Week 5 in Tampa

 Luke and Stephanie!

(Don't worry my arm was only touching Luke ;) )

 Backpacks for Refugees 

(Bishop's Kids)

Lots of mixed emotions. I can't believe it's been 2 years so fast. I have loved all the miracles that I've had the privilage of seeing! What a blessing it is to have the gospel of Jesus Christ and the blessings it brings! 

We had an awesome miracle this week with a referral from south Tampa for a 20 year old who had a baptismal date for September. She's already been to church 3 times! So cool! 

Luke and Stephanie are amazing. They had us and some members over for dinner last night. I'm excited to see the many great things they're going to do! 

The members here are awesome! I found out the wife of one of the new couples that moved in served in the same mission as Charlie. She left not too long after Charlie got there but she remembers her. Small world!! Well I can't wait to see you on Friday! I'll try not to get lost at the airport haha. Love you!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 4 in Tampa

 Lightning!

(A member gave us the picture, that's in one of my last areas

We have specialized missionary training on Friday so I will get
it from Elder Cox then. It's for missionaries in training. That's
awesome about Sister Denselys mom. She came out with me so it was
weird when her and the other sisters left. Then especially weird to
see her again haha. This was her last area, we took over after she
left. The Cardwells are awesome! Their son left last July to San
Diego. Super awesome family, their ages all line up with ours.
Sounds like sports will get very busy again. I realized it was his
birthday yesterday. That's crazy! I hope he loved it! Ward Conference
will be awesome I'm sure!
This week was awesome. Miracles are definitely coming. Elder Leslie
has grown a lot in confidence and consecration. It's been awesome to
see. We have been on exchange with all the Elders in the district now
and we are going to go around again hopefully before transfers. They
all have good desires but are all struggling. One companionship seems
to have picked it up. Hopefully we can help them keep that fire going!
The members in Valrico and Lithia have been awesome. The Ward mission
leader in Lithia has been working hard. Things are blowing up! One
miracle was with a woman and her sister who came to the Stake BBQ this
last Saturday. We found her street contacting by talking about family
history. Turns out her sister has been doing family history here at
the Stake Center. They LOVED the BBQ. We are hoping to make a
transition to teaching them this week. They are awesome! Another
miracle happened last night when we got back to the apartment. We saw
a man loading groceries into a wagon. We asked if we could help and he
said it was fine. He's in his 20s maybe 30s. He asked if we were
Jehovah's Witness. We explained what church we were from and said our
nickname is "Mormon". He freaked out and said he wants to be a Mormon
and asked where the closest church is. He's been looking for it since
he moved here. He gave us his address and number and asked for a Book
of Mormon. Crazy! We are hoping our lesson with him tomorrow goes
well! We also got to go to Bishop Birch's home last night. He is in
charge of most of the church ranches throughout the world so he
travels most weeks except for weekends. He has some awesome stories
haha. Their families ages all line up with ours too. Good things are
happening. No pictures this week but we will do our best to take some
this week. Thank you so much for the pin and license. I hope things go
well this week. Love you so much!!!

Elder Hale

Week 3 in Tampa

 Giant Locust

 Storm clouds

 More Pea fowl

 Lightning strike while on balcony

Hello!!!

That all looks and sounds great! I'm totally fine with that many roommates. Honestly I would feel off having a room to myself haha. So $330 a month? That's not bad. Definelty going to be needing a job. Could you send me the name/address so I can find the institute that's closest? 

The only other thing I can think of is any other possibilities for jobs down there and classes I'll need to sign up for, for my major. 

I'm sure it was a huge blast with all the family! Our 4th was very stormy. All week was actually haha. I'll send some pictures later today. Lets just say we had severe weather storm warnings almost every day and got very close to getting hit a couple times. That's Florida for you though haha.

That family should be getting baptized this Saturday! The ward is super, super excited about it! They're both super prepared. There's always something that happens the week of a baptism. Her dad was just diagnosed with a pretty much terminal form of cancer. So super hard. They also have a lot of other trials going on that seem to be packing into this final week before their baptism. With all that craziness we might only be able to see them in person once before their baptism. So we are praying super hard for them. We know it's God testing their faith because of how much they desire those blessings that come from the gospel. They have so much member support so we are very hopeful it will happen!!! They're so Awesome! 

The ward has been on fire with missionary work, this last sacrament meeting was all about conversion and a need to reach out. All the speakers were converts so it was awesome! To add to that a less active who was baptized 2 years ago has been praying a long time and just decided yesterday this is where he needs to be. So he showed up to church which got us all fired up even more. So many tender mercies are happening! 

I got my itinerary, I'm sure you all received it as well. Not sure if he's reached out already but I'll need to meet with President Cole on Friday when I get back for my release. Other then that the other things on my mind like I mentioned are school and work. Let me know what I can do on my end. Do you know what week I'll need to leave for Utah?

Thanks so much for everything!!!! You're relieving so much stress. I've loved it because I can continue to focus on the work and especially helping this family who's going through so much. I'm so grateful for the many blessings the gospel continues to bring our family. Love you so much!!!! 

I'll send those pictures later today. Please let me know if you have anything else I need to know/questions. 

Elder Hale

Week 2 in Tampa

 Pea fowl

Hello! 

Sounds like a super fun trip! I'm glad there's so many good members. That is so awesome about Adam and Jamie! Love them! 

This week was awesome! President Cooper came teaching with us this past week. He was able to teach that family that's progressing. They're doing so good! Crazy their baptism is coming up so fast. We are going to start planning it with them. The members absolutely love them! President Cooper loved them as well. Hes planning on coming to the baptism. Also, we were able to go by this awesome part member family. Her bad her family havent been active since highschool, but she still watches conference every once in awhile and definelty has a testimony. We were able to teach her son what we believe. She loved President Cooper and definelty wants to start coming back. Hopefully her husband can be on board as well. 

Also, since there's so many missionaries going home I had my last interview with President Cooper. It was awesome because they had a presidency meeting right before so President Addison (my first Bishop) and President Caceres (from the Lithia ward) were all there. So we were able to catch up and I was able to find out how the Newsome family is doing in South Tampa. Crazy how fast time flies! 

President was able to give me some good advice with the goals I have. I forgot to ask about the MTC. I think I have to be a student at BYU Provo though. As far as other options I haven't heard of anything else. Im going to talk to some missionanries who live in the area and see what they're doing. 

I would be fine with three other roommates. A missionary in my district said he might have room in the apartment him and his friends are staying in so I'll ask him again today about it. That still feels right though as well as BYU pathways for that year. Is there anything I need to do to be a resident besides just living there? Also, we have a men's warehouse here so I'm going to hopefully get my suits repaired. It's not too bad. Also, I have my iPad!!!!!!

That restaurant had it even though we had asked them before I left. So now I won't have to worry about not being able to have it. I'm going to pay for the fee today. Do you have any other questions or thoughts as far as jobs/apartment? One you do find a good place could you send me the pictures/address so I can sign up for Institute? Sorry I know you have so much on your plate. Also, I'm going to be sending my goals/plans to you soon as well as photos. It may be after our Zone Activity day tomorrow. 

Love you a ton!! Feel free to message me again with those questions.

Elder Hale

Week 1 in Tampa

Orlando temple

Goodbye 

 Diseny World

 Rainbow after the storm

Hello!!! 

Glad to hear that wedding went so well! I'm sure it was amazing to be with all that Family!! That's crazy about Karsten. I'm sure she's awesome. That will be fun being so close to McKaylee! Definelty let me know what you find. We do something called My Plan and they wanted me to sign up for Institute but I just wrote I don't know for sure where I will be yet so I haven't signed up haha. It will all work out though. Please thank scott for all the help. Also, thank you so much for all the help! I appreciate it so much! 

If there's anywhere else that pops up let me know! I did have the thought if Provo works out about applying to work at the MTC. We will have to see though. Is there anything else I can do with finding a place/school? 

The Tampa 4th ward is bowing up! That family that referred themselves is doing so good! They resolve all their concerns and have a habit of reading and praying every morning. Theyll come to church with specific questions and get the answers theyre needing. This is all things they were doing before we taught them. Theyre definetly prepared! It's a huge tender mercy. They're all set for baptism on the 15th of July. The members have been eating them up!

It's been amazing to see how the Lord works. They moved here from Australia because several of their family members have cancer. A couple of them actually have leukemia. So with all the trials they've been going through it's been amazing to be able to share my experiences and how the gospel blessed our family during those trials. Such a blessing! 

We also had Zone Conference this week and went to the Temple. It was awesome seeing Elder Reese and Elder Shakespeare and the rest of the missionaries I was serving with in Lithia. We have a chance at our last Zone Conference to bear our testimonies and the spirit was super powerful during all of them. There we a large group that came out the same time I did. It solidified my testimony of the change that happens when we consecrated our will to our Heavenly Fathers. I love serving my brothers and sisters! 

Also, Elder McCubbins is a beast. The ward has been blowing up with the new Bishop. We have had members out with us almost every day and have seen some huge miracles come from referrals from the members. Lots of good things are happening! 

Thanks again for all you're doing. I'm so grateful for you. I hope the week goes well!! Love you!!!

Elder Hale

Week 18 in Lithia

Hello!!! That's craziness! You all are going to have a blast in Idaho! Hopefully it's not too hot. It's been getting into the mid 90s with 100% humidity. Summer is officially here haha! Sounds great about pathways. And if nothing is popping up Logan is always a good option too. My only other thought if finding work but sounds like with that extra week or two I'll be able to start looking. Thanks so much for all the help! Do you know what options I have through pathways as far as classes to help with my degree? 

Definelty let me know what I need to do to make this all happen. We have a chance to go to the Temple this week so I'll be looking for some extra guidance then. 

I got transferred! Craziness! Elder Reese stayed and received Elder Criddle. Elder Shakespeare went to go help a missionary who had a companion go home. I was transferred to the Tampa 4th ward. Very close to South Tampa. There are tons of Hispanics here so we've been definelty using the little Spanish we know haha. I'm with Elder McCubbins. He's from the big island of Hawaii. He came out with Elder Leslie. He's a very good missionary. Also a crazy good cook. I'm hoping I don't gain too many pounds from being with him haha. 

This ward had some struggles with trust between the leaders and missionaries so with the time we have we are hoping to build that relationship. There was just a new Bishop called and he's super missionary minded. We are pumped about that! 

One huge miracle so far was some self referrals. The wife had come to church last Sunday and brought her husband. They loved it, especially seeing the process of a new Bishop being called! She already has a testimony and she wants her husband, Luke, to know its true as well. During sacrament meeting she was explaining how after they're baptized is when they will partake of the sacrament. She said it's when they'll renew their baptismal covenants. We haven't even taught her yet and she knows all of this! She also made sure we would come by this week to teach them. We are having our first lesson with them this Thursday and we are bringing a family who are relatively new converts. Such a miracle! 

Also, before I left Lithia we finally got to meet a part member family we had tried visiting a couple times. Turns out during 1st through 4th grade he grew up in Corvallis! He went to Hoover elementary. He said he thinks he knows some members which is awesome! They're going to be teaching them. Such a small world! 

I feel a lot better about 3-4 weeks. I'm good with whatever it needs to be though. Also, I need to pay my mobile device fee. I can do it online. My iPad was having tons of issues so I was thinking about just leaving it here. Then the Day of transfers our bishop took us out to breakfast and then I finished packing. Somewhere in their my iPad disappeared. We think something happened to it at the breakfast place we went to. An iPad isn't something easy to lose. Oh well, I guess I'm somehow still losing things...The device fee is $81 so ill transfer some money over to make the deposit so I don't have to pay 351 to buy a new one haha. Besides that things are going great! Said to leave Lithia but excited for the good things to come in this area. Still can't believe how fast time is flying! I hope the trip to Idaho goes well! Love you a ton!!! 

Elder Hale 

Week 17 in Lithia

Brandon Zone Activity Day last Monday 

Hello!

So sorry to hear about Graham’s eye! That does not look good...I hope it heals quickly!
That’s so crazy that Gretchen is graduated!!!! Time flew! Looks like everything went well. Grandpa looks exactly the same haha. They do that tradition here as well. I wish they would’ve done that when we graduated that sounds awesome! 

This week was crazy! It was full of highs and lows. We had an awesome lesson with the man we met last week. The Elders taught him while we were on exchange. He had one last question that he didn’t feel they adequately answered. The next morning we were joking he was a pastor as the huge church here in fishhawk. We checked Facebook and found out he was...shortly after he started that he started texted us with tons of questions. We gave him the answers, sadly he still wouldn’t accept them. He wanted facts about whether or not the church is true. It testified to me that we should be going to God for answers rather then looking for those physical resources. We hope he will figure out the truth eventually. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for him to change when his livelihood is based off of what he’s doing. The spirit was definitely present in our lessons as we taught from the scriptures. We clearly saw a change from his intent following our last lesson. 

We also met some awesome people this week! It seemed everyone was super open. We have a lesson with a family from India tonight which we are pumped about. We also are going to be seeing some of those other families the ward referred to us. It’s been awesome seeing the work hasten. We have seen lots of miracles and we are excited to see the fruit. Satan is definitely working very hard in this area. There’s lot of anti material that turns people away. Thankfully though, those who have real intent haven’t been swayed by that anti and are getting their answers by studying it out. Like I said, it’s been crazy!

Also, I went on exchange to Valrico. We had dinner with Bishop Anderson up there. He’s a beast! They made sure I know to visit again. It was great to see their family!

They just had us start something called My Plan. It has to do with adjusting back to post Mission life. It’s been good so far, crazy to think transfers is this Thursday. We won’t get the call about who’s going where until tomorrow. I’ll make sure to let you know Monday. We are all hoping there aren’t any huge changes with transfers. I would love to stay and finish here in Lithia. Such a good ward!

Elder Hale

Week 16 in Lithia

 Crazy Storm! Again...

Florida Sunset

Hello! I love the pictures from the party! I can’t believe graduation is so close. That’s crazy!!! Things have been crazy busy here.  The members have been absolutely phenomenal. We taught some new people too. Some aren’t too interested in progressing right now but we met  this awesome man this week who knew members growing up. His homecoming date was actually with a member. He’s always in his own words wondered about “John Smith and the Book of Mormon”. We taught him the restoration and once he recognized the apostasy he was blown away. We are seeing him again tomorrow. He asked us after our first meeting outside if his wife could join in. Super awesome! The part member Family we were working with is still doing super awesome. We are hoping to see them during the week. Lots of good things are definitely happening. We had a Zone Activity today hence the shorter and later email. If I forget to respond to one of the siblings please let them know I will for sure email next week. As far as housing goes Logan still sounds good since I’ll be going to school there but Provo Area isn’t bad. Let me know what you end up finding. I’m somewhat leaning toward being in Provo for that year, it makes no sense though haha. Well I hope the week goes well!! I’m so grateful to be in the Lords service and the many blessings that come from doing so. Have a great week!!!

Love you!

Elder Hale

Week 15 in Lithia

Hello HAPPY BIRITHDAY!!!

I meant to say so last week since it would’ve been way sooner but I

forgot..that’s awesome about the badminton set! I hope you had a great

day!

The weather has been Rainy but the storm was far enough off the coast

that it didn’t do a whole lot. It was definitely over us though. It’s

continuing to rain, it’s super humid.

Sounds like time is continuing to fly! Graduation as well as the last

week of school happened this past week for Florida. We are hoping that

means people will be more available now haha. It was definitely a very

busy week. We have received many referrals from members and have been

busy contacting them and scheduling lessons. They are all scheduled

for this week and the coming week. One of the Families has their

daughter just get baptized about a year ago. Their neighbors who

introduced the church to her told us we needed to stop by their

family. The family is super awesome and invited us to come by this

week for desert and a lesson. Huge miracle! Their daughter is off at

college, I’m sure they’ve had a lot of questions since she joined the

church.

Lots of craziness in the district this past week. Everyone is getting

sick. One of them is an Elder who’s had some crazy migraines. We are

hoping it’s not too bad. He hasn’t been able to get out much so we

have been helping them out. He’s such a good missionary so we are

hoping he recovers quick. We were able to go by and give him blessing.

The spirit was very strong.

This past Sunday I had a change to interview a nine year old for

baptism. She is super prepared. I love being able to see the change

the gospel brings in people. She is so excited for her baptism and the

gift of the Holy Ghost. We are going to be going to it. There should

be another baptism taking place in the district. We are hoping it all

works out, it’s with the Elder who just recently is getting sick.

Everything has been going really well. I’ve thought more about when I

should leave for Utah. I’m still undecided. It will probably need to

be two weeks like you said. We have a temple trip so I’ll have more

answers then. Do you have any more insights as far as school and when

I should leave?

Well I hope this week goes well!! Have a fantastic week! Love you!!!

Elder Hale

Week 14 in Lithia

 Stroms comin

 aligator in the neighborhood

 Rainbow between storms

 Sinkhole caused by so much rain

 Storm

 Turtle washed up in neighborhood from all the rain

Another storm

Hello!

Time is flying for sure, sounds like a very good week! That’s a blessing with those allergies not being as bad. The pollen has bothered me a bit this year but not as bad as Oregon. They don’t have those pine trees here haha. 

This week was crazy with the weather. The river that is the boundary between us and Valrico is supposed to flood since it poured every single day this week. Not having a car made it interesting but somehow the Lord made it all work out. We were able to set up some solid lessons and taught a neighbor of ours we have been trying to meet with since Elder Reese got here. He’s been reading the Book of Mormon and his family is looking for a church. Super cool! We also got back in contact with some other investigators in the complex. It was a blessing to see how everything worked out. 

One of these miracles happened when the rain died down and the lightning was further away so we figured we would be fine. We walked for about 10 minutes and saw the brightest rainbow we had ever seen. It was right over our complex. We all felt we needed to go back, as soon as we got back to the clubhouse it started down pouring. After contacting some investigators we walked by our neighbors and he was outside. That’s when we were able to have our first lesson with him. We got to meet with him a couple other times as well. 

The Lord works in mysterious ways. We also had a new ward mission leader called. Brother Alvarez. We thankfully still get to work with Brother Chambers since he’s the elders Quorum presidency member over missionary work. Brother Alvarez was one of the ones that referred one of those families to us so we know he’s already very missionary minded. We are excited for the good things to come! 

Well I hope this week is as good as this one. Love you so much! Have a great week!

Elder Hale

Week 13 in Lithia

Elder Hale, Elder Reese and Elder Shakespeare

Sandhill cranes and chicks

Hello!

It was so great talking to you too! I love seeing how much everything has changed. Crazy how fast everyone has grown! That’s probably what it was.
Don’t worry about it, Elder Klebingat said it’s okay to be thinking about the future. It’s definitely something I’ve been starting to think and pray about. Same here, I’m still not sure why it’s a Friday but oh well. Yes that’s the greatest blessing. I’ll keep you updated with anything new. Thanks so much for all you’re both doing so I can focus on the work. It’s a huge blessing!! These Elders are starting to get a little trunky, not bad but it helps when you’re giving me the support I need to keep on giving my all. I’m hoping that dinner was good haha!
This week like I said was absolutely filled with miracles. My mind is super tired so I don’t remember which ones I shared. Needless to say most resulted from the members giving us referrals and those referrals and others in the area being very prepared.
One miracle I haven’t shared was on exchange this week in Valrico. There was an email I realized didn’t send so we stopped in the shade next to a house. A woman walked outside and didn’t see us until last minute and got startled. She laughed and asked if we wanted some water. She then explained how they used to meet with missionaries and would love for them to come by again. Then, we saw a miracle with a man who’s sons both served missions and one of them is a Bishop. He was super nice and loves family history. He also gave us his card and said to stop by whenever since he’s retired. It was so awesome! We are all loving the work here. It’s great being with missionaries who know what they’re doing. We are praying and hoping baptisms will come from these miracles. We are doing all we can do they don’t slip away!
It was so great to talk to you! Thank you for these great mother you are and the great example you are to me. At the part members home they asked what characteristic we would name when we think of our mothers. Mine was immediately service. You are always giving yourself so freely to us. I love and appreciate it so much! It helps me know what kind of woman I would want to look for in an eternal companion. I appreciate it so much!!
Well I will try and attach some pictures from this week. I hope everything goes well! Love you!!!

Elder Hale

Week 12 in Lithia

 Elder Klebingat and Elder Patick

 Florida storm

Lithia

Hello!!!

Sounds like a fantastic week! Today has been crazy so if I don't get

back to everyone please send them my apologies. I can't believe Hazel

is already 7!!!! Where has time gone?? She's going to be getting

baptized very soon! So awesome! Also, sounds like EVERYONE is

destroying their sport. That's so great to hear!

Things have been a lot different since solely covering the Lithia

Ward. It's been a huge blessing because we are now able to more easily

follow up with the investigators we are finding. We met this awesome

family from India this week. We didn't even get to the driveway and

they were freaking out, super excited to see us. We have met with them

twice and will be seeing them again this coming weekend. They should

also be coming to church. Huge miracle!

Another miracle this week happened late at night. The day was long, we

are on full bike right now. (The elders we are on car share with one

of them can't bike right now, so they are working to find a car so we

can do our exchanges/have a way to get to baptismal interviews). It

was 8:30pm and we felt a need to pray for direction. We had the faith

and set the goal to hand out a copy of the Book of Mormon and set a

return appointment. We began walking toward a members home and saw an

open garage. There was a man inside wearing a BMW shirt. In the garage

and the drive way were some really nice custom made BMWs and an Aston

Martin. We began the conversation asking about the cars, eventually he

asked what we did and we began talking about the gospel. He was very

interested in the Book of Mormon and said his wife would be too. We

will hopefully be seeing them again this week. Such a tender mercy

from the Lord. Faith truly does lead to miracles.

We have been in contact with the Valrico Elders and the investigators

are doing well. We found out one we met a week and a half ago has

already read 50 pages of the Book of Mormon! We invited him to read

the introduction haha. The Ward is going to love those Elders, Elder

Stringham and Elder Call.

Being in a tripanionship has been awesome! The members love Elder

Shakespeare and I do feel it's increased our faith and lowered our

fear to talk to everyone. Hence the many miracles and people we have

found this week.

We had the blessing of Elder Klebingat and Elder Patrick visiting the

mission. It was so great seeing Elder Klebingat again! I learned so

much about how I can be a greater instrument in Gods hands. Elder

Patrick is from the Tampa 1st Ward. He was just called this last

Conference. It was great seeing him again, we always joked around he

would be called as a 70 and it happened!!

Our Sunday was super busy. Elder Patrick joined the Ward Council and

the Ward. The fast and testimony meeting was powerful. They had their

Coordinating council which includes him, all the Stake presidents in

the mission and president cooper. So they call took a break and came

to our ward. Needless to say there were some great testimonies. The

members in the Ward were on fire. All their testimonies were very

missionary minded. Afterwards we had several asking for copies of the

Book of Mormon and asking for us to come into their homes. It has been

amazing to see the missionary fire that has come in the Ward. We are

looking forward to increased fruit as the members are equally yoked in

this work.

We are planning on skyping at 5pm our time. So I will call about

5:30pm our time 2:30pm your time if that works for you? Is church at

11pm now?

We have had a lot of crazy storms too. It's been heating up a lot

lately, I guess that means it's getting closer to the summer haha.

Well look forward to talking to you all this Sunday!!! Happy early

Mother's Day!!!! You're such a great example to me. Love you!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 11 in Lithia

The tripanionship!

Hello! Things have been great this week! I have absolutely loved

Lithia and Valrico. We just got transfer calls and found out Valrico

will be getting its own set of missionaries. Super sad because we have

a super solid investigator there named David. We are going to call and

hopefully see him today. They will be in my district though so I'm

sure I'll be able to see them on exchanges. Also, we are going to be

in a tripanionship. We have Elder Shakespeare joining us. He came out

with me and served in the Tampa zone and Sarasota Zones the same time

I did. We are excited for the good things that will come now that we

can focus our efforts on one Ward. It's awesome to see the diligence

is paying off, there hasn't been a companionship assigned in that Ward

for over a year. They're going to see some awesome miracles!!

We had President Cooper call us Wednesday and ask what we had going on

in our evening. He ended up coming down to Lithia and Valrico to teach

with us. Those lessons were SUPER awesome. We ended up teaching David

and Eddie in our apartment complex. Eddie said he grew up going to

church and was baptized but we can't find his records. We are going to

try again and see if we can find them. It's like he's brand new to all

of it though, he doesn't remember any of what he was taught in church.

Super cool though. We actually have a lot of people we have been

teaching in the complex.

Also, we met a part member family who's last name is Hunter. They have

several streets named after them and everything. They're a super

awesome family. We are hoping to see them again this coming week. They

live on the other side of our ward so it's hard to reach them haha.

Besides all of that I got the results from the doctors this week.  I

will send them in the email. They all look good!!

Elder Reese and I are continuing to love these areas. Can't wait to

tell you about the fun we will be having with Elder Shakespeare.

Thank you so much for taking care of the deferment! I probably will.

When I can I'll start praying about where to live. I've thought of

Provo which makes no sense because of Utah State, if you can look at

options that would be awesome. Also if you could look at more online

opportunities that would be great! I'm sure Scott Bruick has some

great insights. Thanks again for all of that!!! I love the pictures

you sent! So glad everyone is doing so well! Love you a ton! Have a

great day!!

Elder Hale

Week 10

 Look who we found on Bell Shoals!! (Only 3ft long though)

This week was fantastic! We have been teaching a ton of people. I

don't know if I've ever been this busy before haha. Plus it was our

bike week. A recent convert/part member family had us over several

times. They really want to be active and strong in the church and they

are hoping their daughter can start taking the lessons now that things

have slowed down. They are an awesome family! We also are continuing

to work with that other part member family in Lithia. The mother is so

close, we still have no idea why she isn't a member. Hopefully we can

resolve whatever concern it is in the next two weeks. We have been

working very closely with the Ward mission leader to figure it out. We

also had a lesson with a member referral, he's super awesome. He's had

lots of connections with members of our church ever since he served in

the militarily. We are hoping to follow up this week. We also had a

crazy miracle at church this Sunday. Brother Chambers our ward mission

leader in Lithia and I were asked to speak and right before sacrament

started a random man came in. He said he wants to become Christian,

searched our church up on google and just showed up at 9am. It was so

awesome he members immediately started fellowshipping him. Sadly, he

left during the intermediate hymn. He may have thought it was over so

we didn't get his information. We are praying he will come again. It

was a perfect sacrament meeting all focused on the gift of the Holy

Ghost. We also found out Brother Chambers was called into the elders

Quorum presidency. So we are going to get a new Ward mission leader in

Lithia. Hoping he's just as good!! Brother Lauro in Valrico has been

awesome. He's hoping he can get a new job that he just interviewed for

that will give him more time so he can start coming out with us.

We had a lot of other really awesome things happen. Final highlight

would be David in Valrico. We met him a week and a half ago and have

met 6 times! He's so awesome! The members that have come love him. We

are hopping he will be at church this Sunday.

Our Sunday was super busy! We were asked to give that talk, help in

teachers Quorum, Valrico Ward Council that same hour, teaching in

primary and then priests Quorum. We definitely have gained the trust

of the members so we are hoping we don't lose it! It has been awesome

with all of the referrals and people who are progressing. Now we are

hoping to set some baptismal dates this week! Lots of good things are

happening!!!!

Finally, (yes I said this already) Saturday was a mini MTC for 14 and

up in the Brandon Stake. We were asked to help. We were teaching a

class of 9 youth 7 of which were from the wards we serve in. It was

super spiritual! It reminds me of how fast time flies.

Things are continuing to go great! Hoping we can keep a handle on all

these brothers and sisters who are prepared so they can continue to

progress and we don't lose any in the process.

Sorry for the crazy email, lots has been happening. If you have any

questions about anything else just let me know. Oh and also President

Cooper just said transfers are that last week of July. I will get back

late in the week so I can do Sons of Helaman. Not sure about the

Itinerary. Also, just found out we have Elder Klebingat coming again!

So excited!!! It was life changing last time he came. Well love you a

ton!!! Have a great week!!!!!

Elder Hale

Week 9 in Brandon

Storm coming

This week was full of miracles. It started off slow, we had an awesome

exchange though with Elder May and Elder Akers. Then this weekend we

got a call from Spencer Caceres in the Ward saying he has a friend

that wants to meet with us and scheduled the appointment for that day.

It was a powerful lesson. His friend is hoping to be a minister, he

graduates this year. It seemed at first he just wanted to learn for

knowledge. We saw a shift when we started sharing about the Book of

Mormon and the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was a powerful lesson in the

Caceres home. It ended with spencer inviting him to say a kneeling

prayer. The spirit was so powerful during it! We are going to be

seeing him again this week. We had a follow up appointment with

Effrain afterwards but he wasn't home and we were on foot and turned

around to see this huge storm coming. We started booking it and

somehow made it to shelter right when it started to downpour. And

lighting. It was awesome though because while we were there we met a

security guard who was super interested in the Book of Mormon and

coming closer to God. We got his information for the missionaries in

his area. Super cool!

We also had a miracle with the young women bringing a friend of theirs

who absolutely loved church. She really wanted to come and learn more.

Sadly after a lesson later that night we got a text from her saying

she wasn't as interested. She was given some anti. We are hoping the

young women and leaders can help her overcome those concerns. Most of

the investigators we have found in this area have been given anti

which either means they won't contact us or they just don't

understand. It's been awesome when we can resolve their concerns

though.

We also had a miracle lesson with a part member family. They want us

to come by and teach the lessons. So the boys can learn but also so

the mother can listen in and hopefully have a desire to progress.

She's super solid, she was at Conference this past weekend with her

daughter. She attends church every week. She serves. We committed them

all to read as a family and hopefully in our follow up lesson this

week those concerns can come out. The lesson was super powerful

especially with the father bearing his testimony frequently. He

especially emphasized his testimony of eternal families. We are hoping

their prayers can be answered very soon!!

Finally, the others we have been teaching are still slowly

progressing. Theirs a baptism this week for a woman in the Lithia

Ward. She is awesome! We referred her to the Spanish Elders when we

first got here because her understanding wasn't very good. We are

going to try and get as many people there as possible. Both wards have

a huge fire right now. We have been receiving lots of referrals and

support. The meals are also happening now which has been awesome! Lots

of good things!

Well I hope this week goes well!! Agreed time is flying by too fast.

We are meeting so many prepared people and I don't feel like there is

enough time to teach all of them haha. Hope you have a great week!

Love you!!

Elder Hale

Week 8 in Brandon

 apartment kitchen

 apartment building

Full view

Lunch!

Hello!!

Sounds like a very crazy and awesome week! General Conference was

absolutely amazing. The spirit was so strong during all of those

talks. The Lord is truly hastening his work. During the many changes

the spirit testified to me President Nelson is called by God. I loved

his talk on Sunday about his growing up in a family not in the church.

It reminds me of all the people we are working with and are earnestly

seeking the truth. I actually had looked up the solemn assembly when

President Monson was called several months ago. I couldn't remember

it. The spirit was definitely there on Saturday. It was awesome!

This week was crazy with Easter going on. Lots of rescheduling

happened because most of lie investigators had family in town or were

going out of town. We met lots of good people though.

We met a man last night who was stunned that we lived with God before

we were here to Earth. He hadn't heard of that before. He also never

understood why we need to go to church but believes in God. After

explaining the Restoration, he is super excited to read the Book of

Mormon. We will be seeing him this week! He lives very close to the

Caceres family so he will have immediate fellowshippers.

We also had a street where there was total rejection. After half an

hour we were finally walking back to the car and Elder Reese had the

impression we should knock on one last door. We did and a woman

answered screaming "missionaries!!!". She grew up in Salt Lake and

knows tons of members. Somehow she didn't know if we celebrate Easter

or not haha. So she doesn't know very much of what we believe. She is

also very good friends with members in the Ward so we will be seeing

her again hopefully with them. Crazy miracle!!

Another highlight of the week was Easter morning we were invited to

have a breakfast with our investigators and their extended family. We

got to meet all of them. They're all super awesome. Hopefully theyll

have a desire to learn as well. We will be going back to see those

investigators this week!

Lots of good things have been happening. I'm loving it!!!! Hope this

week goes well. I can't believe Gretchen is an adult. Crazy! Also hope

Gavin continues to destroy it in baseball. The doctors appointment

went very well. It was very weird going back to South Tampa. I have

two more in the next 4 weeks. One for the echo and blood work. The

last is a follow up. Doctor Shah did recommend an eye doctor. Is that

still something you would like me to try and schedule before the

summer time? Also I got the email from Brother Clark. I believe

transfers is the day Sons of Helamen starts...I will ask President

Cooper but that would make it very hard to go. Anyways, I will talk to

you next week. Love you!!!