Long Walks and Wheelchair Basketball

Dear Family and Friends,

Today my companion and I are wearing our Lakers jerseys to honor the legend Kobe Bryant.

While on a recent exchange I was able to finally meet a referral President had given me about a month ago. His name is Linus, the founder and president of the LNWBA(Liberia National Wheelchair Basketball Association). Linus is a very kind and wise man who is determined to follow his lifelong dream of establishing a wheelchair basketball team here in Liberia! Linus came to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in hopes to find people willing to donate wheelchairs, basketballs and funding. He found something much greater than wheelchairs that day....

After meeting with our mission president about the Restored Church and the Book of Mormon, Linus was eager to receive a phone call from the missionaries. President contacted me and I contacted Linus who honestly couldn't have been more excited to hear from me! He didn't live in my area so I passed him to the Elders who do. When I was one exchange with Elder Egan last week, we visited Linus' home and taught a lesson from the book of Mormon. I let him know that although I never followed sports, I have a father who is a die hard Lakers fan. Instantly he lit up with a big smile and said, "I love the Lakers!" He then listed all of his favorite players which happened to be my dad's favorites such as Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant. I told him that he and my dad would get along well. Linus is the one who informed me of the Black Mamba's death saying, "Your father and I are bereaved today."

Linus has a crippled leg which causes him more deeply feel for others who also love the game but sadly can't play. He is working hard to start the LNWBA and I pray it works out for him. His dedication to follow a dream will surely bless the lives of many.

My companion and I had a cool experience this last week when we visited the home of 3 young brothers who had attended church for the past 2 Sundays. Our ward mission leader drove us on his bike down a LONG dirt path in the middle of hundreds of beautiful palm trees where we had to park the bike and walk for about an hour down a massive field of... Africa. Elder Gababoi was worried about running into Lions and Rhinos because where he comes from, "it's suicide to take a hike in a field far from the road." It was so spectacular! (I got plenty video on a GOPRO that I'll post when I return) We had been walking for so long that we came to the conclusion that we had made a wrong turn because it seemed like nobody could possibly live so far in the bush. Just as we were about to turn around, we saw 3 boys in the field yelling for our attention. As we walked further, we found a small house where the boys live with their grandma and uncle.

We sat down and began to study about the nature of God. They came to understand that Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone and the Son also. We taught that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are 3 separate beings but 1 in purpose. Afterwards, we explained that Jesus Christ not only made it possible through His Atonement for us to return to Heaven but He also showed us how. This direction is called His doctrine or gospel. By applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our personal lives and our homes, we can experience a more enduring happiness and sense of peace. These things we taught and when we concluded, the grandma began to say something along the lines of, "I've been trying to find a church that does not request money to worship or study but I never could find one. Very recently, I prayed asking for revelation and now here you are! You walked a long distance just to simply teach my grandchildren and you haven't even asked for a drink of water!" I could tell this woman noticed the difference from the Church of Christ as compared to the churches of man. We are excited to continue teaching these young boys who will someday become missionaries and also their grandma who surely received an answer to her prayers. The long hot walks always seem to have the most rewarding outcomes:)

Sincerely, Elder Hallenberger

Hebrews 13:1

Dear family and friends,

I hope everyone has enjoyed the holiday season! Sorry I haven't been able to write... The country is facing a lot of problems with the government. For the past 2 preparation days, large protests have caused us to stay inside for safety precautions. We will continue praying for the country in hopes another 10 year civil war does not break out again.

We are facing a large issue in our branch. People seem to think the members of the Church are perfect but the truth is that while the Church is perfect... the members are far from it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is for those who are working towards perfection. Too many members have arguments with other members and then ask themselves, "How could this church be true if this person is in it?"

The other day while visiting a members home, we were saddened to hear that the family had completely left the church and rejoined their other church. All this because an argument between two relief society sisters couldn't be resolved. These members have the potential to be a strong addition to the church! They kept explaining to us how the members are giving them a hard time but I asked them, "Do you follow Christ or man? Were you baptized in the name of Christ or of man?" If we put all our faith in a mortal, we will surely be disappointed because we mortals are imperfect! But if we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we will never find disappointment. I reminded them that everyone makes mistakes and we are all trying to become better...together. This being said we need to help one another which includes forgiving others for their wrongdoings. I hope this family figures out what is best for them.

I remember one disagreement I had with one of my best friends on mission. Unfortunately, it got pretty heated and we were about to call it a night and go to bed angry without the Spirit. I remember laying in bed not knowing what to think because just that morning we were friends but it seemed like we were now... enemies. I began to realize how ridiculous the argument was and that it wasn't worth losing a friend and the Spirit. Just as I thought this, my friend humbly came into the room. "I don't know why I am mad but I'd rather not be." He said, "Sorry." Haha we ended up hugging it out like men and the Spirit was able to come back! He was the bigger person in the story and I learned from his example. Contention is truly of the devil and if we realize that we as disciples of Jesus Christ are all in it together... there shouldn't be anything but love in our hearts for one another.

On mission there has been missionaries who I have wanted to punch in the face but instead I sucked it up, forgave, and forgot. There has even been missionaries who caused me to feel embarrassed to wear the same tag that they wear! But I realized how my tag says, "Elder Hallenberger" and "Jesus Christ" and nobody else. I represent my family, the church, and the Savior which is all that matters. What other missionaries say and do doesn't make the work any less divine. Likewise, when a member irritates another member, it doesn't justify the annoyed member to assume the church must not be true. I wish members could understand this fact because the contention in the branch has caused our activity to drop dramatically.

Jesus said love everyone. The greatest commandment is to Love God and His children. If we do our part and forgive others, we will feel peace and joy in our lives because we are truly spreading the light of Christ.

-Elder Hallenberger

Light The World

Dear family and friends,

I hope everyone is enjoying the season! This is my 2nd and last mission Christmas and although I miss my family and home, I can honestly say that there is no place I'd rather be than right here serving God's children in this part of the world. It sounds super cheesy I know but after gaining such a strong testimony of the true gift of Christmas... I can't think of a better way to say thank you to my Heavenly Father than to share the knowledge of this gift to those who haven't been so privileged. After all, when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God. (MOSIAH 2:17) 

Elder Gababoi and I are here in Boystown working hard everyday trying to find many new people to teach. We have truly been blessed for our efforts. We have a lot of good families and people to teach everyday! Especially a 12 year old girl named Debra who saw us walking on the road and called out, "Hello Jehovah Witnesses!" We introduced ourselves and let her know that we are missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was so curious as to who we were that she insisted we followed her home to meet her mother. Her mom was working hard in the hot sun washing clothes. She was very shocked when after we greeted her, we put our ties in our pockets and started washing the clothes. She was also very surprised when she heard my Liberian English! After we washed all the clothes, we all sat down and had a lesson....

After teaching about the nature of God, I asked a question that usually causes people to think and ponder. Most people aren't able to answer the question! "If God has a body of flesh and bone... why is it we can't see Him? Why does he send a prophet to speak to us instead of talking to us Himself?" Instantly and without hesitation Debra confidently answered, "God wants us to believe before we see!" I know this story would seem like nothing but for a missionary who has been trying for over a year to explain this doctrine... It almost brought me to tears. What always seems so difficult for an adult to understand was so simply easy for a young girl.

My experience with Debra and her mother is one of many each and everyday! This is why I am so happy to be here! It keeps me on my feet! The Lord has blessed me with good health and also a great companion who works hard side by side with me. Don/t worry about me this Christmas! Our apartment just got AC and tonight we are making pizza and tomorrow we are making burgers!

Love, Elder Hallenberger

PICTURES: 1st is my grandfather, father, me, and my son. 2nd is a lot of my past companions. I know the hair is long haha it will be cut soon! 

Multiple Miracles!

Dear family and friends,

We've had a good week in Boystown! Elder Gababoi and I are working hard and trying to find new people to teach. We met one sister who is 19 and catholic. She's very kind and loves our message. She asks serious questions such as, "How can I have a happier family?" or "Do we have a living prophet on the earth today?" These questions help me know if someone is truly interested or not.

We've also been teaching a family who are very involved in their own church. We met them a week ago when Elder Gababoi and I noticed the 20 year old son, Gideon working hard in the hot sun pulling weeds. We helped him and his sister for over an hour until the front lawn was spotless. Afterwards, we greeted the parents who had been watching us work hard in our nice clothes. They welcomed us warmly and we all sat down and had a nice study about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. After the study, they were apparently confused. "I thought you guys worshipped Mormon and Joseph Smith" the pa asked. My companion and I smiled at each other and answered his great concern. "We worship only the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Holy Ghost." I said, "Joseph Smith and Mormon were prophets just like Moses and Jerimiah." They were so shocked by my answer! "Well people have told me that you guys don't use the Holy Bible and you only use the Book of Mormon." He said. I let my companion take care of that one... "People can say what they want to say but the truth is we are grateful for any word of scripture from the holy prophets we can get! Like the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon is Another Testament of Jesus Chirst." Elder Gababoi replied. The man and his wife were very pleased with our answer. "We have heard many negative things about your church. But all you have said seems very good and godly." He stated. I told this family that we don't expect them to believe us right away but because they have given us the time to explain and answer questions... They now understand. The Spirit can do the rest. We then invited them to pray to know if what we said was true. Soon we will have a more detailed lesson about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. I am happy for the opportunity we had to serve this family and talk about Jesus Christ. I believed that we showed them the very core of our doctrine and belief. I knew they studied the Holy Bible well and went to church so we thought it would be good to talk about what they already know and believe. Now we have created a comfortable environment of trust, love, and unity where we will be able to safely introduce the message of the restoration to this family.

I want to mention another miracle that happened just yesterday.... As many of you know I have gotten sick a few times on mission and this time last year I nearly got sent home after being in the hospital for a couple weeks. Well before I got called to train Elder Dabi, I was getting very sick again and it was the worse. I remember after I got called to train, I prayed to God asking for a special blessing that would get me through the 12 week training without getting sick. I wanted to devote all my strength to train a strong missionary in the mission. Well, God blessed me and I was able to work harder than ever without a single sick day. I was able to finish my work in Kakata without a single sick day and I was so happy to be able to leave knowing I finished strong and prepared the area well for Elder Dabi and his next companion. 4 weeks later the blessing was still on its course and I wasn't getting sick! My new companion and I have been able to work hard without illness slowing us down. Well.. Yesterday morning while sitting in sacrament meeting I was suddenly struck with something that made me cold and sweaty and i just wanted to die haha! My head was pounding and I didn't know what to do. In my head I had a small prayer asking God to continue our little agreement for a little longer. Maybe even 7 months longer if possible:) I was very stubborn and refused to return to the apartment. We worked hard and taught many people even increasing our teaching pool and expanding our area. I was so sick throughout the day but regardless... we worked hard. When we got home in the night... I laid on my bed without even taking off my tag. The miracle to this story is that I woke up this morning feeling 100% and ready to jump out of bed! Haha! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Miracles happen everyday in the Lord's work! Whether it's a new person to teach or simply another day of health to work hard... the work is a big miracle. The work is wonderful and I am happy to be here! Thanks for the love and support!

Sincerely, Elder Hallenberger

I Love My Mom!

At this special time of the year we love to give thanks and recognize the many blessings in our lives. In Liberia and all of Africa, Thanksgiving is not a popular holiday. Infact, Elder Wolfe and I were the only people in our district who knew about the holiday! I cooked my district a nice Liberian soup for district council held on Thanksgiving morning. Then we all read selected scriptures about the importance of giving thanks to God for the blessings we receive from Him. Finally, to close the council, I had all the members take turns listing 3 things they are thankful for. This activity was a lot more spiritual than I thought it would be! Some people talked about the Savior and His divine role. Others talked about the prophet Joseph Smith and the church he restored to the earth. A lot of the Africans shared their gratitude for the missionaries who brought the Gospel to their families not long ago. I decided to share my gratitude for my wonderful parents. Especially my mother:)

I find it convenient that my mom's birthday this year happens to be the day after Thanksgiving. I am so grateful for my mom who has been one of the greatest blessings in my life. If I have ever done anything good or honorable it is simply because my mom was right there supporting me every step of the way. Anyone I have ever brought or will bring the Gospel to should thank my mother. She has taught me the things I need to know to become who I am today. I thank her for every word of advice, every act of love and kindness, every kiss on the cheek, every ride to school, every birthday party, and yes of course every whack on the butt with a wooden spoon because it truly has built my character. She has spent many nights helping me understand math even though I just wanted to go to bed. She was so patient.

Perhaps an embarrassing story will show how wonderful, patient, and kind my mother is. While waiting for senior year to begin, the opportunity arose for me to audition for my favorite musical Sweeney Todd at BSU. Since my car was being repaired, I asked my mom if she could take time out of her Saturday and drive me in town to audition and wait for me to be finished. Of course... she agreed (She always supported my love for theater). We woke up early in the morning to arrive by 7am. I went inside and looked all around for any sign of auditions but I found none. After almost 20 minutes, I found the director and asked him where auditions were and he informed me that it was at 7 in the evening not in the morning. I had embarrassingly misread the email, I had work that evening, and it was the last day of auditions! None of this bothered my mind because I was too worried about what my mom would think of me. When I told her the truth... she didn't seem even a little upset or disappointed! She just smiled and drove me home. She even bought me breakfast:) If I were in that musical, it would have delayed my mission and I may not have been called to Liberia so that was a blessing. I will never forget this funny morning where my mom showed once again how loving and patient she is. I love my mom and I wish her a happy birthday. I miss you more than you miss my long hair:)

Before leaving on my mission the things that filled my head was nonsense about Youtube, video games, girlfriends, and fun times with the bros. But now that I've been on a mission for 16 months engaged in the work... the Lord has carved my concerns and thoughts down to what matters most. The Gospel and my family. I am so grateful to not only be born into a Gospel centered home but also to have parents who love each other and desire happiness for their children. In Liberia, it's hard to find these things and that's why the missionaries are here!... We are here to teach the people how much greater life can be when we put down the nasty ways of the world and pick up charity, chastity, and integrity. I am eternally grateful that I can testify that these things are true.

I love you all! Thanks for your love and support!

Love, Elder Hallenberger

Goodbye Kakata!

Dear family and friends,

I will miss my home in Kakata! For the past 7 and a half months I have been in that area with 3 different companions! Together we have worked hard and we have been blessed to meet, teach, and baptize a total of 30 brothers and sisters! I love them and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to bring them into the gospel.

On Saturday, Sister Abigail was baptized and confirmed the following morning. How happy I am for her choice to follow Christ's example! She will be a wonderful addition to the Relief Society. I was invited to bear my testimony that day and I thanked the congregation for being so helpful and loving! They are truly my family and I will miss them. Afterwards, my recent convert, Zack was ordained to the office of an Elder and was called to serve as the district clerk. He will also do great things in his calling. I am now leaving the area in the hands of my son Elder Dabi who I know will keep it strong. I will also miss him and I am grateful for him.

Before I left, one of the branch sisters (who I have referred to as my Liberian grandma) invited me to come and kill one of her pigs. We have been previously helping her raise the pigs on her farm and as a kind way of saying goodbye, she requested that I come and slit one of the bigger pig's throat for a special fairwell dinner. I'll leave the story there because
I know (from experience) you guys are sensitive:) #RIPMitch

About a month ago, President interviewed me in hopes to figure out where the Lord wants me to serve my 4th area. My wish was to serve in Paynesville again with my friend Elder Wolfe again. Well as luck would have it... I have been assigned to Boystown Paynesville to serve with Elder Gababoi from Botswona. I am living with Elder Wolfe and his new companion, Elder Ikechuku from Nigeria. I am happy to be here and excited to start working!

Elder Hallenberger

The Miracle

We recently had a powerful zone conference with our president! He talked about a miracle that happened in the mission... 

On Saturday, September 28th we had 98 baptisms in Liberia (100 if you count the 2 Elder Pluim forgot to record). On a good month, this mission averages about 90 baptisms. In President's friend's mission... they are lucky to get 6 in a year! We had 100 in just one day! 22 in Kakata and 16 in my area. I was pleased to hear about Kakata's success but when president announced 100 baptisms for just one day... I was so happy to hear we are all working hard in the mission. President calls it a miracle because something sparked the mission's motivation to work harder and love the work. Although he'd never admit it... It is because we have a loving President who supports and cares for his missionaries. This is only the beginning if you ask me. This miracle motivates us all to work a little harder and continue to go the extra mile because as the Lord promises in D&C 82:10, when we do as He asks... He is bound to bless us for our efforts.

President also spoke of another and a much grander miracle. With the prophet's recent plea to study more about Joseph Smith's first vision, President thought it would be a good idea to discuss it as a zone. I learned many great things that I often don't think of when I teach about this event literally everyday! How amazing is it that Joseph Smith, an uneducated 14 year old farm boy was given a small vision that revealed many things? Think of all the truth Joseph learned from the first vision alone! 

1) God answers prayers and the heavens are open today. 

2) God knows each of us personally even by name. 

3) God and Jesus Christ are two separate beings. 

4) God and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bone. 

5) God delegates the work to His Beloved Son. 

6) Satin is real and understands our potential. 

8) Before the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Lord's true church was not on the earth.

There is absolutely no possible way Joseph could have made all this stuff up. How would a little boy know about priesthood hierarchy? If it were a priestcraft scheme... Joseph would have given himself more credit but instead, he states that the Father and the Son lead the work and that they are in charge. 

Regardless of the many scientific reasons the first vison had to have been true... a person can only know for themselves if they pray and ask God just as Joseph did. A testimony can't be gained by science neither should it be taken away because of science. "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (MORONI 10:4-5)

Joseph Smith wanted the answer to one question and he got much more because of his faith to ask God which church was true. It's very common in Liberia to believe the exact opposite of all these things. We still live in a world where people don't know the truth. That is why it is such a wonderful privilege to be here teaching people that God loves us so much that he restored His church  through a prophet. On my desk I have two paintings... One of the Savior's Atonement and another of the first vison. I believe these two paintings render the two most important events that has ever occurred. I am so happy to be here teaching what matters most... God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to suffer for our sins and save us from spiritual and physical death. God so loved the world that he called a prophet to restore the truth and save us from darkness.

The work is divine! Love you all! 

-Elder Hallenberger