The Spirit of Easter

Dear family and friends,

What a powerful week!! I have so much to share with you guys! I am so grateful for the experiences and opportunities the mission provides each day here in Liberia. There's no doubt that I miss my people in Paynesville with all my heart but I'm happy to be here serving the people in Kakata. This is truly a special place and the people here are so kind. Kakata is absolutely beautiful!! Many of the people we teach live a mile or two into the jungle. I wish I could show you some of the things I've seen in just one week!!! I know my family would absolutely love the hikes I hike on a daily basis here. The Firestone rubber plantation is in our area and we pass it everyday. On Tuesday we walked through it and I couldn't believe how outstanding my surroundings were!! Outside, the forest looks very (almost pitch) dark but as soon as you go inside... Everything gets much brighter and super quiet! It was as if my companion and I were in a sound proof studio! It was super cool!

The area surely is spectacular but nothing beats the sight of others progressing in the Lord's Gospel:) Kakata has a lot of that!! In my last few areas... The average number of investigators attending sacrament was about 10 or 15. Here in Kakata... My companion says the average is around 30 to 35!!! The field is white and ready to harvest and I couldn't be more excited to participate in the amazing work in Kakata! My branch is really great with story members and leaders who make being a missionary easier. This last week, I got to know many of them. I'm surprised that the Lord decided to call someone with such a long name to a place where long names and R's are the people's kryptonite!! Introducing myself to others is ALWAYS the same... They'll attempt to read my tag but quickly get discouraged and retreat. "Oh! Your name hard-o!!" they'll say with wide eyes. Then I'll have them take baby steps. Hall....en....berger. But they always tumble at the end. "Edwa Hambababa" or "Edward Hamburger." Haha It's always funny to hear them... try:)

We have a mission cat named Mitch at our apartment. The immature side of me likes to call him a son of a Mitch:) I'm not a cat person and I'm definitely not a Mitch person and if I see him on my desk, in the kitchen or the bedroom one more time.... We will be having cat for dinner. (Kidding) The apartment is nice but I think it was made for Hobbits because the doorways meet my eye-line and I have to duck everywhere I go haha! My companion and I live with our zone leaders, Elder Dube and Elder Montenegro. They are both super cool guys and occasionally we'll have very spiritual evening devotionals together after daily planning. 

Yesterday, we were finally able to watch some of General conference! I really enjoyed and appreciated the inspired messages shared and I'm grateful for the blessing of living Prophets to lead us. IN the spirit of Easter, this past week I dedicated my personal study towards the savior and His divine mission. Every morning as I prepared for the day this past week, I listened to a talk that has become one of my favorites. It's titled, "Behold the Man" by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf. In it, Elder Uchtdorf further explains the importance and reality of the Atonement. He notes that everybody sins and everybody dies. He then explains that Jesus Christ saved us from both sin and death. In our devotional on Sunday, we read in the "Come Follow Me" manual. I love how it compares the story of the Passover with the Atonement. The blood of of the Lamb of God saved us all from the slavery of both sin and death. That is what makes the message of Easter a message of hope and joy. Without Jesus Christ, we would have no hope of returning home to Heavenly Father. When teaching about the Plan of Salvation, I always begin by telling others that the center of the lesson is the Savior. Without Him... The plan wouldn't work. I love my Savior and I have a strong testimony that He lives and that His sacrifice was, is, and always will be the ultimate act of love and the greatest gift ever to be given. I've been given the privilege to share this divine message to the people of Kakata and I can't think of anything better to be doing on this Easter season. Surely nothing more rewarding.

We've got 5 people who accepted to be baptized on the 4th of May and this next week we will try and change that number to a grand spankin' 7! I hope everyone is doing great back home! Liberia is great! This is my report! Love you all! 

Sincerely, Elder Hambabababa

Kaka-Freakin-Ta!!!

Dear family and friends,

Mixed feelings about this week... On Tuesday we met with our recent convert who is a widow with 3 little children. As we lectured, she talked about how hard it is for her to be able to pay for her children's schooling. She works all day only to receive enough money to provide for her children the next day. Listening to her share her struggles really made my companion and I feel bad about the situations a lot of people in this country are forced to deal with. Later that week we saw her on the road and she was very upset... When I asked what was wrong she told me that a fire had burnt down her home just a couple hours after we left. All her belongings were lost in the fire. Her and her kids were staying at a local's home. She showed us the area where she and her kids were sleeping and it was nothing but rough concrete, and a pillow. She lost her phone in the fire so she couldn't call me or any other member. We were able to calm her down and get her to meet with Bishop for help. I got approval from my President to donate some mission mattress that weren't being used. I pray the Ward will do everything they can to come together and help this family. I know this Sister will be able to overcome this trial and become stronger because of it. The only thing she saved was a triple combination Book of Mormon that we gave her after her baptism as a gift. She chose to save her Bible over her expensive phone or her children's expensive school uniforms.... She has her priorities straight.

On top of all this, my good friend, who is a Bishop in Liberia recently lost his wife while she was giving birth to their baby leaving him with 3 children to care for. This country really isn't an easy place and this last week surely reminded me of that fact. I know that the Lord has great things in store for these people as they continue to move forward with faith during the hardest of times. I'll be praying for these kind families and I won't forget the examples they've set as faithful members of the Church.

On a more positive note... We attended a baptism on Saturday for Elder Jensen and Elder Bonou's candidate and it went very well!! Her name is Doris and I actually gave them the referral! Last week we were going to do a double baptism but since we didn't have a residing Stake member... We were only able to do my candidate, Nathan. Since Elder Jensen and his companion helped us with the service last week... I promised him I'd get my district to attend and help with their service. It was amazing and super powerful! I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost and Elder Bonsou baptized. We all went to get Ice cream afterwards and it was a perfect way to say farewell to the awesome Zone I was able to be apart of:)

I'm going to miss my favorite companion, Elder Roundy. Together we not only made a good companionship but we made a good friendship. He's a great missionary and if I wouldn't want anyone else to take care of my people now that I'm gone. I will also miss my friend Elder Aspuria. He's the best missionary here and will do great things for the mission.

Transfers came and... I'm in Kakata!!! We found out I was leaving on Wednesday when Elder Roundy was called to train. I was so upset because I didn't want to ever leave my people here in Paynesville!! On Friday we went in town for his trainer training and that night, I got the call that I'd be transferred deep in the bush! I'm companions with Elder Eaton from Utah. He's such a cool guy and I can tell we will have a great time together. He got to Liberia in September with Elder Packer. I'm living with my dope Zone leaders, Elder Montenegro and Elder Dube!!! Elder Dube from Zimbabwe was in my last zone and he is such a good guy. He told me he will teach me his native language! It's literally just clicking tongue and making weird noises... I will try:) Elder and Sister BAird, the senior couple living in Kakata picked me up and drove me and Elder Dube to our apartment. They only live a few minutes away from us. Our apartment isn't bad. I mean it's definitely not as good as my last apartment but I've lived without AC before.... I can do it again.

I will miss Paynesville and all my people there. Pinky and Cherish have become like sisters to me and I will forever be grateful for everything they do for the missionaries. It was very hard saying goodbye to them. They wanted my President's number so they could call him and beg him to reconsider.... I was tempted to give it to them haha! We all cried together as I said farewell. They even had me sing to them which was very special. They're my family and I love them so much!! I will also miss my friend Brother Jeremy and Brother Melvin. Both of them are preparing to serve missions and Jeremy was recently called as the young men's 2nd counselor!! Its always great when your converts get callings in the ward:) I will miss all my people!!! Ahhh this is so hard!!! My goal is to make similar relationships with the people here in Kakata. Let's do this!:)

I love and miss you all! Its very difficult to email here since its in the bush but I'll try my best to send pictures. 

Sincerely, Elder Hallenberger

The Spirit of Africa

Dear family and friends,

This week was very successful! We have 2 baptisms planned for the 20th of April and this last Saturday, we held a beautiful baptismal service for Brother Nathan. I love seeing the work go forward and it's a privilege to be apart of it here in Liberia.

We wont be able to watch General conference until the end of this month but I will soon go into the office and download the audio. I heard it was a spiritual weekend and a lot of inspired words were spoken by our Prophet and Apostles. I'm excited!

Missionaries aren't really supposed to pull pranks but on April 1st, Elder Roundy and I set Elder Teichert and Elder Aspuria's alarms to go off every hour on Monday morning haha! Elder Aspuria is 25 years old (7 years older than me) and I cant imagine what he thinks of us... children. Haha he's a good sport and he even sometimes provokes the childish activities like throwing balls at me while i'm trying to cook. I don't doubt I'll miss this when I'm 50 years old and behind a desk.



Elder Aspuria is the best missionary here and I'm grateful for the time I've had with him in Paynesville.

I could very possibly be transferred this Monday. This is my 3rd transfer here in Duport Road and I would like to stay another but whatever happens next is revelation from the Lord. We will find out this week.

1 year ago, I received my mission call and Liberia instantly became a massive part of my life. I would have never guessed that Liberia would impact my life as much as it has this past year. The Spirit of Africa is truly amazing and I echo the words of Elder Bednar when he says that the Gospel in Africa will be what changes the rest of the world for good.

I love you all.

Sincerely, Elder Hallenberger

By D' Grace Of God

Dear family and friends,

Lots of people who know about Liberia also know about the amazing story of Joel Willie who lives in my area here in Paynesville. The story is incredible and my companion and I were able to find and meet Joel! He invited us into his home and we visited about all the amazing things this man is doing for his country. If you want to read the story, you can find it online at  https://bydgraceofgod.com/ By purchasing one of his picture books, you're helping children in Liberia receive backpacks and other supplies for school. Check it out!

Our Bishop gave us a referral named Joseph last Sunday and we were able to teach him on Tuesday morning after our interviews with President. There's always two types of referrals... Not serious and serious. Joseph is as serious as it gets! He's a family man who loves God and knows that there's something missing in his life. After visiting the church, he feels that it has what he's looking for. I assured him that the Gospel is what he is looking for and I promised that the Book of Mormon contains the fullness of it. He's a very smart and kind guy and I can't wait to continue working with him. 

Elder Aspuria and Elder Teichert recently gave us another very serious referral named Anthony. He had already been taught the first two lessons and yesterday after service, we taught him lesson 3, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. After teaching him about the importance of baptism... we invited him to be baptized on April 20th. He agreed! We will continue helping him as he prepares for this special day. This week we will extend the same invite to Brother Joseph. Very exciting!!

We will have a baptism this Saturday for Brother Nathan. My Zone leader, Elder Pan will join me in my area and he will interview our candidate this coming Friday. I'm very proud of Nathan. We've been working with him for a while and he's come a long way. 

We have finally been authorized to call home on Mondays which is super cool! Only problem is it costs 5USD to call for 50 minutes so... I'll probably only call twice a year. Oh wait... That's how it's always been;) We have been authorized to use Facebook messenger as another resource to message family and friends on Mondays! Obviously this makes things a lot easier and if you wanna chat... you know where i'm at:) FB: Trey Hallenberger

Hope everyone is doing well! Love you all!!

Love, Elder Hallenberger