accepted and the spirit prompted me to ask him if he-d like a Book of Mormon and he said he would!! It was my first time teaching someone at a stoplight and it worked out better than anticipated! That night I was completely wiped and didn't feel good. We had one important lesson we had to be at, but after that we went home and I got some Mucinex DM and went to sleep.

On Friday, I tried to get as much sleep as I could but its hard to get sleep when you have to cough every 10 seconds. In the morning we went to the doctors and I got scene by a member to help me figure out what I had in my system. Waiting in the waiting room I talked to this elderly man who gave me some advice about college and commended us for being away from home around Christmas. But I got looked at by the doctor and turns out that I had I had really bad congestion in my chest and it was bad enough they needed to give me a steroid shot in my butt haha. Yep it was a first haha:) I then breathed through this tube where a medicine I would inhale would open up my chest and help me breathe. It seemed to really help and I'm glad for modern medical science! That night we went to the Broach's home for dinner and had some potato soup, and I was still getting over the medicine and the steroid shot had me feeling kind of funny. But we also helped Sister Lawry set up a printer. Sister Lawry is a nurse and she was able to help me out with my symptoms and gave me some in home remedies to help me.

On Saturday, we had planned for the day to be a day where I could rest and get better but it turned into the busiest day of the week... I guess the Lord wanted us to be out workin' that day. To start off, all six elders here split up into teams of three and three of us went to ultimate Frisbee and the other three went to go help a nonmember move. I went and watched people play ultimate Frisbee/ babysat some kids on the sideline. After Frisbee we went and helped set up the ward Christmas party. After that we went to help the other Elders finish the move. It ended being a really big move and we had to manage our time because we also had to bake cookies for the party and get ready for the ward Christmas party. We gave the cookies to Sister Tippett to bake and helped finish the move and then at the party we were in charge of food challenges where we had set up the doughnut on the string challenge and the saltine challenge which the kids ended up loving!  The Christmas party was awesome and the talent show was one to remember!

On Sunday, the highlight of the day was at night we had dinner with sister Lawry and Brother Criswell came over and we talked about temples and her temple experience. Sister Lawry is awesome and I cant wait til she is sealed to her husband soon!

I LOVE Y'ALL and I know my letter made it seem like I was on my deathbed, but I'm feeling a lot better and life is good! My favorite scripture this week is Alma 37:7 "And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about this great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."

You never know how much good you do in the world, the small things that seem like nothing often times mean the most in the end.

-Elder Hill

#IWISHTHEREWASSNOW  

MLC December 2016

ZTM December 2016

Evans Christmas Party December 2016!

December 5, 2016 - Augusta / Evans, GA

Hey Y'all! 

Wow what an eventful week! First I want to thank everyone for all the birthday wishes and love that I have received over the past week! I'll always remember this week for many reasons! But for my birthday the district got int our apartment and put streamers posters, presents, and confetti all over the apartment! I took lots of pictures so I'll send some to you but it was quite the surprise. It added to all the joy of my 20th birthday! It's crazy to think I'm no longer a teenager but I'm excited to start off a new decade in my life. Thank you sooo much for the package and it meant a lot to me! Sister Richards (Bishops wife) gave me some really good snicker doodles that were great and it meant a lot for her to bake me some! My new companion is Elder Goodsell from Holiday, UT and he actually served in this area for 71/2 months a few months ago but he got sent into a different ward. So he is really adjusted to the area and knows the layout pretty well. But yes the triple cheeseburger challenge is something I'll never do again but after that day of food I didn't eat again til the next day in the late afternoon. I ate so much burger meat that even when I look at hamburger today it still doesn't look appetizing haha. Yes I was able to watch the Christmas devotional and it was very good! It got me in the mood for the Christmas and made me even more excited for the chance I have to Skype yall. But this week was definitely one to remember. 

On Monday, we had such a busy start off to the week. Elder Weston and I had so many things to get done in the 3 hours we had to do them, but after Brother Griffin took us out to dinner we had to race over to Augusta for FHE with a Spanish family. It was a great lesson, but we were really concerned with all the things we had to get done in the time we had to do them. We then shot over back to Evans where Elder Weston finished off his list of people that he wanted to go say bye to. We first stopped by Bishops house and said bye  to their family, we saw Sister Barnes, and then saw Sister Lawry all in about 1 hour. We have black boxes in our cars that alert us when we go over the speed limit or make sharp or aggressive motions in the car and the black boxes (Tiwi) kept saying "check your speed" probably every 15 seconds so we were pushing it but we got everything done!

 On Tuesday, we woke up around 4:50 to get ready to head to Macon for Transfers. We had to run a errands before we left for Macon, Brother Taylor picked us up and as soon as we got all packed in the van it started down pouring. It is the first time it actually rained here since the Hurricane and it came down hard. We got to the meeting and as soon as we stepped in the building I got my new companion Elder Goodsell! He served in Evans for 71/2 months so he knows the area pretty well but he's just in an adjacent ward now. So we were super excited! I saw a lot of old friends and it was great seeing everyone. We then had to transfer all luggage and supplies into the new cars in the pouring rain. so because it was pouring everything got soaked and I just embraced it haha. It was kind of fun but I was worried it was going to damage my nice blue suit but after it dried it turned our alright. That night we had an awesome lesson with Larry. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and focused on Jesus Christ. Larry told us on Sunday that he wants to be baptized no later than February and its been soo great watching him grow and learn more about Jesus Christ and why we are sent down here to earth. After that we went to Coreys house and also taught him about the Plan of Salvation. It helped answer/ connect the dots for him about why we came down to earth and helped him understand the importance and necessity of Jesus Christ. I'm grateful that I'm here in Evans teaching him, I'm not sure if he notices a difference in his life since we have taught him but slowly we have seen a change in him and he's more curious about truths and recognizes the Spirit when it touches him. 

On Wednesday, we had a lot of appointments fall through and it was more or less a hard day because I started feeling sick and getting a sore throat that would become worse as the week went on, I'm not sure where I got sick but it was the first time in my whole mission I felt sick. That afternoon we stopped by Jennifers home and talked to her about the difference between the Holy Ghost and the gift of the Holy Ghost. One hard aspect of being a missionary is that its hard watching peoples faith grow and once they recognize truth they are scared to pursue it because they know of the sacrifice that it takes so they fall back to their old beliefs where its comfortable. It's hard but hopefully that seed will continue to grow and we can shed some light on the truth for her but it cant come from what we say it can only come from the Holy Ghost. That night we went to Sister Lawrys house and it was an awesome time with her. Elder Goodsell knew Sister Lawry when he was in the Stevens Creek ward and so they got to see each other again and share lots of stories  together and it was great watching Sister Lawry smile and be happy seeing an old friend. We helped her put up her Christmas tree and it reminded me of all the times we decorated the tree and the beauty of the tree when its all finished. I loved sitting there staring at the shining lights reflecting off the red balls in the dark and it invites a feeling that is like no other.

On Thursday, a lot of our plans fell through in the afternoon and my cold was progressing into something a little bit worse than your average cold. But for those that know me I hate letting something keep me down even though it would be the smart thing to do. I'd like to think I can handle any situation and can adapt to fit the needs of what needs to be done. It was hard, but we had a successful day. We met this one lady trying old potentials who didnt like the church because she had previously thought that we worshiped Joesph Smith and had a lot of misconceptions about the church. We respectfully helped her understand and correct any misconceptions she had of the church and there was a huge difference in what she had previously thought. although when we left she still didn't understand the necessity of a prophet but she understood alot more than she did in the beginning. That night we went to the Bridge family's home where we had a great meal with them, and they have the cutest daughter who gladly showed us all the Christmas trees in the house and also the manger where Jesus lays and it was precious haha. That night we helped someone move into their new home and it was a really good friend of Sister Ganuza who then invited Cortey to come and help. He came and we had some really good conversations while we were moving furniture into the home.

On Friday, we planned most of the day besides a great lesson with Dan where we watched President Monson's testimony and talk on the word of Wisdom from General conference. The spirit was very strong and she is doing soo well and loving what the gospel can do to change peoples lives. 

On Saturday, it was a very laboring day...my cold felt like it was going away as we went to Ultimate Frisbee. It was the missionaries against the soldiers and we were getting smoked , after halftime they wanted to switch the teams but I refused because I knew we could do better and ended up winning the game in the second half but I was dead dog tired at the end of the game. After Frisbee we helped out at a retirement home moving Christmas supplies up and down stairs. It was really fun because on the inside of the retirement home it felt like we were in the Titanic with all the chandeliers, the dining room table it  made for an interesting and really cool scene. The old ladies loved that "handsome,well-dressed men like y'all can come and help us really made our day" and they were really glad we helped them out. Then that night we talked to a less active for a good majority of the night who is the Assistant coach of the U.S martial arts team who ended up winning the grappling championship in Africa last week. So we had a great conversation with him and learned a lot about martial arts. Then after we got out of his house it was close to 8:30 and didn't have plans for the next half hour so we were on our way home when we saw high school kids playing basketball... I turned to Elder Goodsell and said found what we can do for the next half hour. But we played with them in the rain and it was a lot of fun! They kept asking me questions about my mission and how I wanted to play college ball and wanted my autograph after the game haha.

On Sunday, it was my 20th BIRTHDAY!! So crazy I've lived for two decades haha. To start off my cold felt kind of bad and I was worried how much I'd be able to do on my birthday but I took some medicine and loaded up on Vitamin C and headed to church. Church was amazing, Rick Grubbs who I met with Elder Weston is a member of  Wesley Methodist church came to bear testimony of Elder Weston and me and also the service that was provided for Brother Griener. He bore a powerful testimony and it was a great way to start off my birthday. So many church members said Happy Birthday and it was great feeling loved from everyone even though I was kind of sick. That afternoon we went to the Gomex family and they made me a birthday cake and soup. Then after that we came home where we found a surprise of the Sisters and Elders in the district decorated our apartment and it added to the excitement of the day. We watched the Christmas devotional that night and felt Christs love manifest to me that I was doing a good job and that I'm where I'm supposed to be. I'm grateful to start another year off in my life and I can tell its going to be a great one! I've loved what has happened when I was 19 , but Im really excited for the things i'll do when I'm 20!

I LOVE Y'ALL and thank you for all the love and support! 

-Elder Hill

#I'm20!!!  #Dec42016

 

Christmas Decorations in Apt 2016!

Frisbee!!

 

I'm 20!!

Nativity 2016!

 

November 28, 2016 - Augusta / Evans, GA

Hey Y'all!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! It sure was a memorable week and definitely a time I was grateful for all that I have. We did have transfer calls this past Saturday and I'm staying here in Evans, GA for another six weeks! The transfer ends January 9th, 2017 and its crazy that we are already starting up another year. Time goes by sooo fast! Elder Weston is getting transferred though so I'll be getting a new companion for this upcoming transfer. I'm really going to miss Elder Weston and all the good times that we had together. He's a great example of hard work and works really hard. with him living by Bear Lake we will for sure spend some time together after the mission, but I will miss him.  But since I'm staying my address is still the same one that you have now to send the package:) I'm excited for my Birthday package, and I cant believe its my birthday this Sunday! The missionaries are making "secret" plans to surprise me with for my Birthday, so we will see what they end up doing for my birthday:) Also thank you for your Thanksgiving letter, it was AWESOME!

This past week sure was a memorable one with lots of time to reflect on this past year and all the blessing that I was able to enjoy...

On Monday, we went to the Ganuza family's home for dinner. Corey, one of our investigators came over for dinner as well. At the end of dinner we watched the Hope of God's Light https://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/the-hope-of-gods-light with Corey and the spirit was very strong. It was perfect for him and one aspect of the video that really stood out to me was just the concept of faith. That he overheard two girls having a conversation of fasting and prayer and that small seed was planted. God didn't appear to him but over the course of two years the seed was nurtured as he acted and the seed grew and grew and grew. Its sometimes really hard to act on the faith because there our human nature is to doubt and say "what if" but for faith to work we have to push doubt aside and rely on God wholeheartedly and thats when miracles happen. Slowly but surely we are watching Coreys belief in God grow and we are excited for the fruits that are to come.

On Tuesday, we went to North Augusta, SC for district meeting and exchanges. After we had district meeting and ate lunch we played a little parking lot baseball. We grab a stick and played baseball with a tennis ball. It was a lot of fun, but who knew that I'd be playing baseball in a suit like who does that? haha only missionaries:) I went on exchanges with Elder Richards who just got on his mission about 1 month ago. We started off with a memorable service project. The Sisters in North Augusta had an investigator family who needed some help with some yard work in their backyard. They had a backyard full of old school tractors and a pen of chickens. Our job was to clear the area of pine straw and move the tractors to the side of the yard. Haha and no I wasn't able to drive the tractors because they weren't in working order but I did take a few pictures with them:) Another part of the service was as we picked up old scrap metal and pine straw we were to "stomp" on cockroaches and put them in a bucket to feed the chickens with. We moved this one rickety old wheel barrel with what looked like a tarp that had been there for more than 15 years and found oodles of cockroaches! We punched, slapped and hit them all (with gloves don't worry). It was fun how much chickens love cockroaches. I think at the end of the project we collected over 100 cockroaches! What?!? That night we had an interesting contrast of lessons. Our first lesson was with a part-member family where we read from 3 Nephi 11 and the spirit was very evident. The man we were teaching accepted a Book of Mormon and promised to read it. Mike, was his name, refused to take one previously but because the spirit was there he felt prompted to read more in it. After a great spiritual lesson, we had a bit of time left in the night and decided to try a potential kiddie corner from the apartment we just came from. We weren't in the best apartment complex and this 17 year old answered the door and the spirit that was felt in the home was so negative and it was hard to portray the Restoration when a aggressive pit bull was breaking in and out of the door and kids yelling at us on the other side of the door. It got to the point where I had to say it wasn't a good time to share the message because it was the time or place to share a sacred message like the Restoration. When we were leaving the kids released the dog and the pit bull chased us into the truck we were got into. I don't know how many more scary dog stories I can have haha.

On Wednesday, we had district meeting on the Savannah river for the last one of the transfer and it was sad that it was our last time being together it seems like just yesterday I got transferred here to Evans. After District Meeting I did something I didn't want to do but did for the memory. There's a place in Evans called Embers Grille where they have a food challenge where you have to eat a triple cheeseburger, tons of fries, and a large drink in 45 minutes. It was soooo painful!!! But I finished it and got my picture on the wall. The reason I didn't want to do it was because of how bad it was for me and knowing that I'd have to eat alot for Thanksgiving the next day it was a hard task. It was sooo much food!! Then I had the true test of how well I could hold food down because we had a dinner appointment at the Hinsdales who are an elderly couple who spent all day cooking the meal we had and insisted on having us have at least 2 plates. It was SOOOO HARD!! 

On Thursday, it was Thanksgiving! The highlight of the day was definitely spending time with the Criswell families home. Brother Criswell raises turkeys and he processed a a fresh turkey for thanksgiving. I was surprised at how much flavor there was in the Turkey without all of the preservatives. There was a lot of food, but the only thing that made the food better was the company. To be completely honest Thanksgiving was a lot harder being away from home this time around than it was last year. I think a reason why it was hard was because everyone at the dinner was with their family laughing and playing and we were just there by ourselves. Also last year Thanksgiving was our first one away from home so it was exciting maybe to do something new, but since we had already done it before it was hard to be away from home this time around. I don't mean to say this to make you think that I had a rough day because I thought of home, but I wanted to share this because I do miss y'all and I'm grateful for you.I was thinking of all the blessings over the past year and I'm so grateful for this mission experience I've had. My testimony in Jesus Christ has been solidified and I'm so grateful that I made the decision to go on a mission. The people I've met, the spiritual moments I've had, the miracles I've witnessed, and the sacrifice I've made have all played a large part in who I am today. It has realigned priorities and made me realize whats really important in life. I'm grateful for so many things that would take me a while to type, but I'm grateful for mainly three things Jesus Christ, my family, and my mission. 

On Friday, it was a hard day of planning where a lot of plans fell through and people wouldn't reply. It was a struggle planning for the upcoming transfer without knowing who would be transferred ,but we made it work. That night we went to the Storrers and shared the Christmas initiative called #Lightheworld. The church did a great job with it  and it really shows how we can serve God's children in very simple ways.

On Saturday, we started off by playing Frisbee! It was a lot of fun but the teams were unfair. It was Elder Weston, me and two girls who stood on the field against 3 guys who played as much as I played basketball at home. We stuck with them, but Elder Weston and I got gassed in the end. That afternoon we got to witness Ava Call get baptized. She was such a happy little girl to be baptized and the spirit was very strong! There were a few ladies that sang Come thou fount of Every Blessing which was very fitting for Thanksgiving and I loved the spirit there. That afternoon we helped Rosemary with a few chores around her place and taught her about Jesus Christ and the divine role he plays in our life. We also shared the initiative with a few members that night. One of them was the Lunds. John Lund who is a member I knew in Columbus was visiting his parents who are members in Evans and I got to catch up with him for a good while which was a cool coincidence. We then went to go visit Scott Bradley and helped lift his spirits as he is struggling to quit smoking. We felt that we should just cheer him up with jokes, guitar, and laughs. At the end we watched the Christmas initiative video and his attitude of life changed to joy at the end of our visit which was really cool how the gospel changes people.

On Sunday, it was a memorable Sunday. Sacrament meeting was one to remember. The talks were about remaining faithful with people around you tearing you down. Sister Ganuza shared the Lehi Dream story and how we shouldn't be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The special musical number touched the the congregation. The Bishops daughter sang the song "blessings" by Laura Story. It touched so many people and one of our investigators cried and felt the spirit so strongly that it was a confirming witness that this path was right for him. We also received word that Madison Boswell got okayed by her parents for her to get baptized on December 28th! Sooooo exciting! She has been waiting for a while and we are excited to help her receive her goal of being baptized!The whole Sunday service was spiritual as we talked about talents and how develop them. There is lots of progression with our investigators and its because we have really focused on their needs and helping them feel the spirit.

I'm so grateful for Jesus Christ, this time I have be on my mission, I'm grateful for the growth I've had in my testimony, I'm grateful for my family and friends, and so many more blessings but in this time of year where we get to remember Jesus Christ I know that He Lives as I've felt his love circle around me. I know this church is true and the gospel is true and changes lives.

I LOVE Y'aLL

-Elder Hill

#HAPPYTURKEYDAY

Augusta / Evans GA gang at the Lake!!

Augusta / Evans GA gang at the Lake!!

'Merica in the South 2016!

Thanksgiving 2016!

'Merica in the South!!

Got it done!!