Christmas, Community Outreach, Finished Projects, and Temple

Hey friends and family!

Christmas was really awesome up here. My district's Zones where closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. So, we were able to spend a lot of time hanging out and enjoying the festivities. On Christmas Eve, the Mission Presidency set up a catered Christmas Dinner for all of the Young Elders. Another win for Cafe Rio! We also by an anonymous benefactor were each given a copy of the Book of Mormon Journal Edition. The extra wide margin is really nice, and I've been thinking up a few things to use it for. On Christmas Day we were able to call home. So, I was spending a lot of time in the Mission Office. As the District Leader I have to let everybody in my District into the Joseph Smith Memorial Building so that they can do their calls, because of after-hours access. It was still a fun time. There were a lot of companions waiting for their companions to finish. So, we were able to have good conversation and games to entertain ourselves. We also had a Christmas Lunch on Christmas Day. There was Alfredo Pasta and Meatballs. It was absolutely amazing.

As for the days when we had Zone, I've been able to finish up a few projects. About a week and a half ago I noticed that the cleaning schedule for the 2nd floor of the Family History Library, was in a pretty disorganized and non-functional state. So I was granted permission from the Assistant Zone Leaders to try and come up with a better system. Two days ago, I pitched the idea to them, and they loved it. It was honestly a really good feeling, and so far it seems to be working really well.

I've also finished my training for LDS Records research, and I'm almost through training for Special Collections. Special Collections is a special room in the Zone that contains all of the records from the temple books. So the actual records about the ordinances completed. It requires a temple recommend and a photo ID to get in. The Zone Leaders said they would talk to the Mission Presidency once I've completed the training, to see if they are cool with letting us work in there. I honestly think it will be a lot of fun if that passes.

Yesterday, we had Leadership again. I honestly love going to leadership. I've recently been going with one of the newest District Leaders in the mission. His name is Elder Eades, and it is really convenient considering he lives one door down from me. He's in the Temple Records Operations Center Zone or T-ROC for short. Given his companion's work is very portable, our companions usually go to U.S./Canada Services. This past Leadership really focused in on goal setting as a mission. This being especially pertinent with New Years coming around. There were some really great insights and it was really fun to attend.

Last night 30 of us were able to go do some community outreach, by assisting the Utah Food Bank with some of their work. We had about 30 Elders attend, and I was able to drive 7 of them, not including my companion and I, over there. We had some of them helping with loading and moving, and others with packing and processing. It was really a fun experience.

This morning we were also able to attend the 8:00 AM Session at the Salt Lake Utah Temple. It was really great to get one more session in before they close the Temple for the month of January. It was really great, and it's amazing how much I learn each time I go.

I hope you all have an amazing holiday season!

From,

Elder Hall