April 24, 2017 - Alma, GA

Hey Y'all!

But this past week we have done A LOT of bike riding and it has been a very hot and humid week full of gnats!

On Monday, We had a pretty fun P-Day and we went up to Douglas and spent P-day up there smashing cars again at the junkyard! We were successful in flipping a van and I took of video of me smashing the vans window. It was pretty fun!! Y'all will have to watch the video of Elder Showers and I going to town! It definitely helps you get all the frustration out!

On Tuesday, We went back up to Douglas and had interviews with President Grayson, it was a very spiritual interview and it really confirmed to me that I was doing a good job being a district leader and trainer. Training has really brought me a lot of happiness and kept me focused on the work here. I'm really trying to finish strong, cause when you see the finish line you don't just lazily walk there YOU SPRINT!!! But President Grayson has really helped and benefited my testimony in Jesus Christ. When we got back from interviews Elder McGee and I rode around Alma and we had some appointments cancel that day and a lot of people weren't home, but we kept on working and found some really "interesting people". The highlight of the day however was meeting with Sue Evans that night. We met Sue last week and after extending a Book of Mormon to her she had read through 1 Nephi in 2 days!! She was asking questions such as " Why is a prophet important to have?" Also she asked questions about the gathering of Israel and she asked us if we were the gentiles that it speaks of. After we helped answer her questions she talked about how much the Book of Mormon means to her and that she knows its true! I know that Sue is someone that was prepared for me to find on my mission and hopefully we will be able to help her receive covenants with God. So I'll keep y'all up to date with that! Its also fun going out to Sues trailer because we have to ride out on either a major US highway or on a dirt road. Most of the time we take the dirt road cause its safer and more fun but sometimes we take the highway and its always an intense experience. Dont worry y'all I wont get hit again haha.

On Wednesday, we had district meeting in Hazlehurst and it was a very good district meeting. Its always fun getting together as district here in the McRae district cause we don't see each other that often and its one of the few times we do and it really helps us feel strengthened in our own struggles and trials. We talked a lot about using members and also increasing our faith for the area and talking about how its "your" mission and that you shouldn't rate the success of your mission because you didn't baptize as many people but just be obedient, try your best, and serve God and the events that happen in your mission are events that God wants you to go through. We went on exchanges with Elder Showers and with Elder Matthes. I went with Elder Matthes back to Alma and we had a pretty good day! I learned a lot from him and we helped each other as we went through our plans for the day. We taught Doroty who accepted to be baptized and we are working with her to be baptized on June 3rd. She wants to baptized and we talked about 2 Nephi 31 and testified of baptism. She seemed to retain a good number of it so hopefully she will continue to have that desire to be like Jesus Christ and be baptized. We also went to go see Velvet and Katherine but they weren't feeling well and we went to dinner with the Juarez'. They are preparing to go to the temple and we testified of the temple and it made me excited to go when I get back!We helped Brother Roberson finish Sister Rewis railings and they sure do look great and she is excited to have them be done! We went and saw the Lassters and watched a video on how we should follow the prophet and guidance from church leaders. 

On Thursday, we biked out to Sue Evans' house early in the morning and had a a great lesson with her she is all the way up to the book of Jacob and when we were soooo happy for her she just said "I love to read" and she is definitely becoming converted to the gospel at a later time in her life and she is special! When we went out there her neighbor who raises honeybees and makes honey gave us a fresh local jar of honey that made me miss Cox's honey-land, but it was still sooo goood! We saw Sister Burkett and talked about Mosiah chapter 2 and she really appreciated our visit! We exchange back and we met with Austin later that day and talked with him about temples as we helped him put a door on a car. That night we went out with Brother Roberson out to scuffletown and met with the Jewells and had a great lesson with them and they bonded super well. We talked about prophets and its very exciting to see their faith grow. Watching peoples lives change through the gospel is a miraculous event and you can physically see a change in how they act and how their priorities are. Brother Roberson was huge in that lesson and really bonded well with them.

On Friday, we planned and went out to lunch with Brother Morris. He sure is a great guy and we even talked with a lady who is the newspaper writer for Alma and got us a hookup to volunteer to pick blueberries for the farmers here so hopefully we can do that in the coming weeks too! We met with Austin later that day and finished helping him with the car and we set up his family history account. He was excited to start it and get his family connected through the church. WE biked all across Alma on friday and it was a very hot and humid day and its not even bad yet so hopefully God will give me strength to manage the bugs down yonder. 

On Saturday, we started the day off by helping the elderly people play Bingo and they all greeted us and they were happy that we came cause we haven't been in a few weeks. We had very full day and we after Bingo we met with many different investigators. We received a referral and we contacted that day and their kids were playing basketball and used my talent to help get them interesting in who were and we connected super well and she wants us to come back Tuesday to talk about the Plan of Salvation which was pretty neat. The highlight of the day was meeting with Regina Brehm and her daughter who just got out of prison. We went through how to begin teaching and right in the beginning of the lesson they accepted to be baptized if they found these things to be true! We went over 2Nephi 4 and she really loved the message. We figured out a way to help her out with her move in Jacksonville Florida and the missionaries over there will be helping her out today. We also later that night tracted into this one lady who was headed to the hospital and prayed for God to help her and then we knocked on her door. She said he father was recently baptized in Waycross and she was looking into the church. Is it odd or is it God that we met haha?? But it was a spiritual contact and not all of the contacts you make as a missionary are memorable but that one was.

On Sunday, it was a great meeting at church and the branches faith is growing in numbers and testimony. The Spirit sure was strong and the gospel is such and important piece of my life now and its everything. I know why I'm in the church and I hope that every member has a sure foundation in the church cause this church won't fall in these last days. We biked quite a bit on Sunday and had a lot of appointments fall through but met some great potential investigators and it was a great day!

The church is true and I'm grateful for each day I have to serve! I sure do love y'all 

 

-Elder Hill

#soograteful

 

Demolition Crew, Alma, GA - April 2017

Elder Hill, Alma, GA, April 2017

Interviews with President, April 2017

Southern Honey!  April 2017, Alma GA

The Country, Alma GA, April 2017

Ballers!  Alma, GA, April 2017

 

April 17, 2017 - Alma, GA

Hey Y'all!

HAPPY EASTER!!! This week has been one of the most memorable weeks on my mission so I hope I'll be able to tell y'all about all that happened but it has been an eventful week to say the least. Holidays on your mission are quite unique and especially this one. This Easter will always be one to remember about how the Lord opened soo many doors this past week and I'm excited to tell y'all all about it.

As for me and my week.... Make sure you are sitting down for this one:) Also  to put a cherry on top of the cake, I emailed Elder Goodsell this past week and he sent an email back about how the area is. He told me that this lady named Razia is getting baptized this upcoming week!! Whats crazy about this is that I met her in Walmart on P-day and felt that I should talk to her and invite her to YSA. It turns out that she really believes in what we teach and she wants to get baptized. So out of one small contact she is going to receive the covenant of baptism!! How awesome is that!

On Monday, Elder McGee and I did a deep clean of our trailer after we emailed and really got the place looking good. We bleached the floors, and even lowered some shelves in the kitchen so that Elder McGee can reach the top shelf haha! We even went on a wild mouse chase around our trailer. We still have yet to catch it, but there is definitely more than one because I sometimes see them in my closet and underneath our fridge. So we are going to go get some mousetraps and GET IT!! Stay tuned:) Small story on that day... So amongst all the cleaning that happened I sat down and was trying to figure out where the phone went. I retraced my steps, checked every possible place, and still couldn't find it. I got kind of upset cause one thing I am good at is not losing stuff and I just got frustrated with myself, but I said a prayer and just calmed down and said I'll find it. The Lord answered my small prayer and right after the prayer I received this idea that it could be under the reclining chair. And it was!!! The thing is I would have never thought about that by myself, but the Lord helped me out!

On Tuesday, we started out by having companionship study and doing our studies! I have been going through the Teaching from the Presidents of the Church and writing down quotes throughout Preach My Gospel and it has been a revelatory experience for sure! We ate lunch with a less active from Douglas at a southern food buffet, I had to be careful in there, they had a lot of good food in there haha:) But that day we biked all over Alma trying to meet new people and try to figure out where the Lord wants us to be. We had a nice visit with a man named William Westley who thought the Book of Mormon was very intriguing and even though he didn't accept it to be the word of God quite yet he felt that it was something he should look into so we will look forward to meeting with him more and more. That night we met with the Jewells and had a great conversation about the Word of Wisdom. They accepted to live the commandment and the Spirit was very strong as Elder McGee and I bore testimony of the truthfulness of the Word of Wisdom. They are progressing well toward baptism the only thing that is holding them back is Sister Jewell is unable to come to church because of her work and so we are trying to help her overcome that stumbling block.

On Wednesday, our day started off being memorable at 5:30 a.m... After planning for a little bit I hear this knock on our door. I wasn't sure if it was just me going crazy cause my body was so tired or if it was actually someone at the door, but to my surprise there was a knock again.. And in my head I'm saying who knocks on a missionary apartments door at 5:45 a.m. But guess who it was... it was Austin Joyner... When I came to the door I wasn't sure what to think and we stared at each other for probably 30 seconds and we set up a time for us to come by and talk with him at the church. Austin definitely was an answer to a prayer! I'll tell y'all about what happened later in the week with him as well. But we waited at the church for Austin at 10:30 when our appointment was but he didn't show up and I thought to myself he probably just got busy so we went out and worked. Our day was kind of an interesting one with lots of changing of plans. Elder McGee was apart of 2 blessings for the 1st time on his mission and the Spirit was strong! We received this referral from Salt Lake City and we went to contact it. We set up a return appointment for this upcoming Saturday and she is going through a hard time overcoming some recent deaths in the family and her conversation in Salt Lake City with missionaries really helped her overcome some of her feelings. But we biked all over and I just remember coming back and my legs were destroyed haha:)

On Thursday, we headed up to Douglas for ZTM and it was a memorable experience! The mission has changed so much over the past year or so and President Grayson is receiving alot of revelation to help this mission become more organized and purposeful. A lot of weight for the success in the mission is being put upon the leaders and even though we are being asked to do a lot more we are seeing the benefits of doing small and simple things which excites us to do the work. In ZTM we talked alot about reading the Book of Mormon daily, and how we can change the mission to always be constantly finding, be prayerful, and obedient. The trainings given were very helpful and insightful. The AP's came down from Macon and it was fun seeing Elder Ballard and Elder Weston. That day we came back to Alma and help up "Honk if you love Jesus" signs and it was very successful. In fact we even gave away pass along cards and less active members who saw us came to church this past Sunday! Elder McGee and I talked with Micki Emory and her kids and had a great visit with them. I felt prompted to ask if she is interested in genealogy and she said that she was. I testified of families and the Spirit was very strong in the lesson.

On Friday, Right when I woke up I knew the day was going to be a great day. I always wake up feeling good about the day, but this one was very unique and I knew I'd remember this day forever. After weekly planning Elder McGee and I felt strongly that we should go and visit this less active named Jessie Holiday and he was in an area I had never worked in before way out in the sticks. We biked on dirt roads and arrived at this sketchy trailer park. We knocked on his trailer but he wasn't home. Even though he wasn't there I felt that there was someone there we needed to talk to. We came around the corner and asked the first people we met about the area and they told us of all the evil that was in this trailer park. After extending a card to them we left on our way to our next appointment when I saw this lady by a fire and felt prompted to speak to her. She didn't want to speak but a lady inside the home came outside and asked more about us. It turns out her name is Velvet and she is a member of the church. She had moved away for some time and with how crazy her life has been she hasn't felt the need to come to church. We invited her to our branch BBQ the next day and she said she would come and she said "Y'all don't know how much this visit meant to me, it was an answer to a prayer." I know the Lord wanted us to talk with them.

On Saturday, was an amazing day... We had the branch BBQ in the morning and we went over to the church to go prepare and help set up. The BBQ was at 12:00p.m and at 11:30 we already had 30 people show up and I was amazed at how many people were showing up. Not only that but Velvet brought her family and her sister to the church. We had t go pick up a member to bring to the BBQ and we asked Kollin to introduce them to the members. When we came back the whole parking lot was full and I couldn't believe how many people came. I talked with Katherine and Velvet and they both said that "I've never felt more comfortable in a church before than here." Katherine told me that she wants to become a member and know more about the church! The BBQ was an amazing sight to see and it made me sooo happy seeing so many people there. After the BBQ Elder McGee and I biked out yonder and we met this lady named Sue Evans and she had been looking for a church and after we explained the Book of Mormon she asked "Can I buy one?" And we said no they are free and she graciously accepted one. We are excited to work with her. We met her neighbor who was very welcoming and even though he has a church he had a lot of questions answered and he thought it was very admirable what we do as missionaries. It was just an amazing day and the Spirit in the BBQ was amazing and it was indeed an answer to a prayer.

On Sunday, so many people attended church and it was more people there than I had ever seen before in Alma. I wasn't sure if they just came cause it was Easter  or if they came because they felt they should. Less Actives who we had been working with for a long time finally came and it was great seeing them! In Sacrament I was asked to speak on the BBQ and I testified of how small events like that really help us fellowship one with another. I brought up the scripture Alma 37:7 and it really fit well with my talk. I got a call from Velvet saying that she would be late to church because of 4 deaths in her family  that happened that night. They said they would show up to church a bit later and it almost put me to tears that even after 4 of your family members were killed that you want to come to church cause thats where the Lord needs you. Not only that but imagine if we didn't meet them Friday imagine how much despair they would have in their life right now. But they came to church a bit later and received the help they needed. We gave them blessings and the Spirit was very strong in them! Christs Atonement is so available to all of us we just have to accept it and use it daily! Later that day, we had a prompting to go speak with Austin and because of the letter Elder Irons and I wrote for him after reading that it smoothed things over and helped him understand where we were coming from. We are looking forward to start teaching him again and hopefully baptize him in the coming weeks. That night it was almost time to go in when we biked past this house and this old lady was sitting on her porch, we talked with her and after explaining the Restoration she said she had been looking for a church and I asked if she wanted to be baptized by someone holding the Authority from God and she said yes! We set a date for her and it was amazing how many hearts were open this past week. The Baxley Elder had 13 new investigators this past week and we hit all our goals as a district!!!

LETS GOOOO!!! I Love Y'all and thank you for all you do! I know God sent his Son Jesus Christ to sacrifice himself for us and that he lives today!

-Elder Hill

#Easter2017  #Neverforget!

Ballin' - Alma, GA - April 2017

Dirt Road, Alma GA, April 2017

Easter BBQ, Alma, GA - April 2017

Happy Easter 2017!  Alma GA

Round 2!  Alma, GA - April 2017

ZTM April 2017, Alma, GA

April 10, 2017 - Alma, GA

Hey Y'all!

Y'alls week sounded pretty busy and eventful! And yes we did get some storms this past week. From what everyone was saying about the storm I thought it was going to be worse than it actually was but it still was a really good thunderstorm. I'll talk about that day in my email, but yes we stayed at the church and planned all day instead of going out cause President Grayson said to.

My week was definitely one to remember and I'm grateful for the experience I am having training in the last stretch of my mission.

On Monday, It was Elder Irons last day in Alma and so he went and said bye to investigators and members here in Alma. It so crazy how fast times is flying by and I cant believe that my time with him is over cause it was a really fun and memorable couple of transfers.

On Tuesday, we drove up to Macon with Brother Roberson and had a great talk with him on the way up to Macon. Elder Irons got transferred to Beaufort South Carolina and he will love it there! Its a lot different than Alma and he even gets to go onto Paris Island which is where the Marines go and train and he will be able to go to the services on the base there. We had a trainers meeting with our new companions and a commitment that they left with us is for the new missionary to ask someone to be baptized in his first week on the mission and we both said yes and we were going to be good to our word. I became companions with Elder McGee! He is fresh out of the MTC and he was born in Kazakhstan in the middle east but was adopted when he was 4 and a half and then lived in Cincinnati, Ohio for the rest of his life. Its kind of fun being with someone who isn't from the same part of the country. I'm excited for the time I'll have with him. On the way back we stopped in Tifton, GA to eat some lunch hat Ole Times. I'm tellin' you what.... BEST COOKING I've ever had!! It was such a good buffet and come to think of it 'm still full from it 5 days later haha:) But when we got back to the trailer we had a planning session together and I told him about the area and the goals of this area. Its fun training again and while it is a growing experience where the weight of the companionship rests on you for the first couple weeks with challenge comes change.Elder McGee hasn't rode a bike in 7 years and has never rode a bike on the road before so I was cautious and took some back neighborhood roads to get where we needed to go until he got comfortable. Training again has really made me look back at my mission and it reminds me where I was and where I am now and 'Im tellin y'all when I come home I'm sure you'll see a evident change in me well at least I think so. Elder McGee was asking questions that I asked when I was in training and it was just the small things that I just do without even think about now. But I'm excited to be with him, he loves cars and he worked as a car detail-er for a Toyota dealership and I said that is what my brother does and we hit it off.

On Wednesday, we had received a call from the Zone Leaders about the storm coming through the area and we were asked to plan until 3:00 and wait the storm out inside. President Grayson was unsure of the storms strength and for our safety he told us to stay in for the rest of the day. Elder McGee and I went to the church and stayed there all day instead of in a rickety old trailer where if something did happen we would be safe. We planned for the upcoming week and studied at the church. We also took breaks playing basketball which was a good break for me haha. The skies got really dark around 7:00 p.m and the wind kicked in with A LOT of rain fallin' from the sky and until 2:00 am the next day it rain super hard! It was fun watching it fall from the sky!

On Thursday, we stopped by Sister Rewis' home for a little bit and talked with her about the Restoration and focused on prayer and coupled with prayer is faith. She was grateful for our visit and with all the service that we've done for her she is very tickled and feels loved right now. We tracted and talked with as many people as we could. I'm trying my best to be the best trainer I cna be for Elder McGee by helping him make decisions so that when its his turn to lead he wont be lost and have no idea what to do and its miraculous at how much his teaching has improved over just the past week. He is becoming more comfortable and he is really starting catch fire. We went out to Nickols where we tracted a bit in that area and we had some interesting is it odd or is it God moments haha... I haven't worked in Nickols much and we decided to go out there before we got picked up by Brother Roberson to go to President Peterson's boat house for dinner. But we tracted into 2 less actives who had been praying to receive comfort from God and that day we knocked on there house, not only that but we met an elderly man who is kin (family) to members in Douglas. It was very successful and then we had a great dinner at President Petersons boat house and ate some catfish, french fries, and hot dogs it was really good! Soooo southern!!!

On Friday, we had a pretty successful day talking with people. It seemed that every door that we knocked on people just doubted and commended us for what we do and how hard it must be for us serving here in Alma. They said that there are over 90 churches in the small town of Alma and they kept saying good luck finding people who wants to become Mormon. But I know that they are out there we just have to have faith! It was a really good day and a quote from conference kept running through my head all day and it was from this past conference from David A. Bednar and it says," A missionary is not called to a place, he or she is called to serve." It doesn't matter the location but it matters that you serve and how you serve. 

On Saturday, we set up a stand at a local grocery store with church materials and posters in hopes that people would ask questions. Not a lot of people came up and asked questions but it was till good to be in front of all those people who will hopefully one day ask questions.Elder McGee asked these two ladies to be baptized that day after having a solid Restoration lesson with them! It was something we had been preparing for all week and he did a great job. We role played it (practiced it) and really prepared well and the reason it went so well was because of our preparation. They said they would pray about it and let us know this week how that prayer went. We went back to Nickols and met with a few less actives out in Nickols and shared 2 Nephi 2:22-26 and Sister Adams was on cloud 9 when she saw us and she really enjoyed our visit! We also saw the Juarez and they excitedly said that they would be more than happy to come to church tomorrow!

On Sunday, it was an amazing Sunday! There were more people there this past week than there has been in my whole time here.It was really great to see less actives becoming reactivated and with families moving their records from Douglas to Alma to help support us here for the time being. We had a very powerful testimony meeting and we talked a lot about the Holy Ghost and how we can recognize it and feel it throughout our days. We had a full class in our second our and it made me really happy watching the church grow!! Prayers are being answered and its great too see. I'm grateful for this area and my life has changed because of it. That night we had a pretty great night where I felt prompted to look in the Area book and go to a less actives house and we went to Mrs. Burketts house where she let us right in and her husband has been against missionaries in the past but allowed us to share a message. We shared John 14:26 and testified of the Holy Ghost. She loved our visit and I'm sure that he did too. At the end of the night our plans fell through and I was put in the awkward position of it being 8:00 p.m with no one to see. We decided to tract and this lady opened the door and SLAMMED it super hard and then we walked away and she went to her garage door and yelled..." 8:00 ON A SUNDAY NIGHT ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!" then SLAM! We decided to go to a different area and tried a less active I didn't know it turns out the less active didn't live there anymore, but this lady invited us in and she loved our message and invited us to come back in a week so her daughter who is coming back from prison can hear the message too!! Lets GOOO!!

Training sure is fun and I know that in the situation you have that it is what you make it out to be and attitude is key! I LOVE Y'ALL and have a GREAT week!

-Elder Hill

#Stormin  #ElderMCGEE!

 

After the Storm!  Alma GA, April 2017

Come talk with us!  :)  Alma, GA, April 2017

Elder Hill and Elder McGee, Alma, GA - April 2017

Hurricane is coming!  April 2017, Alma, GA

Southern Cookin' - April 2017, Alma, GA

Here comes a storm!  Alma GA - April 2017

 

April 3, 2017 - Alma, GA

Hey Y'all!

WOOOOOOOHOOOO! That is soooo exciting! That made my day and I'm sooo excited to go there it will be great! Thanks for all your hard work and helping me get applied haha whats a family for:) Im sooo excited to be a Utah State Aggie!  Y'alls week sounds pretty awesome as well and sometimes there are normal weeks and there are for a missionary too, but it still sounds like it was full of work and fun. But my week had some pretty impactful moments and I got called to be a trainer and train a brand new missionary for the last 3 months of my mission and I'll remain as the district leader. So I'll be pretty busy over the next few months, just the way I like it haha! Im excited to finish my mission training and there is no better way to go out. Its interesting cause Elder Hinton (my 1st half trainer) ended his mission training me and I'm ending my mission training. My life is full of full circle endings.

As for me and my week...

On Monday, we went up to Douglas for P-day because Elder Irons had a teeth cleaning and so we all went up to Douglas! It was a lot of fun and I miss being with other missionaries because in Alma you are 20 miles away from any other missionary so I'm always grateful to see some old friends. We played lots of basketball and Im so ready to have he opportunity to play at Utah State when I get back. It is something 'Im preparing pretty hard for, but we played some basketball and had fun getting some exercise in. That night we had dinner at the Taylor's and we were able to watch some Mormon messages about the Will of God and how important for us to understand that we must submit our will to the Lords will and he knows whats best for us. He wont lead us astray and even though the path may not be what you have in mind it is the plan that God has in store for you. If we fully submit ourselves then he will bless us for the sacrifice and humility that we show and we will be blessed according our obedience.

On Tuesday, we had the last district meeting of the transfer. It is pretty crazy how fast time is flying because it feels like just yesterday that I got to Alma and all of a sudden I only have two more transfers... I'm really trying to enjoy the moment because I know that this is one of the most purposeful and joyous experiences of my life and I'm sooo grateful I came on a mission. But district meeting was very spiritual as we talked about converts and how we can have the faith to find converts on our missions. We also talked about repentance and how we can help our investigators and members we come in contact with understand the necessity to repent. I read a quote this week talking about how God shouldn't be viewed as a "repairman" where we only go to him in times of distress or grief, but we should turn to him as a child would to a father. That night we went back to Hazlehurst for a branches movie night. We watched a movie called "Let it Go"(Don't worry we got it approved to watch). If you want to see a true story of how man exemplifies the concept of repentance watch that movie. The man in the story is Chris Williams and his family gets killed in a car crash from a drunk driver and he has to find a way to rebuild his life and figure out a way to cope with losing his "life" essentially. He ends up forgiving the drunk driver and he moves on with a perfect brightness of hope. Its a pretty remarkable story so if you have a free night tonight you should definitely see it. Then that night we went on exchanges with Baxley and I went with Elder Matthes back to Alma.

On Wednesday, I got a call from President Grayson and he asked me if I'd like to be a trainer... I was very excited and I accepted the calling to be a trainer. I am somewhat nervous about training again, but I know that God will help me. I'm very excited! we started off the day by  walking to Sister Rewis' home to help her out with picking up her pine cones. She was so grateful and loves any helps she receives. Later that day we tried sharing the gospel with everyone that we saw. Some people rejected it but the important part is that we are out sharing it. We talked with this man named Shawn Greene and after we shared a brief explanation of the Restoration he said I had no idea that God has a prophet on the earth today. We testified of having am modern day moses day and that God speaks through a prophet to day and he was fascinated. So we are excited to continue working with him. He wasn't able to come to conference but hopefully we can show him some clips sometime this week. That night we exchanged back in Baxley and the Baxley Elders had an interesting interaction with a few pastors and devoted members to their church. After the exchange Elder Showers bore powerful testimony of why this church is the Lords church. Some people will reject the truth and it is prophesied that they will but its our job to do our best and if we have done our absolute best that is all we can do. That night Brother Roberson came to the church at 8:00p.m and we went over to Sister Rweis' to build her a railing off her porch so that she can walk down the steps without falling. It was such a spiritual experience and I'll share a quote that she said that touched me she said..."The LDS church has people that love everyone, what other church will come at 9:00 at night to build a railing for someone?" We sang we thank thee Oh God for a Prophet and the spirit was strong and she had tears rolling down her cheek and it made you feel super fulfilled.

On Thursday, we had a pretty fun morning where we went to the busiest street in Alma and we held up "honk if you love Jesus" signs!! It was a pretty amazing experience! So many people loved the enthusiasm we had for Christ and it made a lot of people who had a frown turned that frown upside down. The little small town of Alma turned quickly into New York City! There was a semi truck driver who radioed to all his trucking friends that to be on the lookout for two missionaries and make sure to honk at them! It was pretty awesome!! Elder Irons and I wrote a letter to Austin to explain our feeling and we hope that he can feel of our love for him but more importantly Gods love for him. We tried meeting with Carl White that night, but he wasn't home but we got to meet a retired Army vet who loved Christ appreciated what we do and he prayed for us. We saw the Vanovers that night and they have a son who is learning how to ride a bike and we rode along side of him trying to teach him how to pedal. Who better to teach a young boy how to ride than missionaries haha. 

On Friday, we woke up early in the morning and we traveled to the mission home in Macon for the trainer/ trainee meeting. There are 6 missionaries coming into the mission, 4 Sister and 2 Elders and I chosen to be one of the trainers for the Elders. It was a very humbling experience, out of all the great missionaries we have in the mission I was called to train. I am excited for this great time in my mission and it will definitely help me to finish strong and learn a lot from the end of my mission. Its pretty crazy because I trained in Elder Showers and both of the people I've trained with be in the same district which is pretty crazy.

On Saturday and Sunday, I thoroughly enjoyed conference some quotes that really hit me were...

-"Come as you are, but don't plan to stay where you are..."-Jeffrey R. Holland

-“Faith is a principle of power,” “What can faith accomplish? The list is almost endless. -Quentin L.Cook

-“Over time, simple habits of belief lead to miraculous results. They transform our faith from a seedling into a dynamic power for good in our lives,” L. Whitney Clayton.

-"Without Christ we can not reach our dream in this life."

This conference really spoke to me and I know that this is where I need to be. The Book of Mormon is true and this church is Christ church established on the earth. Alot of the things we hear in conference may come off as I already know this, but repetition is how we grow and develop. Step by step precept upon precept is how we learn. The Plan of Salvation is the way we find happiness in this life and the more we can understand Christs Atonement the better we can understand our purpose in life!!

Also I just wanted to say that it will be VERY hard saying bye to Elder Irons tomorrow. He has an amazing testimony and he definitely wants to serve in the best way. I have learned so much from him and I'm grateful for the time we have had together. He has blessed me and my mission and he has definitely played a huge role in my testimony. I will miss him for sure , but its not goodbye its see ya later!

I LOVE Y'ALL and thanks for everything!!

-Elder Hill

#Training!  #Almaisdabest

Built Sister Rewis' Railings!  Alma GA

Gonna Miss the Kid!  Alma Ga

Elders Hill and Irons in the weeds!  Alma GA

Storms on the way to Alma Ga!

Trainee meeting April 2017

Would you Honk?  Alma, GA