Welcome Home!

ΤΕΛΟΣ

Γεια σας!!

Well this is the last one and this last week has been truly amazing!

So last Tuesday I had my last District council and that was good and then started my last exchange I went with Elders Forsey and Gaskill it was awesome I really enjoyed it we talked to so many people and got to teach on the road it was cool. 

Wednesday we finished our exchange with another good day and then in the evening we had our FHE activity and that was crazy we did Zumba and I had no idea what to expect but let's just say I don't know if I will be doing that again Haha.

Thursday was the 4th and we had some lessons with returning members and then we had a BBQ in the evening and we had a HUGE turn out it was really cool and everyone was able to have a good time and enjoy each other's company.

Friday we started to go around and say goodbye to some people and also we went and did a lot of finding which was really fun it just made me think about how much I am going to miss it all.

Saturday again I said goodbye to a lot of people I will attach pics with all the people.

Sunday was a great last Sunday the spirit was strong in our small group because of elections we didn't have a lot of people but it was still a good fast and testimony meeting.

Then today got finished packing and then got to say goodbye to a few more people.

It is so crazy to think that this is the end sometimes I never thought it would come but it has and I can never express my gratitude for everything that I have learned and for the love of my Heavenly Father and Savior not just for me but for everyone it is just truly amazing. I love you all and will see you soon!

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΜΙΑ ΑΚΟΜΗ

Γεια σας παιδιά!!!

Well it was yet another great week so let's get to it again!

Last Monday we had a meeting with our friend Giannis and we were thinking about dropping him because he wasn't progressing  but we got together and had a really good discussion about and everything that it means. It went really well.

Tuesday we had a lesson with Konstantinos in the morning and then we had district council with a dinner and then we had another lesson with our friend Ali in Norwegian again so that was pretty cool.

Wednesday we taught English class and then went and visited a lot of returning members so it was a good day.

Thursday we had some meetings throughout the day and two meal appointments Haha that never happens in one day so that was cool. And in the morning we went and saw Nikos at his shop which was good and he said that he would be at church for fast and testimony meeting so I am excited!!

Friday we had service in the morning cleaning dishes and then we went out to lunch with Georgios which was good he is doing really good but just works on Sunday so it is tough.

Saturday we did some street finding in the evening that just went amazing we went around and asked people "what does family mean to you?" And we had a lot of good conversations and met some good people.

Sunday was great we had an all time high in our group that we have in the center and it was awesome!! Then after we went to the English branch with out friend Ali then we went to the Homs' for dinner for my last time because they are going to be gone this next week. Then I did my last whiteboard in the center which was crazy to think about.

Today we met up and went on a hike which then ended in a gyro walk which we just went to the two best gyro places in Athens and got some gyros Haha.

Well σας αγαπώ!

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον 

Pics

Us with Giannis

Me and Johnny one of the Hom kids

P.S. my homecoming talk will be on Sunday the 14th at 9 a.m. let me know if you want the address.

ΠΟΠΚΟΡΝ

Γεια σας!!

Well what a week it has been so let's get to this.

Last Monday to end our day we went and helped Hedy move things from one house she has to the one she lives in and that was exciting playing some tetris to fit everything into the van was pretty fun. 

Tuesday we had a good day we had district council with the other district cause our district went to Thess to do exchanges so that was fun. Then we had a whiteboard in the evening.

Wednesday was yet another good day we taught English class and then had lessons for the rest of the day and it was just awesome to see how the Lord really prepares people and then there are some who just loose there was it is really interesting to see.

On Thursday we had a lesson in the morning and then we got to go and see Georgo! It was super awesome I haven't seen him since I have been back on Athens and so it was really good to see him. Then we had Family Home Evening movie night and we watched the restoration and finding faith in Christ and it went really well and we made some popcorn.

Friday we did some weekly planning and then had a lesson and did some finding in the evening which didn't go to well but oh well what can we do.

Saturday was a good day we went and cleaned the church and visited some less actives and had a lesson with one of the people I met over 3 months ago and we brought the sisters that could communicate with him in Norwegian which was super cool and he actually really wants to come to church now which was cool to see.

Sunday was a great day we had church in our group in the center and I was able to give a talk it went well I talked about d&c 6:36 and how we can have Christ more in our lives. Then we had a meal at Hedy's and then met up with some members and did a whiteboard which was good.

Well that was my week hope you all have a good one.

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον  

ΖΕΣΤΗ!!

Γεια σας!!

Well this week was super amazing!!

Last Tuesday we had our last district council with Elder Roffler and in the morning we went to Mars Hill for his final testimony and then went around saying goodbye to people for the rest if the day.

Wednesday we got up early and ran up the biggest hill in Athens for the sunrise that was really cool and then we taught some Greeks classes and then did a whiteboard right before we dropped off Elder Roffler then we dropped off Elder Roffler and went and did another whiteboard in the evening.

Thursday was great we were doing our weekly planning before going out for a day of appointments and we get a call that is just like hey someone is here from Bulgaria and wants to see the missionaries now so we jumped up and went and met with this lady which was a good meeting she is has been investigating the church for a while and just isn't sure if she wants to leave her old religion behind but we had a good meeting. Then we went and had lunch and a spiritual though from Micheal Schafer and then had a meeting with Panos a returning member and after we went to see a friend by the beach and on the way back I got us on the wrong bus which took us to an abandoned airport and so we ended up having to run back to our next appointment in really hot weather but it was fun but really sweaty. Then the day just gets better in the evening we had a concert that a member was performing at in a club Ha ha it was interesting but there was nobody there but us I guess we must have just gone to early but oh well.

Friday we had a good day we went to the soup kitchen and cleaned some dishes. And we got a call from and person that has cut contact with the missionaries for about 3 years and out of nowhere he called and said that he needed a blessing and so we met up and the blessing was so amazing and he just said he needs God help in his life again so that was awesome.

Saturday we had a church tour and it went pretty well we had a good turn out me and Elder Ioannou were in charge of the missionary station and we just got to teach the restoration to people as they came through it was really fun I liked it a lot. 

Sunday we had church in the center again and I love it we had a new record of returning members in church and we hope that the number keeps growing! Then in the evening we had a good whiteboard and we will be meeting up with some people this week hopefully!

Then today was good we went bowling with all of the missionaries and some members it was good I am still no good at bowling but we had a good time!

Well that is it for my week it is just so awesome to see God's hand in every week cause it is always there! 

Με αγάπη 

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον 

ΔΕΛΦΟΙ

Γεια σας!

Hey guys! It was a great week this week so lets get to it!

So to be honest I can't remember exactly what happened on the days of Tuesday to Friday but a lot happened and things are just going really great we are having a lot of meetings with investigators and less-active members and a lot are coming back to church it is super awesome!

Saturday in the evening we went to this park to try out some new finding and it was awesome we were able to speak with so many families and it was super fun the whole time we just sat and talked with families!

Sunday was a great day I went to church for the first time in the new Group that we have started in Athens and we had a good turn out it was awesome. Then we had a meal at Hedy's and then an awesome lesson with Panagiotis who is a referral from last week and things are going awesome with him. 

Today we went out to Dephi and it was great we got to go and see a lot of old rocks and so that was cool I will attach some pictures below.

Αγάπη Μόνο!

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΠΡΕΣΒΥΤΕΡΟΣ ΚΟΥΚ

Γεια σας!!

Hey everyone well it was a really good week this week.

So last Tuesday we had transfers and so I am now in Aghios Dimitrios now and we had a good day.

Wednesday we had another good day visiting some less actives and then Thursday we had a whiteboard at Acropolis and then we went and had a dinner with Hedy which was nice.

Friday we had Zone Conference it was my last one and I got to bear my testimony for all the missionaries one last time. It was pretty cool.

Saturday we had a really good day. We had our interviews with president and then we also had a HUGE miracle it was awesome we prayed in the morning to find a family to teach and then within 30 minutes we got a call from an investigator with a referral of a friend and his wife who we went and taught in the evening!!!

Sunday we had another great Sabbath and had a visit from Elder and Sister Cook and we had a missionary meeting in the morning and then right after had a sacrament meeting it was amazing! Then we had a birthday lunch for one of the members at Hedy's house. We also had a lot of our friends attend which was also great.

Then today we had a great day we went rollerblading in the morning and then had TGI Fridays for lunch and then we went to the old Olympic track again and had a good p-day!

What an amazing week with so many amazing blessings!

Σας αγαπάω!

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον 

Some pics from today and from Hedy's.

ΣΑΛΑΜΙΝΑ

Γεια σας

Well it was a great week this week. 

So last Tuesday we had District Council and then just a good normal day.

Wednesday we had a couple of meetings and then in the evening we had a dinner appointment with the webbs it was nice.

Thursday we had our first lesson with a guy named Giannis he is an interesting guy that believes in the 12 Gods of ancient Greece and so we had our first lesson and it went really well when we bore testimony it was really cool.

Friday we had a good day and meetings again and then in the evening we got transfer calls and I will be going to Agios Dimitrios where I started to end my mission and I will be with Elders Roffler and Ioannou I am super stoked!

Saturday was a good day we in the evening met up with Kosta and went to a place called cap cap and it is a Harry Potter cafe and it was cool and i got a butterbeer Haha. Then me and Kosta went to another lesson with Gianni it was a good lesson about prayer and God's love.

Sunday was a great day we went to church and also our friend named Giannis came to church with us and had some good questions in Sunday school. After we went and saw the Thorntons so that Elder Balser could say goodbye and had a good time.

Today we went off to an island called Salamina and one if the members has a house there and we had a BBQ it was sweet.

Well that was my week and it was a good one.

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

Pics

Butterbeer

And one from today

Last district council with the district

We may have set off the fire alarm whoops.

Γεια σας!!

So this week was a good one so let's get to this.

Last Tuesday we had our district council and then we started an exchange me and Elder Zizzi went out to Piraeus with Elder Mueller and we had a good time we got to go and see Hami again she hasn't changed much since we left but it was good to see her again.

Wednesday we ended our exchange and then had a good solid day of finding and we also got to see Elder Fasa who came back to visit.

Thursday we had a good day we met up with a lot of friends which was good and were able to start teaching a young couple which was good we hope that they grow more interest. Then in the evening we went and visited Hedy which was nice.

Friday we had a good day of missionary work and tried out some door knocking for the first time and maybe there is a reason that nobody does it but we are going to try again at a different time to see if we can get it to work out better. Then in the evening we had a surprise birthday party for Sister Thornton and it was good we went and helped set up and then had a good time with all the members.

Saturday was great we went over to Hedy's again and we were able to learn how to make spring rolls it was sick. Then in the evening we had a youth activity it was great we were able to get all the youth out which was really cool we played a slot of speed and not gonna lie my basket skills are a bit rusty or maybe it was just the tie I don't know.

Sunday was another amazing sabbath we had a lot of church and then after we did a split with the youth and were able to have a couple of lessons which was sick and one of the ladies wants to be baptized which is so cool.

Today we had a good p-day we went up to Likavitos again and then went and got food with the zone it was a fun day.

Well you should all know that God loves you more than you can ever know and I hope you have a great week.

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

Pics from spring rolls and from today

ΗΜΕΡΑ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ!!

Γεια σας!!

So this week was great so let's get to it.

Last Tuesday we had a meeting with our friend Vasilis the one that wanted to be baptized and he told us that he had changed his mind and that he was Pentecostal and then demonstrated how he could pray in tongues and blessed Elder Zizzi and not gonna lie it was kinda scary.

Then Wednesday we had a youth activity and we did a mission prep and it was fun we split them into companionships and gave them  certain  budget and then had a cooking competition it was a lot of fun and the youth had a good time.

Thursday and Friday were good days of finding and we made a lot of good friends that we will be meeting with this week!

Saturday we had a good day some of the members took us to a food festival it was awesome they just had a bunch of street food in the same place so it was sick we got a lot of good food.

Sunday was a good sabbath we did splits with a service group and it was crazy just walking around Athens with a group of American college students looking for less actives it made me laugh. Also I got to talk with my mom.for mothers day and that was awesome she is the best can never thank her enough!!

That was my week it was good and filled with just fun little moments to many to write.

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

Pics: food festival, we visited a friend in the hospital and helped him do some δουλίτσες.

ΜΗΝ ΕΝΕΡΓΑ ΜΕΛΗ

Γεια σας!

Well it was for sure a good week

Last Tuesday we realized that we had made this huge members list on Google maps and told all the missionaries to go and visit the members in their areas and we had made some mistakes so we had to run to the church to get that all fixed so that people didn't go around looking for people that didn't exist haha whoops.

Wednesday we had a good day we ate a ton of food so we had lessons throughout the day and so we made a big lunch and just started to eat and one of the members texted us saying "don't eat we are going out" and so yeah we just decided not to waste the food and eat it and then we went out just a little while later and had some more food and I don't know if I have ever felt so full I thought I was going to explode. Then we also met up with Tasos and Spyros in the evening and organized to start up a group that we are going to be doing in the center of Athens so that was pretty cool.

Thursday we had a good day of some solid missionary work and we also got to meet up with a guy named George who is amazing he is such a faithful man and has a family it is super awesome and we hope that things will go forward with him.

Friday we had a great day we met up with some friends and then did some searching for the inactive members that we had on our lists. 

Saturday was good we had a youth activity in the evening which went really well we just had games and music and pizza and it was the first time since I have been back that the members just were loose it was really cool we hope that we can do more things like this to help out the members.

Sunday we had a great Sabbath we went to church in the morning and we show up at church and our friend from last week just randomly came we had tried to drop him but he came again and had his coffee in hand, then randomly in testimony meeting he just walks up to the front and says "Christ will take all the witnesses" and doesn't even go up to the pulpit just the front and then walks out to have a smoke haha.

So that was my week sorry didn't take any pics this week so here is a quick selfie while doing email. 

Just know things are great and things are hopefully going to start moving soon here in Athens!

Με αγάπη,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΚΑΛΟ ΠΑΣΧΑ

Γεια σας παιδιά!

Well we had a great week this week!

So last Tuesday we went to District Council and said goodbye to the Finlaysons and it was tough. Then after we had a meeting with some of the youth and then taught some two crazy Greek men who just wanted to tell us about the new chips and how they are the mark of the beast and it was really weird. 

Then on Wednesday we had a good day in the evening the Thorntons had us over to have a BBQ for Elder Balser's birthday it was good first steak that I had in a long time and it was really good.

Thursday and Friday have just kinda blurred together and so yeah I don't really remember what happened.

Saturday we had as youth activity and played some volleyball it was really good we got the youth out and had a good time and then we went and got some Mexican food after. 

Saturday/Sunday we went to the Αγιο Φως (Holy Light) it is what the orthodox do to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and so we went at 11 to the service and they basically sit and scream in ancient greek and then the priest comes out with the holy light and everyone lights their candles and then goes crazy they set of fireworks and bombs in the square next to our house. But it was really fun.

Sunday was a great day we had 2 friends come to church but one came and started to make his own coffee in the kitchen then goes and sits in the foyer and lights up a cigarette😬 he didn't like it when we told him about the word of wisdom. Then after we got a random call from a former investigator and he reads the Book of Mormon everyday! And wants to be baptized so that is awesome we hope that all goes well with him his name is Vasilis. 

Then today was a good day with all the easter celebrations none of the stores were closed so we played some soccer in the park with the other missionaries and cleaned up our apartment it was a good day and super nice to have a clean apartment. 

I just want to tell you all how great a mission is things are going so different in Greece from the time that I started and it is so amazing to see the Lord's work progress so much in such a short period of time just want to make sure that it keeps rolling.

Σας αγαπάω,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΠΙΣΩ ΣΤΗ ΑΘΗΝΑ!!

Γεια σας παιδιά!

Well this week was great and things went well and I am now safely back in Athens!

So Monday and Tuesday were good days just traveling to Athens and saying some goodbyes to the last people in Cyprus. Then Tuesday night we went out with Hedy for Gyros it was good I really missed Hedy and it was good to see her. Here is me with Dipak Monday night.

Wednesday we had Zone Conference and so that was awesome! 

Thursday was a good day we had interviews at the church and then we headed out to Piraeus and did a whiteboard with the missionaries there and it was there that we met a man named Kostas and he talked to me for a long time and he told me that he needed to call him papou (grandpa) so that was cool.

Friday we went to the friendship center and taught some languages and then we went to the church again to help out with the Greek branch clean up that we are going to be doing cause there are to many people who are on the list because they don't actually exist in Greece anymore so we will see. Then in the evening we went and did another whiteboard and had some good conversations so that was good.

Saturday we in the morning went to an Evangelical prayer at Mars Hill and talked to some people there and found some potential investigators and then after we went and played soccer with some members and friends but may have gotten lost along the way but we eventually made it so that was good we were about to give up but the field was just around the next corner so it was kinda funny. Then that night we had 2 lessons at the same time it was really crazy and really good.

Sunday was a fun entertaining Sunday. The Kosta Papous wanted to come to church and so we go to take him and he could only walk about 5 feet before he had to take a break and so we made it to the metro finally and then after I thought that he was going to die on the way to church so we had a member come and pick him up but we finally made it. Then we had a good church taught Sunday school just out of the blue which was fun for our first Sunday back. Then we had a potluck lunch for the Finlaysons who are going to be leaving this week which is sad.

Then today was a great p-day my comps surprised me and gave me a treat and let me run 10 miles today it was great! Then we went around the center of Athens and man it is good to be back and just walk around it is getting crowded though with tourists but still good to be back.

So yeah that was my week I hope you all have a great week and had a great Easter Sunday!

Αγάπη μόνο,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον