Week 11 in Brooksville and Christmas!

House we found as we were finding at night. Tons of people were there,

music was blaring. It was crazy!

Merry Christmas!!! I loved talking to all of you. I need to plan out

my questions before hand. I'm always scatter brained haha. Also please

let Harrison know how much I loved his letter. I didn't get to say so

over skype. I also love Hazels drawings! Lots of good things are

happening!!! We will keep you updated. Also, what's going on with

going to the Bay Area?

Very busy day! Lots of lessons. Lots of good things going on! Miracles

with the Johnson family!

Anyways, wish you a very merry christmas!!! Love you so much!!!!!!

Week 10 in Brooksville

 Our complex had a Christmas party (we ended up teaching a neighbor as

a result of it, awesome miracle!)

Hello!!! Great to hear the week went so great! I did! They were

visiting from St. George. Very nice couple. It was great seeing the

Tschudy's! She remembers ritterspöt haha. We got to see a lot of

members from the Tampa 1st Ward which was awesome! Night at Bethlehem

has been a blast! There has been TONS of miracles. We have had three

part member families come through and we were able to set up return

appointments with all of them. The johnsons are one of them. They are

an AWESOME family. We will be having dinner with them this Thursday.

The Brown family also came last second which was awesome. They're

doing very well. We hope to solidify their date this week. They have

been getting sick like everyone else which is no good. Nick and Elesha

also came to it which was awesome. We will be seeing them hopefully

this week. We also received a ton of referrals and got to meet a lot

of people from our area and other areas who are interested in meeting

with missionaries. One of them actually lives on the same street as

us! Elder Cox had a chance to share a talk in sacrament meeting which

was great! We feel the trust in the Ward had grown a lot. There's a

good change coming. We were able to teach the young men in Priesthood

and helped them learn the first lesson in preach my gospel. Then they

shared a brief principle from the chapter in Preach My Gospel. It was

awesome! The young men are on fire! This Ward had changed a lot since

I first arrived. I have loved seeing members take the lead in

missionary work. We received a referral for a girlfriend of a member

in our ward who has been going to church for a almost a year now. She

was at church this Sunday so we got to meet her. She is very prepared

for the gospel. We hope we can meet with them so she can progress. Her

family isn't very open to the gospel which is hard. She's also just

about to graduate from high school so she has a lot on her plate. We

are praying for her. She actually came to Night at Bethlehem with her

mom so we are hoping that means their hearts are being softened.

Tonight is the last night of a Night in Bethlehem. We are very excited

for it! We have several people who said they would come so we are

praying they can make it! Lots of good things are happening if that

wasn't clear haha. Transfers are this week. I'm assuming nothing is

happening haha. We were thinking of calling at 3pm our time. Does that

work?

Also I love the package! Thank you so much!! Love you! I will email on

Christmas before we call just to solidify what's going on. Hope you

have another great week!

Elder Hale

Week 9 in Brooksville

Hello! Agreed! I can't believe it... that's great to hear! Hopefully

there's som fruit that comes from the event. Light the World has been

awesome!!! We have been sharing it with almost everyone we see and

they love it. It's weird following up and seeing their phone or device

pulled up to Mormon.org. That sounds great! Make sure to include some

things for Elder Cox if you can. Thank you so much!! We had a ward

Christmas party this week which was amazing!! Nick and Elesha whom I

haven't seen for a really long time showed up. They lost contact

because they JUST had a baby. They're ready to start taking the

lessons again so we are excited for that miracle. The Brown family is

still doing well. The Ward is staying in contact. They still have the

desire but they seem to be lacking the fire lately. We are hoping for

some change. We have met a lot of awesome people this week. One

example is we met two different Jewish people who lived in Utah. One

graduated from Utah State with her husband in the 80s. She was the

librarian for a long time. Small world! The other lived in St. George

where Elder Cox is from. We will be meeting with her and her husband

later. Crazy! We also got to have a first lesson with an awesome

couple. They're super prepared for the gospel. She will be out of town

but he husband is coming with us to Night at Bethlehem this week. We

are super excited for it! There is a lot of people planning on going.

I'm glad to hear everyone is doing so well. I'm sure things will start

winding down with Christmas break coming soon. Transfers are next week

which is crazy! It was a shorter transfer because of Christmas the

following week. Please remind me to tell you what time we will be

calling when I email next week. Things are going really well though. I

am loving the work!!! The area is starting to blow up. The members

have been giving a lot of referrals. That hasn't ever happened in any

other area I've been in. It's been awesome! I hope you have an amazing

week!!!! Love you!

Elder Hale

Week 8 in Brooksville

Elder Cox and his birthday cookies

That sounds like a fantastic week!! There's a lot of houses that go

crazy with their Christmas lights here in Spring Hill. Glad to hear

the tree is up! That's awesome about the session! Ours was also packed

with tons of missionaries haha. That'd be awesome if you can go every

month! Also good to hear about Jordan. Since he's been home I've been

getting Mathew Davis' updates.

This week was fantastic! We did a lot of traveling at times too. There

was a baptismal interview all the way in Tampa so that took up all of

our morning and part of our afternoon on Saturday. It's an

investigator of Elder Gallaghers though so it was great seeing him! He

was my district leader and we have been following each other since

then haha. We went on exchange with Elder Hanni and Elder Keppner.

Elder Keppner came out the same time I did and actually started his

mission in Brooksville. So we got to talk about a lot of formers he's

worked with and reach out to a lot of them. There were some awesome

miracles! They both came to our area. I was with Elder Keppner.

We have been meeting a lot of good people. We are still working with

the Brown family to solidify that Saturday in December. They're so

close! We have been praying and fasting for them knowing that it's

beyond us right now. The members are still keeping in contact with

them when we can't which is a huge blessing.

The temple trip this week was amazing. I've felt the spirit much

stronger and had my three specific questions all answered in the

temple. Revelation is real. I feel much more confident now and ready

to go out and teach the gospel to everyone we see!

Elder Cox turned 20 yesterday. We are doing more of the celebrations

today. We did make cookies and sing happy birthday to him. He

appreciates dads message! He can't comment of course. We watched the

Christmas Devotional at the Cossons home, she's a recent convert and

their kids are still unbaptized. They're the best though! That's where

we sang Elder Cox happy birthday.

Anyways, it was a really good week. There's a lot of good people we

are working with. We are just praying and hoping they'll all continue

to progress to baptism so they can find that joy they're seeking. I

love you and hope you have a great week!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 7 in Brooksville

Hudson District Meeting

Hello!!

You are the best. I'm so grateful to have you as a mother and constant

example. I'm so glad you were all able to spend such good time with

family. Sounds like everyone is doing really well. And it also sounds

like there's even more cousins now haha. I did miss your stuffed

mushrooms this year but there was some really good pie which made up

for it. We went over to a part member families home. The father who is

not a member actually drove us to and from their home so we had some

good discussions with him. All his family are giving him that gentle

nudge so it's just a matter of time. We also stopped by several

members homes and an investigators. We met some amazing people this

week. It's been awesome being able to us the #lighttheworld video.

Everyone we have shown it to has been very emotional and had a strong

desire to share it with others. We also have been inviting everyone we

see to Night at Bethlehem. It's going to be really good!! One of the

individuals we met this week just moved from Tampa. He hasn't been

baptized before and believes in God. He just hasn't found a church

that fits. Since we've been meeting with him he's constantly

recognizing the spirit and is excited to prepare for baptism! We are

still working with a couple families. Now that the Browns are back in

town we are hoping to solidify their date of baptism this month.

They're on fire! So to sum everything up things are going great! We

are going to the temple this week as part of our Zone Conference. It

is such a blessing and I wish I could go as much as all of you can.

There's a member who's been a convert for fifty years and hasn't gone

to the temple. Crazy!

That sounds great! Just food, some ties and possibly some socks would

suffice haha. My suits keep on falling apart so I need to get them dry

cleaned or something. I've been sewing them up so it's been fine so

far. Also when you send the package if you can send some German

chocolate that would be awesome. Elder Cox hasn't had any before! He's

an amazing missionary though. We've seen some crazy miracles as we

have been biking the streets of Spring Hill.

 I'm glad to hear thanksgiving went so well!! I'm grateful for you and

your testimony. I grow more grateful for the gospel every single day.

I hope you have a great week!! Love you!!

Elder Hale

Week 6 in Brooksville

 Elder Cox and Elder Hale

( I also noticed how clean the kitchen is)

Hello!!

Things are going great with Elder Cox! He's been tearing it up in

Brooksville. Miracle this week was when the Brown Family showed up to

church! The bishop met with them and scheduled their baptism and

marriage. They're both looking forward to it. We had a couple other

crazy things happen. Another one was at a Subway. We started talking

to a man who was sitting close to us. Turns out he used to go to

church. He followed up with us after he finished and asked that we

come by sometime. Lots of awesome miracles like this one. Finally, the

Odessa Stake is preparing for Night at Bethlehem. I remember how

awesome it was last year. The spirit is super strong and thousands of

people attend it. Everyone we've spoken to about it seems super

excited and wanting to make it.

 I hope there's some miracles with the Nativity Festival. I can't believe it's

thanksgiving! That sounds like it will be a blast! We will be going to

a part member families home and possibly an investigators. We had an

awesome member invite us over for dessert. His name is Brother Mojica.

We are working on teaching a neighbor of his. Hes a convert and on

fire about missionary work. The only other thing is we are out of

miles due to some emergency exchanges and we did an emergency

inspection of some apartments too. So we have been biking or riding

with members. We have to save the miles for several meetings this week

and then the temple trip this coming week. It's been awesome though!

Lots of good things are happening and coming. I'm loving the work! I'm

so grateful to be out here!!! Love you so much!! Have a great

thanksgiving!! 

Elder Hale

Week 5 in Brooksville

This week was definitely crazy. We had an emergency exchange with some

Elders in the Zone. Thankfully we were able to get everything figured

out in a day. It was especially weird though since we already have an

extra companion. Besides that transfers are happening. Elder Hudson

finishes his mission. Elder Carter is being transferred to serve in

the YSA. I'll be getting Elder Cox. He was a district leader down in

Sarasota while I was down there. He's awesome!! I'm excited!!! There's

a lot of good things happening. I will send more of an update next

week. Hope you have a great week!!! Love you!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 4 in Brooksville

Zone confernece lunch

Things this week have been crazy! We just picked up an extra companion

for a couple weeks. Elder Hudson is his name. He will be with us for

just over a week. He finishes his mission soon so he's more

experienced then both of us haha. We have seen some huge miracles

lately. It seems having three in a companionship makes people much

more receptive to the spirit. It's been awesome!! The transfer is

almost over too. Which is crazy! Not sure where time has gone...

Also there's some members in the Ward who said they were taught by a

missionary from Corvallis. It was a Cole. Back in Pittsburgh. Not sure

which one it was, there last name is Brinkerhoff. It's a small world!

But lots of good things have been happening. I'm loving the area! I

hope you enjoy your long weekend! Have a great week!!

Love,

Elder Hale

Week 3 in Brooksville

This week was crazy! We had an exchange with the Hudson Elders. I

had a chance to go with Elder Acres. On the exchange we met some

amazing families. We were able to follow up with two of them later in

the week. On of these families is from the Dominican Republic and

doesn't speak English very well. They saw us walking up to our garage

and signaled us in. They had two chairs that they grabbed and almost

demanded that we sit down. We taught them the Restoration as their

daughter translated. The parents knew members back in the Dominican

Republic and loved the temple. They said they're willing to change

they just want to experience church first. The spirit was so strong it

was amazing! The Brooksville Ward had a youth Fireside where they

discussed the power of missionary work and how easy it truly is. We

aren't converting others we simply invite in a non threatening way.

The spirit was so strong. It's been awesome bringing some of those

priests out to the lessons. Also, I don't think I mentioned this but

one of the Bishopbric members wives is from Corvallis. She spent most

of her life in Gresham. They are awesome! We had a chance to speak

with them at the Ward Halloween activity this past weekend. Lots of

good things have been happening. The Lord is truly hastening his work!

I love the gospel so much! I love and miss you! I hope things continue

to go well!!!

Elder Hale

Week 2 in Brooksville

The photo didn't do this sunset justice.

The photos are awesome!! This past week was awesome. Of course we had

Elder Costa at the beginning of the week. Then this past weekend we

had Elder McArther visit for the Odessa Stake Conference. He is in the

words of my companion "a scripture wizard". It was awesome. During the

adult session he called some couples and individuals up and had a

panel with them. It was all centered on the sabbath day and how it's

different for everyone. It was super spiritual. The non member family

that was supposed to come to Stake Conference sadly didn't make it. We

had some good lessons with them this past week. They have some things

they're going to need to overcome so it could take some time. We did

however have a recent convert family come. Their unbaptized daughter

was also they're. They are amazing!

One crazy miracle this week happened when we were just sitting in the

car figuring out a next destination and we had a man come out of no

where and approach the car. He figured we were Jehovah's Witness. We

explained who we were and he was excited to learn more. We gave him a

pamphlet and set up to see him later in the week. Crazy how the Lord

works sometimes haha.

Well I hope you have a fantastic week!! Love you!

Week 1 in Brooksville

 Sandhill crane!!! They're close to 4ft tall!

The last week in Sarasota was good. Transfers happened Wednesday so we

said goodbye to Patrick Xibos, the Jacques, Jamali and several others

before then. I've been up in Brooksville since then. My companions

name is Elder Carter. He is awesome! He was also trained in South

Tampa, he only has a couple transfers left and he's been serving in

this area as long as I was in Brooksville so no idea how long we will

get to serve together. The Zone is almost half the size of Sarasota.

It's crazy! There are some great missionaries here and the work is

going crazy up here! There's a couple families we are working with in

Brooksville. One is the Browns, they're a family of four. We will be

seeing them tonight. One of the others we met with yesterday, we spoke

with the father. He's awesome! During our lesson we read from the Book

of Mormon. He was explaining during it that he's set on being baptized

and really wants to make sure his family understands too. His wife was

ill so I haven't had a chance to meet her quite yet. There's several

others who are progressing. It's crazy! I went on exchange here

earlier on the mission and got to meet an investigator some

missionaries were working with. Since then he was baptized and we got

to stop by earlier this past week. It was awesome to see him again!

There are a lot of priest age young men here. We got one of them out

to a lesson this past week. We are excited to work with the priests.

There's a lot wanting to be involved with the work.

This week we had Zone Conference on Monday. Elder Claudio R.M. Costa

and his wife came. They are awesome!!! He shared a lot of stories that

have given me a greater desire to go out and work! There's so many out

there just waiting for the gospel! After Zone Conference we had a

brief leadership training meeting. The spirit was just as strong if

not stronger as Elder and sister Costa testified and shared their love

with us. It was such a huge blessing to have them here. I hope we can

apply the things we heard and as a result see more enter the waters of

baptism.

 The address here in Brooksville is 14295 Herring Hollow, Spring Hill,

FL 34609.

Next weeks schedule will be back to normal with preparation day on

Monday. I hope you have a great week!! Love you!!!

Week 30 in Sarasota

 Last District Meeting of the transfer

Ready to serve!

Conference was amazing! We watched one of the sessions at the Jacques

home and went to Brother Browders the former WML. It was a blast!! We

went to a couple other homes too. For priesthood Patrick, the man who

was baptized in Venice drove all the way to the Stake center for the

session. It was awesome! Justin Jacques drove us there. There weren't

too many there because of how big the Stake is and the Stake is still

sending a lot of help down to Naples. We did not see President Eyring.

Our stake was at a different site then the rest of the missionaries

and members so we missed him. Oh well what can you do? We will be

having a general authority coming soon for an upcoming Zone

Conference. Not sure when preparation day will be quite yet. It just

depends on transfers. There have been some amazing miracles since we

have been able to get out and work. We have loved it!! One happened

with a senior who was cleaning his neighbors yard. He was explaining

how he's had these doctrinal questions and really liked the Plan of

Salvation. He wants us to come back and teach his family. Elder Farr

was teaching the neighbor that hired him during all that. He also

wants us to come back. It was a crazy day!!

We just found out I'm going to be transferred to Brooksville to serve

as a Zone Leader up there in the Odessa Stake. I'll be with Elder

Carter. It's going to be fun! Definitely going to miss all the people

here but good for change. I will have my new address for you next

week. Zone Conference is going to be Monday so I will be having my

preparation day on Tuesday. I hope all is going well!! Have a great

day!!!! Love you!

Week 29 in Sarasota

 Cleaning up after Hurricane Irma with Sarasota ward

 Found this little guy while cleaning up

The unwelcome visitor from the hurricane

I can't believe General Conference is this weekend!! It's crazy! This

week was another long week. We figured since we had finished most of

the Hurricane clean up in our areas that now would be a time to go

proselyte. Well thirty minutes before preparation day ended we noticed

an odd bug on the wall. We looked closer and it was a bed bug!!! So we

were cleaning all our clothes and the apartment and we were sent to an

apartment up in Bradenton. We went back after it had been cleaned but

they were still there. So we had the apartment cleaned a second time.

Crazy! We should be good now but because of all the cleaning and the

possibility of carrying them on our clothes we weren't able to really

go out until the end of the week. I've had to use a lot of personal

funds. Can you please check my account and see how things are looking?

It's been crazy with the Hurricane and now bed bugs. Trying to be as

minimal as possible but it's been hard. If you can make sure there's

enough money on my card still that would be awesome. Thank you!!

There were some crazy miracles when we finally were able to go out!!

One man we knocked on his door and he let us right in. He invited us

back for ribs this week and he is interested in learning more. He's a

minister so he's very knowledgeable with the Bible. We also met a

family, the teenage daughter told us how her uncle is actually a

member. The spirit was very strong as we testified how the gospel

blesses our families. It seems everyone is much more prepared and I'm

sure it's a result of the Hurricane humbling people. What a miracle!

Well I'm so grateful that this week should be back to the normal

schedule. We are excited for miracles to come especially with

Conference coming. It will be great! I hope you have a great week! I

also hope you are able to find peace from the words of our latter day

prophets. Love you!!

Elder Hale

Week 28 in Sarasota

 Sarasota Zone at zone conference

Yum, lunch!

Things have been busy, busy here. It's amazing that the storm

literally went around us so we missed the more destructive winds. What

a huge miracle. We have been serving most of the week as far as relief

effort goes. It's been humbling to see hearts softened. God really

does put these hard things in our lives to remind us he's there. We

have had several people who are less active or stopped investigating

text or call us to say they want to meet and come to church. It's been

a huge blessing. As far as service goes this past weekend we were

serving both Saturday and Sunday in the Hurricane Relief area. It was

some tough work but we were with members and got to make some strong

connections there. This week we will have more time to proselyte which

I am looking forward to. Today will be purchasing food and rest. Elder

Farr and I both got some really good sun burns this past weekend.

Anyways, I don't need much. If you didn't notice already I had to take

some cash out of my account for my 72 hour kit. Also the power had

gone out so a lot of our food was bad so I used my home card for that

too. But besides all that everything else is well. I look forward to

getting back into the groove of things. If you send food or something

like that I know I won't complain haha. If you do send anthing make

sure to do it before we have General Conference since transfers are

the first week of October. Crazy! Well love you and hope you have a

great week!!!

Elder Hale

Week 27 in Sarasota

In their safe haven buidling to wait out Hurrican Irma

 Ready for the Sabbath in their safe haven building

Sunday School 

Elder Farr and Hale

Hello! I probably won't be able to respond to everyone until next

week. We are doing really well. The Hurricane somehow just took a

complete turnaround Tampa and completely missed where all of the

missionaries were staying. We got lots of winds but we were spared

from the damaging winds and others. There is definitely damage but

it's a huge blessing! We are praying for everyone in Sarasota,

especially Heidi and Justin. We aren't sure how all of them are doing

since they had Hurricane winds and a storm surge. We aren't sure when

we will all be allowed to go back down to Sarasota but we have a

chance to start doing service today. We are all super excited to serve

those in this community! The damage is not too bad around us. We only

lost power briefly. We have heard there's damage in other area. It

sounds like the most impact was in our Zone so we are grateful we were

evacuated up here. Sounds like everyone is doing really well! I don't

have any pictures besides the ones that were taken by Brother Ashley

and the Culbertsons.  We are staying safe and are praying for those

affected by the storm. One highlight from this week was President

Cooper asked for me to preside and conduct yesterday. We got to hold

our own church services. The spirit was so strong! I don't think there

will be another time that we will have a chance to have a sacrament

meeting with just missionaries. But things are going to go really well

having a chance to serve those around us. I hope you have a fantastic

week. Love you so much!

Elder Hale 

Week 26 in Sarasota

Hello!! The weather has calmed down, we did

have to make sure all of our emergency packs are ready last minute.

Hopefully there isn't anything big that will come anytime soon. There

is something currently headed toward Florida but that's the other side

so who knows! It's been very hot but that's Florida. Besides that

things have been great! We had MLC this week (I failed to get the

picture) and then an exchange with the assistants afterwards. It was

awesome! As Elder Leja, one of the assistants, and I were contacting

on campus we approached a man named Tyler. We spoke with him for a bit

and he told us how he went to church back in Korea. He's from the US

he just went there since his dad is an ambassador. He knew so much

though! Nephi, Lehi, the Celestial Kingdom and Preach My Gospel! It

blew our minds! As we were teaching him another man was staring us

down. We signaled him over and he also stayed for the lesson. It was

crazy! He had to leave early but he should be meeting with them again.

Tyler accepted a baptismal date for the end of this month. He is

awesome! It is amazing to meet those people who are so prepared for

the gospel! There are several in the areas we are working in where

we've seen similar miracles. One was actually testifying to his friend

about the Book of Mormon and how what we taught was true. He wasn't a

member and that was his first contact. Lots of miracles! There's a man

named Adam in Venice who came to church again. We are hoping to set a

solid date with him this week. He's doing so well!! Well lots is going

on! I'm loving the work! Elder Farr is destroying it! I will have a

picture from Zone Conference. So for sure next week. Well, love you so

much!!! Have a great week!!

Elder Hale

  

Week 25 in Sarastoa

Justin and Heidi!

Hello!!! I did get the

ecolipse pictures! They look amazing! Some members of the YSA went to

Kentucky to see it and they said it was one of the most amazing things

they've seen. They said during it the crickets chirped and then

suddenly stopped when the moon moved away from the sun. Crazy! I can't

believe it was your 22nd anniversary! What a blessing I'm sure to be

at the temple too! Thank you for your example of what it means to

endure, and have a true loving eternal relationship. There are so many

who don't know what miraculous blessings are in store from our Father

in Heaven. This week Justin Jacques who was baptized in March was just

married to Heidi. She was the one who actually introduced him to the

church. She moved with her kids down here from Wyoming. It amazing to

see how the Lord lined everything up for them to be together. Now

they're working on being ready for the temple! One year to go! This

week was rough when it comes to the actual work. We had really good

lessons but when we had time to go find it would be pouring and there

would be giant lighting strikes. There was a tropical wave over us all

week...there's A LOT of flooding so I'm not sure if we'll be asked to

go help those people. There was one night when we were driving back

from a baptismal Interview and a storm hit. We only had a mile and a

quarter of visibility so we went from going 55mph to 25mph. There was

at least an inch of rain on the road in a matter of minutes. Crazy!

This week the weather should be back to normal and the flooding should

slowly go away. Sounds like Texas got hit pretty bad too. That storm

is supposed to head east later this week so hopefully it doesn't grow

again and decide to go for Florida. Besides the weather though things

are going well and there's a lot of good individuals we're working

with. I'm excited for the miracles to come! I love you so much! I hope

you have a great week!!

Week 24 in Sarasota

Last District Meeting of the transfer

We had transfer calls today. Our Zone is getting smaller.

We only have 5 sisters now. We started out with 8 when I first got

here. We will have a lot more Elders. We also don't have STLs so it

will just be Elder Farr and I now. We're excited! We are staying if

that wasn't clear. We will still be serving in those three areas so we

are excited! The individuals who were progressing to baptism at the

end of this month just fell off. Gratefully though there's been others

who we met this past week. One was a woman named Carolyn in the

southern part of Venice. She requested a Bible online. Our ward

mission leader Brother Pandl took us there. We taught her the

Restoration and then Brother Pandl asked if she would like a blessing.

She accepted it and she recognized the spirit. There are many good

things to come. We are very excited to see what this transfer will

bring. We also have a new Ward mission leader in Sarasota named

Brother Thompson. They just moved from Washington. They're awesome!

Well I am loving the work. Definitely send those senior photos and

photos of the eclipse. I hope all goes well. The garments are perfect.

Thank you so much!!! I love you and hope you have a great week!!!

Week 23 Sarasota

Baptism of Patrick Xibos, that's Brother and Sister Sines. Brother

Sines served his mission in Peru and is on fire!!

Yeah there's tons of people in Florida headed up to

Kentucky for the solar eclipse. That's crazy about the weather haha.

It's been in the 90s with a UV index of 100-107 every day. It is hot!!

Plus it will still be in the 90s at 9pm. It's crazy! Things are going

really well! There was a baptism in Venice this past week for Patrick

Xibos. He's about Grandpa Hales age haha. Brother Sines a member of

the Ward baptized him. Him and his wife are expecting their first baby

in three months! He also got the priesthood this past Sunday so the

ward is hoping to get him to the temple soon!! It's amazing what

happens when members take control of the work. We have a couple others

we are working with to be baptized at the end of the month. One of

them just texted us this morning saying he wasn't sure if he still

wants to come to church. We are praying we can meet with him and

answer his concerns. Things are going great though! This is the last

full week of the transfer so who knows what this next transfer will

bring. Hopefully just as many miracles as this one!! I'm glad to hear

all is going so well. I'm sorry about the package. Hopefully it will

show up at a random post office. Again if you can stop by or call them

that would be amazing! Let me know what they say. We will have to try

for new garments next Transfer I guess haha. Well I hope you have a

great week!! Love you so much!!!

Week 22 in Sarasota

This week was especially busy just like every other week. Patrick, 

the man lined up to be baptized this Saturday is doing great! 

The Ward Mission Leader, Brother Pandl is amazing! He's been 

staying on top of things. It's amazing to see what happens when the

members take control of the work. Also we had a man named Bob 

attend church. He's doing awesome! He alsohas a baptismal date for 

this month. He loved church and afterwardstexted us saying he was 

going downtown to read the Book of Mormon. This is truly the Lords 

work! There's another man who just moved intoour boundaries and 

should start going to the YSA. He's already read toAlma 50 and he's 

been investigating for only two months. It's amazingto see how the 

Lord works! It also shows there's true power in the Book of Mormon 

that leads to true conversion. Today we are going to President Dukes 

of the temple Presidency. He invited us over since it's our preparation 

day and him and his wife will be moving out of our boundaries to live 

closer to the Orlando temple. They offered us some 3lb mangos if we 

come so I'm excited!Things are going great and the heat is definitely here!

 I hope all is going well!! Have a great week! Love you!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 21 in Sarasota

The beginning of Tropical Storm Kelly. It was raining really hard before then!

We currently have a

Tropical Storm coming named Emily. It should be a direct hit which is

exciting! It's Elder Farrs first. This week was awesome! There were

some amazing miracles that happened! One was with a woman named

Miranda. She's from Missouri and knew what we did but had never heard

much about the Book of Mormon. We taught her about the Restoration and

she had a huge smile when we talked about the first vision. We were

walking in her neighborhood and she saw us and pulled over and

introduced us to her daughter. Her husband is also super awesome. He

asked for a Book of Mormon. The Lord is clearly preparing hearts. We

attended the Venice Ward yesterday. It went really well! Patrick was

there with us and introduced himself to everyone by saying "I'm

getting baptized in two weeks!". We are praying that he will continue

to press forward as he's reading the Book of Mormon. But yes

everything is going super well! It is going to be super stormy pretty

soon so that is super exciting! It's a good break from the heat! Well

I'm glad to hear all is going well! I don't have the picture from Zone

Conference. It might be on the missions facebook page. Things are

going really well! There is only joy that can be found in the work of

the Lord! I hope you have a fantastic week!

Elder Hale

Week 20 in Sarasota

 Elder Hale and Elder Farr

 Yummy lunch!

MLC

This was a very busy and crazy week for us. There's been a lot of

rejection but despite that there's been a lot of good that's come from

it. It's been a great learning experience to see how the Lords ways

our beyond our own. We had MLC up in Tampa and then went on exchange

with the assistants. It was a blast! We met several amazing people

while we were there! It's always fun to go on USF campus and contact

people there. There is people from all over there. I'm sure it's the

same with the missionaries who serve in the College Hill YSA. Besides

the craziness things have been going well! Not much to report this

week. It's been crazy covering more then two areas but it's been

keeping us busy which is a good thing. We had a Zone Service Day

planned with the Red Cross. We all got there but we had it canceled

because of some huge thunderstorms with some tornado advisories out in

the gulf. Despite that though we had a chance to meet with those

volunteers and make some good connections there. Both of the people we

met were named Fred haha. Well like I said things are going well! We

are patiently waiting for those miracles to come. The members have

been doing really well. We should be getting a new Ward mission leader

in Sarasota soon since ours was just called as the young men's

president. So lots of exciting things are going on!! Oh also I forgot

to add Elder Christensen was called to serve as a Zone Leader in Tampa

with Elder Loy. Elder Loy was in my MTC district. It was awesome

seeing him! Well I'm glad to hear you all are doing well! I hope you all 

have a great week!! Love you!!!

Elder Hale

Week 19 in Sarasota

Florida storms! It lasted all night! Just a small snippet of it.

The weather here has been super, super hot!!! But we have been having a crazy

storm each day which will cool it down into the 80s! We had transfers
this week and got to meet all the new missionaries in the Zone when we
had interviews with President Cooper. We had an exchange with the Port
Charlotte Elders. I went with Elder Shakespeare who came out the same
time as me. As we were driving down the freeway there was a ginormous
crash where two semis hit each other and there was huge slabs of
granite all over the freeway. So everyone had to slow wayyy down and
it was pouring outside. We were pretty much stopped but the man behind
us didn't see the traffic and rear ended us. It was very minor since
he was also going very slow. One of his kids in the back seat was even
still asleep haha. He was super awesome though and was actually super
excited to see us. We got his information and the Port Charlotte
missionaries should be teaching him. One of the first things he said
was "there's no such thing as coincidences is there?". Crazy! We have
a family of 6 that we have been teaching. They were supposed to come
to church but sadly didn't show up. But instead we had a former
investigator just randomly show up. He hasn't been for almost a year.
He has a true testimony he just couldn't be baptized because of
circumstances beyond his own. But most of those have resolved
themselves and he really wants to be baptized so we are praying
everything will work out for him. The last time I saw him in person
was over 4 months ago. Another crazy miracle!
Also I forgot to add we just found out since they took the sister's
out of Venice (the area below ours) that we will also be covering that
area. So we are currently serving in three areas! Better to be busy
then not have enough things to do right? Haha. The WML there is
awesome! He just moved here 6 weeks ago and has an amazing story of
what led them here. He actually also went through Leukemia very
recently, it was awesome to see how the Lord will prepare you to
connect with people in ways you couldn't plan for. There's a man there
named Patrick who will be baptized the beginning of August. He's
hilarious! He's super excited about his baptism though. I'm loving the
work and I'm excited for the things to come!Thanks for everything! Love you so much!! Have a great week!

Elder Hale

Week 18 in Sarasota

This week was busy, busy, busy! We went on two exchanges. One was with University Park which is

the area right above ours. Those Elders are destroying it. There a 12 year old boy and his mother they're teaching. They are preparing for baptism and are super awesome. They go to the same building as we do so I got to see them at church this past Sunday. This week is

transfers. Nothing is changing. We are staying the same. However we are losing 3 district leaders in the Zone and a Sister Training Leader because they all finish their missions this week. So we have pretty much all new leaders in the Zone this transfer. It will be crazy! It's sad to see those leaders go but we are super excited to work with all the new missionaries coming this week. We had a miracle with a YSA age woman we have been teaching. She came to church and found out one of

her instructors goes to church too. Crazy miracle! She was only planning on staying for sacrament but changed her mind and stayed for all of it. She loved it! We are hoping she will continue to progress

as she learns more about the gospel. We have seen some  other crazy miracles this week. I loved it!! Well hope things go well this week! 

Love you so much!!!

Elder Hale

Week 17 in Sarasota

Sunset the other day

 

Mali Mali at the 5 star restaurant. It was delicious!!!!

Hey!!! So Sorry our preparation day was changed to today.

It's been super, super hot and humid here. Things have been crazy this week! We had some awesome lessons with several investigators. The Lord has been preparing a lot of hearts in this area. It's been a huge blessing to see. Bishop Dekle came out with us for one of the nights.  We stopped by a less active family and the father who is a non member was home and wasn't planning on letting us in. But when he opened the door he said he had a burning in his chest and felt like he should let us in. It was a very powerful lesson! I love seeing the spirit directly guide us to those who are in need. A member took us to a 5 star restaurant he manages on Siesta Key. It was sooooo good!!!

Other then that some days there were a lot of people out ready to here the message or the next day it would be a lot of rejection. It was a crazy week! 

Say hi to the Robisons for me! Love you so much! Send me pictures from the 4th! We might be going to Justin's today, the one who was baptized in March. He just got engaged with the woman who introduced him to the gospel. Eternal families!! He's doing great! He's already 13 generations back in his family history. I love this gospel! Happy Fourth of July! 

Love you!!!

Elder Hale