ΚΑΛΑ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΥΓΕΝΝΑ #2

Καλά Χριστούγεννα σε όλους!!

Hey everyone! Well to start off I just hope that everyone has a great Christmas this year!

This week was a great one on Tuesday we had a great day planned we had two lessons planned for the evening and so the first was from a girl who called us from a pass along card and so we were pretty excited and so we go to meet up with her and we just start talking but she just wouldn't talk and as you know I am not the biggest talker and it was just super awkward but then it all went good when we started to talk about the Book of Mormon which was good and she said that she would read and we scheduled to meet again to teach her more and then our other friend showed up for our lesson with him and she just sat there and we had no idea what to do so we just started our lesson with our other friend and luckily the Sisters for some reason just showed up in the same spot and saved us from that awkwardness and they are going to be teaching her now which is great but it was just a funny night that made us laugh. 

Wednesday was just a great day we went out in the morning and I was able to teach Greek class to some refugees and a member came to help me out which was really cool we had a good lesson, then we had another lesson with Najeemb and just we saw how prepared he is from the Lord and it just is so cool to see his hand in the lives of others! Then that night we had an activity with the members! We went to Syntagma square and sang Christmas songs with the members and talked with people it was a good night and a great way to end the day!

Thursday we had a great day we went around with some cookies to visit our less active members and it was good we actually went and knocked on ones door and he answered and let us in! It was amazing we were so excited and we sat down started talking and then from the other room this guy just comes in and started yelling at us and the member and just told him he can't get involved with us again and then kicked us out so yeah that was fun. Then we had a lesson with Najeemb and then with a young guy named Nikos who is interested in learning about the church and especially why we believe we had a really good spiritual lesson with him that was just amazing!

Friday was another good day of work for the week and I don't remember what happened exactly.

Saturday was a miracle day! So we organized to meet up with a guy named Mike with his wife and daughter and so we go  and they had already read part of the Book of Mormon that we gave them and just loved it and they want to learn more and just to learn more so that they can draw closer to their Savior it was just so amazing! Then that night we had the branch Christmas party which went well.

Sunday was a great Sabbath and we had a good program at church and then after we went and did some caroling and it was just a good day.

Today my comp gave me my Christmas present and traveled with me to the track so that I could run it was great!

Well I hope that you all have a great Christmas and never forget the reason behind the season!

ΣΑΣ ΑΓΑΠΑΩ ΠΟΛΥ

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΑΚΡΟΠΟΛΗ

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΑΣ!!!

So on Tuesday we had a good day we got some practice in for our Christmas Musical evening on Saturday and then we had a good evening of finding! 

Wednesday we went and taught some English and then in the evening we went and did a whiteboard and we decided to try a new place me and my comp and so we went and it didn't go to well until the very end and I got to talk to this lady and it just came to my mind to say hey I want to tell you I believe that families can be forever and you can know that too and she was just like "oh really I would love to here about that I have no time but here's my number" it was so cool. Oh yeah this day I also got to try some sushi for the 1st time it was pretty good.

Thursday was an adventure so we went out in the morning to do some service and we started moving these metal bars and we were moving them, we were doing a chain and handing them down and all the sudden I saw some blood on one of them and I look at the guy in front and he isn't bleeding then I think oh I don't know what is going on then my comp called me over and he got cut pretty bad and our friends there helped us clean it up then we went to the hospital and he got some stitches so it was a pretty fun day and in the evening we taught English and got the presentation ready for our Christmas Music Evening.

Friday we had a great day we had the friendship center and taught some English and then we did some caroling at night.

Saturday was a good day we did service at the beach in the morning with the youth to light the world. Then we had that night the Christmas Musical Evening and it went so well we had about 10 members there and 40 non-members it was so cool and most left with Books of Mormon and a lot came to church the next day it was cool.

Sunday was a great Sabbath! We had a meal with the Senior Couples, in Athens we have a senior Sisters couple and one is from Albania and has a daughter that lives in Greece pretty close to us and she came to church to help her mom give a talk in Greek and then we were able to go with them to dinner and we are going to be able to meet up with them it is super cool!

Then today we went to the Acropolis it was a blast!!

ΣΑΣ ΑΓΑΠΑΩ ΠΟΛΥ!

ΜΕΓΑΛΑ ΘΑΥΜΑΤΑ!!

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΑΣ!!!!

Well I hope that you all had great weeks and are having a great time Lighting the World! My week was awesome and we had some pretty amazing miracles.

Last p-day was fun we met up with the missionaries at the church and we had a fun day playing Volley and some b-ball with pizza of course. Then in the evening we went out with Hedy for Elder Fasa's last day and went and found this crazy place that was all decked out for Christmas. here's a pic sorry it is a bit blurry.

Tuesday was a good day so we left early so that Elder Fasa could get to the airport on time and then I was able to spend the day with the APs and it was a great day then I got my new companion that night it is Elder Roffler he is from Switzerland and he is a great guy we are going to have a great transfer!

Wednesday was a great day we planned our Zone Training for the next day and then we also had a lesson with Najeemb, so we had the restoration lesson on Tuesday which was one of the best lessons ever and then we met up and he told us the story of how some lady had tried to tell him that he should stay away from Joseph Smith and his fallacies and he told us how that is when he decided that he knew it was all true and that he wanted to follow his heart! It was so awesome he will be baptized on the 22nd of December if all goes to plan. 

Thursday we had Zone Training which went well and we were able to have some good training.

Friday we went to the soup kitchen and then we met up with Micheal our Less-Active friend and had a very good discussion about how God loves and supports each and every one of us. Then we had a meal with the Finlaysons and some Elder Schafer who had come back to visit.

Saturday we had another huge miracle. So about two months ago or more I met this girl at the center and we talked a lot and she really wanted to learn more and so she gave us her number and when we tried to call her the number didn't work. But she thought a lot about what we had talked about and then on her own she sought out the church online by herself! It was awesome and we received her information and met up and it was awesome her name is Georgia and she told us that she wants to make a change in her life for the better and just sees something good in us and wants the same for her life!

Sunday was a great day we had a good Sabbath Najeemb came and told us that he found a job! and that he has never been happier in his life than he has been the past two weeks it is amazing to see the gospel changing lives!!

Today was a great day we finally got a deep clean of the apartment and it just feels better and then got some haircuts it was a good relaxing day! 

This week something that has been on my mind a lot is the scripture from 2 Nephi 2:25 which says "men are that they might have joy" and that is how it is for us every day we are meant to have joy and just thought about how life is tough it really is and it has its ups and downs but we always need to have joy even through our hard moments because that is God's plan for us and that is why he sent us His Son Jesus Christ. I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Αγάπη μόνο,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον  

ΦΩΤΊΣΤΕ ΤΟΝ ΚΌΣΜΟ!!

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΑΣ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ!!

Well it crazy it is December already!

So last Tuesday we started an exchange and I got to go back with Elder Nelson! It was way fun and we were able to do some good finding that night and then in the evening we ordered Pizza and coke cause I made him a deal if I ever weighed 150 again on my mission I would drink a coke with him and well the day finally came haha.

(sorry its a bit blurry)

Wednesday all of the metros were on strike and most of the buses so we had a fun day walking around Athens and we got to teach a couple of guys in a park on the way which was cool. 

Thursday we had a good solid day of work and we also got to teach a couple of lessons, one with Maesum who is from Syria and has lost everything and it is so cool to see him change as we talk about the gospel, and then we met with Fransis who is from the Philippines and is a very cool guy just looking for the truth which is really cool .

Friday we went to the soup kitchen and then afterwords we went to the Hospital so that Elder Fasa could get an MRI for his back and that was basically our day. Then that night we got transfer calls, Elder Fasa is going to be leaving and going to Cyprus and then Elder Roffler from my MTC group is going to come and be my comp it is going to be a party!

Saturday we did our Light the World day of service and it was so fun and so awesome to see everyone just light up as we would talk and have fun. Then I was also able to meet a man named Najeemb he is from Afghanistan and he speaks perfect English and we talked and he just hung out for a long time cause he said that he just felt good and at peace around us and it was so good and he said that he would come to church!

Then Sunday was a great day Najeemb and Maesum came to church! It was so good we had a lesson the first hour with them about God and how he is our loving Heavenly Father and how prayer is how we communicate with him and it is was so awesome and the Spirit was so strong! Then we kicked off Light the World with the members!

It was such a great week and I would say especially with the Christmas coming up just to think about the reason behind the season which is Jesus Christ! He is the reason and that is why we should try as best we can to give as he gave and to Light the World! I love you all and hope that you have great weeks!

Αγάπη μόνο!

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

Ο ΝΑΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΣΕΙΔΩΝA!!!!

ΓΕΙΑ ΣΑΣ!!!

So it was a great week and so lets get to it.

So last Monday and Tuesday we just went crazy and handed out flyers for the Jenny Oaks Baker concert that we had on Tuesday night. Tuesday we had to go and print more flyers and we went to this 3-D print shop cause it was the only thing we could find and he let us use his printer and then turns out that he was an official Dude there is apparently a religion called Dudeism and he was a dudeist priest. Then that night during the concert I was out on usher duty for the last half and I was able to talk with the security guard about what we believe and gave him a Book of Mormon and he said that he would read it in a month and we told him we would be back to follow up it was really cool!

Wednesday, I kinda forgot what happened this day to be honest whoops.

Thursday, we had a great day we were able to meet a contact from the friendship center named Maesum he is a really good kid and started asking us about Jesus it was really cool and the gospel can help him so much, he comes from Iran and has lost his whole family and it is sad but it is so good just to know that the message that we have can change his life forever so we hope things continue to go well as we meet with him. And then to end it all off we had an amazing Thanksgiving dinner from at the office couples house it was really cool, and just made me think of how grateful I am to be so blessed in my life with so many things and most of all for my family and the opportunity that I have to serve the lord!

On Friday we had an exchange and I was with Elder Ala-Jaaski it was a good day we went to the soup kitchen and cleaned dishes all day and then at night we went and did a whiteboard and all the sudden the whether decided to take a turn to the cold side and I turned into a Popsicle and one guy even tried to sell me his coat it was pretty funny.

Saturday, in the morning we had a youth activity which went really well and then we had a whiteboard in the evening which was pretty good until this guy came and just started dancing right next to us then we had to move but it was a fun night. 

Sunday, we went to branch council before the meetings and got to discuss missionary work in Athens and then we had a great day at church and had a great lesson with the youth about Helaman 5:12 and building our foundation upon Jesus Christ cause he will never fail us. Then we had a baptism and Nikolas was baptized! It was very cool because me and Elder Balser found him together and it was cool to see him be baptized. Then we had dinner at the Hom's then a music whiteboard in the evening and just had a great way to cap off the week!

Then today we went on a "zone" activity (Thess was missing) but we went to the Temple of Poseidon it was really cool and pretty windy but it was cool and we got to see a lot of cool beach which was cool.

Well I love you all and hope that you have just fantastic weeks!

Αγάπη μόνο,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

ΑΛΒΑΝΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΠΑΛΙ!!!

ΓΕΙΑ ΠΑΙΔΙΑ

Well what a week it has been!

So last Monday we went out to do a whiteboard and things didn't go to well I got yelled at by some crazy guy for a bit and then some guy tried to tell me to come with him to the Telestial Kingdom cause living a life of sin is just so great but I was able to share some good testimonies and just realize how thankful I am to God for the testimony that he has given me that nobody can take away!

Tuesday! we flew to Albania for the MLC and our flight got delayed and two cars went up in flames on the freeway so we got a bit delayed but it all ended well with some really good crepes so we were all good and I made friends with a lady on the airplane and she said that she was going to go and read the whole thing!

Wednesday, we had our MLC with President Johnson of the Europe area presidency, it was awesome and an amazing experience to be there we were also able to have an amazing Thanksgiving dinner for lunch which was really awesome. 

Thursday we had a great day we went and did service for a day in Albania at an LDS charities wheelchair place and we took the bus and the bus driver told us to get off at the wrong stop and so we got stranded in the middle of nowhere in Albania but luckily one of the guys had the places number and they gave them a call and they show up with 1 jeep and there are 8 of us and they just say "get in" and we piled in and left it was pretty fun.

Friday we had our Zone Conference with President Johnson and it was amazing! I love especially when he told us that to be like Jesus Christ it is pretty simple we just have to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and then we can be like him sounds simple but is so tough but it is a good goal just to always live the gospel!

Elder Halverson and Elder Nelson

Saturday I was HOME!! I got to go back to Thess it was awesome the best part was I was able to go and see Dimitri and Brother Matrapazis! They are doing awesome and it was so good to be able to go and do an exchange with the DLs up there and see the city and how things are going.

Elder Halverson and Dimitri

Elder Halverson and Brother Matrapazis

Sunday was a great Sabbath and to top it all off we were blessed with a spiritual fireside from Jenny Oaks Baker in the evening and she played with her family if you don't know who she is look her up on youtube she is a very good violinist.

Well that is my week I love you all and hope that you do amazing things this week!

αγάπη μόνο,

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

πω πω τι εβδομάδα ήταν αυτή;

ΓΕΙΑ!!!

Well it for sure was a crazy week yet again but for sure a good one!

Tuesday we went out and met up with two new friends which was pretty awesome and so we go and we are meeting with Giannis and we are trying to do the how to begin teaching and so we ask him a little bit about what he believes and that turned into something really interesting and then at some point he was crouched down in front of us as we sat on a bench and just started telling us how he talked with animals and gave us an example of how he would talk with a cat it was for sure interesting but we know the gospel can change people so we hope things go well! Then after we had some good music finding down in the Center.

Wednesday, well we taught English class in the morning and then in the afternoon we taught some lessons and they went well! We were able to teach Stavros who is an older Greek man and he really likes our message the only problem is that he just takes them all and is like yeah that is what is right and then we are like ok will you do it, and he is just like well I don't know I don't have much time it is kinda funny but he said he is going to read this week which is awesome!

Thursday it rained a little bit but than that night we were able to go out and have some good finding after teaching English Class in the evening.

Friday we went to the soup kitchen and then we went and met up with another friend named Giannis he is a really good kid and we have now got a good relationship going.

Saturday we had interviews with President and then we went out and played soccer with Giannis and some other missionaries and their friends and it went really well and at the end we were able to answer a lot of questions that Giannis had about the church and it was a really cool experience. 

Sunday was a great day so Veli and his family came to church and that was awesome and they were able to witness a confirmation which was just awesome! Also we show up at church and there was a huge group from BYU Jerusalem and I was able to see a friend from home that was cool but also pretty weird and everyone just knew people that I knew not going to lie it was pretty weird being in Greece and having been away from that for so long but it was also kinda cool to see what a small world. Then that night I had a great experience doing some finding I was talking to someone about the restoration and it was super cool and the spirit was there as we talked about the 1st vision and after he was like "wow that is really cool, do you do the cross?" and I said no and then he didn't say another word and just walked away so that was pretty weird.

Today was just a chill day we went to the church and played some ping pong, but sorry no pictures this week sorry.

Αγάπη μόνο!

Πρεσβύτερος Χάλβερσον

Picture Alicia got from her friend with BYU Jerusalum

Elder Halverson sent me this today it is from a couple of weeks ago.  They look happy!