Week 8 - September 26, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

So this has been an interesting week! Haha! But it's also been a week full of many miracles! I've also learned a lot about the power of prayer throughout the week. I was kind of struggling teaching this week for some reason. I started to beat myself up a little bit on Friday because I was seriously just struggling so bad with teaching! So I knelt down and just prayed for strength to keep moving forward and I kid you not...I've never felt so much peace in my entire life! Guys! The power of prayer is real! So if you're ever feeling down, KNEEL! Kneel down and pray to your Father in Heaven! He loves all of you so much and knows the desires of your heart! Anyway, that's just one cool thing that happened to me this week.

So not much is new with Donna other than the fact that SHE IS SO INCREDIBLY READY FOR BAPTISM! She says that they have almost raised the full $60 for their marriage license. Please please please keep praying for them! They need all the blessings they can get!

Update on Gus and his family. So Crystal, his wife, found out 2 days ago that she is for sure pregnant! Haha! It's really exciting! Gus finally got an interview with the bishop about the temple and they set up an appointment for Gus's son, Junior, to get interviewed for HIS baptism! Ah! So exciting!. And fun fact! Crystal threw away her cigarettes for good!! Wahoo!! I absolutely love this family lol.

So last week I told you that we picked up some new investigators, Brady and Dylan. Brady and Dylan, his friend, are in they're twenty's. They both were super interested in talking to us. Brady was really interested in learning more about the 3 kingdoms. We also taught both of them The Plan of Salvation. Brady's mom is a member so he knows a little bit about the Plan of Salvation but Dylan hadn't ever heard of it before. They both said that it made total sense to them and the Spirit was so strong. So...we asked them to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know whether or not what we had taught them was true. I was also able to share with Brady my re-conversion story in the next lesson we had with him. And guess what?? He said the same thing happened to him when he prayed to know whether or not it was true! He said he hadn't really ever thought about how "God wont give you an answer, you already know." He's now a progressing investigator! Along with his friend Dylan! YES! They're super awesome!

We were also able to teach our new investigator, Lori Mercer and her family! We taught them about The Restoration of The Gospel of Jesus Christ and they said that it made total sense to them! It was super funny because literally their minds were BLOWN when we told them that the Book of Mormon and the Bible go hand in hand. Haha!! But it was super cool because they said they would read the Book of Mormon as a family! Heck yeah! Haha! Anyway, I'll update more about them next week after we see how they're doing!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

Let someone know that you love them. Just as simple as that. On Wednesday, we contacted a former investigator named Izail. She was super skeptical about us talking to her at first and asked us a lot of questions. But while she was in the middle of trying to attack us with questions that contradicted what we believed, I felt impressed to let her know that we are there for her and that we love her. So I did and afterwards she was totally calm and more willing to listen to what we had to say! Just goes to show you that people truly NEED to know that they are loved! So simply just let someone know that you love them. It will mean the WORLD to that individual! I promise! Let someone know you love them so that they may, not only feel of your love, but of God's love as well.

FUNNY MOMENT:

Okay so from my subject title of this email you probably think I'm talking about a REAL forest and golf course. False. I am not. I'm talking about my leg hair. Now hear me out. So I went on exchanges with an elder in my district, Elder Holbrook. He wanted to do the "Nair challenge". It's a challenge where you put Nair on some part of your leg and the hair on that specific part of the leg will just fall off. So I put it on my right leg. And Seriously! It's so smooth! But I kinda hate it at the same time because I awkwardly only did one leg. Soooo yeah, I'll send a pic of it later on. Anyway, that's what I meant when I said "From dense forest to straight golf course." Okay

I love all of you so much! Thank you for all of the love and support you've given me! I am truly blessed to have such amazing examples in my life! The Church of Jesus Christ is true! I know it! Have a great week guys :)

Moroni 10: 32
Alma 7: 23-24

- Elder Hanson

Companion Study Time

Noah loves Dibs!

Looking for new people to teach in all kinds of places!

Week 7 - September 19, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Sounds like the family is doing well! That's awesome that you guys went to the Temple! I miss it so much! And that's fun to hear about the Aggie game:) sounds like a lot of fun! Ah! I miss that kind of stuff! Tell all the SBO's hi when you see them at Corinne's farewell! It's good to hear that you're doing my challenges because I KNOW that they will bless you life! So thanks for that:) Love you Mom and Dad so much! Thanks for everything that you've done for me and the family! Truly blessed :) 

Okay wow! So this week was full of amazing events as usual! Like for instance, we got 5 new investigators this week!! Freaking insane! Anyway, now imma update you on certain events!

Okay, so we're driving with our Bishop to go see some less actives and everything right? And we are literally in the middle of nowhere and look to our right and see this GINORMOUS sign in the middle of a field that says "TRUMP FOR PRES." and then right next to it was another huge sign that said "You build that wall!" HAHA! I had kind of forgotten that there was an election going on before I left. How is that? What's going on with that? Actually in all honesty, I don't really care because MISSION.

Anyway, update on Donna! She's SOOOO close to raising that money for her marriage license! She told us that they could have the marriage license in their hands by the end of this month! And she also said that they are planning to get married in the middle of October!! WAHOO! They're almost there! Please please please keep praying for her and Billy! Satan is doing everything in his power to stop them from getting married and her getting baptized! She wants it so bad!

Update on Gus and his family! Gus is doing amazing. He is till going to church and is going to have a calling in the church soon! So that's exciting! His wife has stopped smoking for 23 days now! Wahoo!! She lost her job though. So my companion and I had an impression to tell her that she probably got fired for a reason that will benefit her in the future. And then guess what?? Gus told us, 3 days later, that she might be pregnant! Like whaaaaat? So that's another amazing thing for them to look forward to BESIDES the Temple! Haha :) but keep praying for them! Pray that they will stay strong in Jesus Christ gospel and never give up!

So we have 5 new investigators! I'll just briefly tell you who they are. So first, we have Peggy. She's the wife of a less active we've been trying to see for the past 3 weeks! She seemed pretty interested in the gospel because her husband never talked about it. Then we have Dylan. He's a really good friend of one of our investigators, Brady Thacker, who we've been trying to teach for a long time now but just barely got in contact with him! Last but not least, WE GOT AN ENTIRE FAMILY! The Mercer family. Their names are Lori (wife), Butch (husband), and Adam (son)! They are all hardcore baptists. But they're super friendly and wanted to know what we believe, so we invited them to read the Book of Mormon and they did!  I'll update you on that next week :)

CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK:

SERVE SOMEONE ANONYMOUSLY! This week we had many of opportunities to teach people about service and missionary work and how it can not only make others happy but ourselves as well! And also how it makes us feel even better when we do it anonymously! So serve someone in any way that you can without them even knowing that you did so. The only person that will know that you did something good to someone anonymously is you and your loving Heavenly Father. And He will bless you tremendously for it! I promise!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So in case you didn't read my subject title for this email, here's what happened this week. WE SAW A FREAKING BABY STROLLER WITH A BABY IN IT ROLL DOWN A HILL. Okay, now before you think I'm a horrible person for thinking that that's funny, I'll tell you the ending first. The baby is fine! No worries! The hill wasn't that big but we didn't know that until we got close to the hill! Anyway, so my companion and I were walking to an appointment and we saw this kid pushing a stroller around with her baby sister in it. The big sister was pushing the stroller right along the top of this hill and she was carrying a blanket while pushing the stroller. She dropped the blanket and for some reason thought that she needed to pick the blanket up before she needed to stop her baby sister's stroller from rolling down the hill! So the stroller rolls down the hill and the big sister chases after it screaming. My companion and I just stood there for a second in shock of what we had just seen. Then we started running to help but the sister stopped the stroller in time and then we started laughing really hard once we realized the baby was fine! Haha!

Anyway, love you guys! Thank you for all of your amazing love and support! I truly am blessed with the most amazing family and friends! 

D&C 31: 9, 12-13
Ether 12: 27

- Elder Hanson

Week 6 - September 12, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

It's been pretty crazy this past week! Holy cow! I mean it's crazy every week but it's awesome! Ohio is pretty foggy I've come to realize  haha because every morning when we wake up to go jog (which kind of stinks when you're super tired btw) it's always foggy! This morning wasn't as bad but it can get pretty dense! But I love it! Haha! Also fun fact, I swallowed a spider. If you want to know more, hit me up with an email and I'll tell you. Okay so I'll just start from the beginning!

So we're walking around this neighborhood that hadn't been tracted in a while and we ran into this guy. He asked us if we were the mormons in kind of a sassy tone lol. So we were like "Yeah! How can we help you?" He was like, "Oh no need to help me. Let's turn to Jacob 4:4". So we turned to Jacob 4:4 cautiously because we literally didn't know where this guy was going haha. He then went on to read it and said, "I wrote that". We were like, "What?" He was like, "Look I'm a mormon just like y'all and I have a father, his name is Isaac. I was baptized by him and I am now in this book." We were still like, "What?". His friend then pulled him aside and asked him if he had the money for "the stuff". Then he walked away and we were literally still standing there like "What?'". 

So some cool things that happened this week:

Update on Donna. She's raised up $30 already for her marriage license!! Wahoo!! Her future husband Billy is still working on raising the money but it's so crazy that they're already halfway there!! Thank you for all of your prayers for them and their marriage! Please continue to pray for them always! They still are struggling with health, money, and family problems. We don't want anything to hold her back from being baptized! So I would greatly appreciate it if you guys could do some praying and fasting for her! And I know she would appreciate it as well!

I also had ANOTHER amazing spiritual prompting experience on Friday. So we were walking by this park in downtown Gallipolis and I saw this guy sitting on a park bench staring at his phone. He looked really angry and so I was like "Nope. Nope. Nope." Like seriously, he looked frightening. But the Holy Ghost prompted me to go talk to him. And again in my head I was like, "No I'll get beat up." But the feeling got stronger and stronger as I got farther and farther away from him. Finally I said to my companion "Hey let's go talk to that guy over there." So we walked over towards the guy and told him who we were and about our message of Jesus Christ. And guess what I learned? He's actually one of the nicest guys I've ever talked to! I learned not to judge someone by the way they look. He willingly took a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet and we gave him our number to call us. He said he would call us! I mean he hasn't quite yet but let's hope he does! And then again, I felt really good afterwards because I followed that prompting! That's why I always say to follow ANY prompting that you receive because you'll ALWAYS feel good afterwards! Anyway, that was something cool that happened to me :)

We also had an incredible lesson with Gus White and his family yesterday!! We talked about the Plan of Salvation and how families are an essential part of that plan. They seemed to really understand the lesson well. It was cool because they talked almost the whole time! They clearly understood the importance of families and how they provide that protection from the world in many ways! And they committed to reading scriptures as a family every night! Fun fact, Crystal (the wife) has stopped smoking for 15 days! Wahoo!!! I love that family! They're progressing so well!

Also I got an opportunity to teach Sarah Watson. She's a less active who doesn't get a along with her mom AT ALL. They seriously fight all the time, even when we're there. It's kinda awkward as you can imagine. But I had a feeling that we need to share with her the video "Come Unto Christ: Mutual Theme". It talks about Christ-like attributes. One of those attributes is forgiveness. The lesson made her cry. She said that she would do her very best to be kinder and more loving to her mom which is exactly what we wanted her to get out of the lesson! Yes! It was seriously such an incredible lesson because the Spirit was so strong! 

CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK:

Share your favorite scripture with someone and share why it's important to you! I shared one of my favorite scriptures to Gus White yesterday and it was 2 Nephi 31: 20. I bore testimony of it and how we need to press forward with faith and feast upon the words of Christ with our families! This scripture not only helped him realize the importance of families but it helped me strengthen my testimony on families as well! So I strongly encourage all of you to do that at least once this week! I promise you won't regret it!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So I'll just tell you about the whole swallowing the spider incident.    I was drinking some Kool-Aid and I set it down on our counter for literally like 5 seconds. I went to get another drink of it and I thought I saw a dark circle in the Kool-Aid but it was bad lighting so I didn't think much of it.  I drank the  Kool-Aid and felt that dark circle go down my throat. And I felt its legs stand up on my tongue right before it went down my throat. So for those of you who are wondering if I've eaten anything crazy since I've been here...there you go.

Anyway, I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Thank you guys for all the support :) stay strong in the gospel! God loves all of you and so do I :)

- Elder Hanson

Bittersweet in Gallipolis

We thought it was funny

Lookin' down the road that's Bittersweet

First Cinnamon roll attempt 

Great sunsets in Gallipolis

Week 5 - September 6, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Alrighty, so imma start off by saying I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T WRITE YOU GUYS YESTERDAY. It was Labor Day and all and so the library wasn't open. Frick. Anyway, hopefully mom wasn't too worried about it because I remember the first time Colin didn't write home. Loooolz. Okay, so this week was a great week! I have learned so much already and I'm already getting used to the culture here. Trust me. It's waaayyyyy different from Utah. Lol. I feel like I went foreign anyways. But I truly love it here :) I'm starting to get to know the people and I already love the people here. I think I might have said that last week but just in case, I LOVE THE PEOPLE HERE! Okay so here's how the week went.

***Hey so my watch broke. Like the leather on it broke and so then the metal thing that hooks the watch to my wrist is broken too...Like destroyed. Aaaaand I don't know where to go to get that fixed. So if you want to, could you send me another one? If at all possible haha. Also, I love you guys! So much!***

So this week was actually kind of slow with teaching because my companion, Elder Hallewell, got really really sick. Now I know what you're thinking mom, 'Oh no! Did YOU get sick!?' Have no fear, I did not get sick! Lol. Which is actually super surprising because I have the worst immune system in the world. Like legit it's the WORST! Anyway, we stayed inside for two days because he literally could not get out of bed. But then we went to Walmart and got vitamins for him and he's all good now.

So remember how I said that we were trying to get Donna married so that she could be baptized? Well, she's starting to save up money for a marriage license! AND we set her on date for baptism!! October 29th! Wahoo!! We're still teaching her lessons about God's commandments and what she needs to do in order to prepare for October 29th. Please pray for her that she'll find a way to raise money for her marriage license. She needs all the help she can get!

Also, we are preparing Gus and his wife, Crystal is her name (I couldn't remember what her name was last week because I was still a pretty GREEN Elder)  for the temple to do baptisms for the dead! Their son, Junior, is preparing for baptism and guess what!? Gus, who just recently got baptized and received the priesthood, is gonna baptize him! AH! I'm literally so hyped. And his wife has stopped smoking for 9 days now! Wahoo! This is exactly why I came out here! To see the progress in people when they've been taught by the Spirit! And they're also preparing to be sealed as a family in one year from now! Guys, this gospel is so true!

CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK: (I'm going to start doing these now too haha)

Go and testify to someone anything about the gospel! Because I learned in church on Sunday that in order to grow our own testimonies, we need to share them! Because there is someone out there that needs to hear YOUR testimony. So if you every get the opportunity to share your testimony, DO IT! Because the Lord has softened someone's heart for you.

FUNNY MOMENT:

So when we were getting vitamins for Elder Hallewell, we ran into this guy named Trevor. He was about my age and he thought he was too cool for anything haha. He told us that he struggled with the law of chastity. He didn't say "Law of Chastity" obviously but he used different words that I don't wanna say because missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. ANYWAY, my companion extended the funniest invitation I've ever heard to him. He said "Okay listen. We challenge you to not do that kind of stuff for a week because that's nasty. Give us your number and we'll text you in a week." HAHA! And then the guy gave us his number and we're gonna text him tomorrow! Lolz.

Anyway, love all of you so much! Thank you all for your amazing examples and for getting me to this point :) stay strong in the gospel and you'll never fail! 

John 4: 19-21

- Elder Hanson

Week 4 - August 29, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Okay, so let me just start off by saying how much I love it here!! It's beautiful! They weren't kidding when they said that my mission is like 80% trees! It's seriously so green haha! I can see why it's going to be so pretty in the fall! My mission president calls it "Fruit Loop" season because everything literally looks like fruit loops with all the different colors and all! I'm so pumped for fall! Haha! Anyway, WOW a lot has happened these past couple days. Sooooo I'll start from the beginning.

So the first two nights we stayed at the Assistants to the Presidents home. We toured Charleston on Wednesday and I think they will send you a picture of me with them in front of the capitol. I'm pretty sure. Don't quote me on that. Then on Thursday we went to the church and met our trainers! My new companion/trainer's name is Elder Hallewell. He's from Hurricane, Utah! HE'S SO SICK! He's obedient, nice, funny, really really spiritual, and he loves Harry Potter AND The Office! So WIN-WIN! We quote the office quite a bit. Too much probably but it's fine. Then we drove to my new area Gallipolis, OHIO! Was not expecting to go to Ohio already but it's awesome here! And then we get to the apartment and he says, "Alright let's drop your suitcases in the room and then we'll go contact some referrals!" I was like "whoa." We literally just jumped right into it, which is good! I kinda wanted to do that actually but still, I was like "whoa." 

Okay, so now I'll let you know a little bit about the area! So the Gallipolis Ward is awesome! They are all so nice! It was funny, yesterday we get to the church and we walk into the ward council meeting and I whisper to my companion "Are they going to have me talk in front of everyone during sacrament meeting about myself? Cuz I'll have no idea what to say." He says, "Maybe, but I highly doubt they'll have you do it the first week." Then we sit down and the bishop was like "Alright, so thank you missionaries for coming. And welcome Elder Hanson! Elder Hanson would you mind saying a little something about yourself during sacrament meeting today?" I said "Yeah sure!" but in my mind I was like "whoa. ok." But it all worked out haha! I wasn't totally awkward when I talked in front of the ward for the most part. ANYWAY, I also LOVE THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA! Did I say that already? It was a little bit of a culture shock because most of the people here don't have a whole lot. Most live in little shacks. It was extremely humbling to see how even though people don't have a whole lot, they're still so loving and giving! Count your many blessings!!

Okay, so now I'll talk about our investigators and less actives that we talked to this week! First, Donna. She was already a progressing investigator before I got here and she's seriously the sweetest lady you'll ever meet! (Other than you mom of course). Anyway, she is SO CLOSE to baptism and all she has to do is get married. But her and her husband, Billy, don't have the money for a marriage license. So please keep them in your prayers that they'll find a way to pay for it! Because she has so much faith in God and she's just so close. Thank you! OH AND SHE GAVE ME A QUILT! We went by yesterday and she said "This is for the new Elder". It was seriously the nicest thing ever! First thing I said was "No way! You're actually kidding!" Which probably didn't translate well to her at first but she just went along with it haha!

We also have a very recent convert named Gus! He just got baptized two weeks ago and he received the priesthood yesterday! And I was able to be in the circle for that! It was super cool! Now we're just trying to get his wife, who is a less active, to stop smoking. She's been clean the past 3 days so hopefully she keeps it up! Also keep them in your prayers! 

So something pretty cool happened to me. At least I think it's cool. We were walking out of this guy named John Chick's house and we saw a guy sitting on his porch across the street. I had a pretty big prompting to go and talk to him but we kept walking because we were running late. But the prompting kept coming back so I finally told my companion that we need to go back really quick and talk to him. So we went back and talked to him. His name was Nathan.  He didn't seem too interested but he accepted a Book of Mormon and we set up a return time. And even though nothing huge happened, I still felt really good about it. Whenever you have a prompting from the spirit to do something, DO IT! Because you never know what effect it had on someone or something! You won't regret it!

Anyway, yeah it's been a crazy past couple of days. I'm still trying to get used to the culture and everything but I'm getting there! I'm honestly just happy to be here! I know that this church is true. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't know that. God restored his gospel back to the earth because he knows that it can change lives for the better! He loves us and wants us to return to him! I love you guys so much and thanks for everything! 

FUNNY MOMENT:
So I was singing Try Everything by Shakira when I was getting ready for bed one night in my room. And then my companion from the other room yelled "What the crap are you singing?" I was like "Oh. Try Everything by Shakira." Then he yelled, "I LOVE SHAKIRA!!" Then he started fangirling about Shakira for like 20 minutes and I literally just stood there and laughed the whole time haha!

D&C 6: 36
D&C 84: 88

- Elder Hanson

Apartment in Gallipolis, Ohio

Apartment in Gallipolis, Ohio

Amazing Foot Long!

"Downtown" Gallipolis, Ohio

Make your bed Noah!

Silver Bridge - Across the Ohio River

Last night at the MTC

Week 3 - August 19, 2016 - MTC

WOW! I seriously cannot believe that this is my last week at the MTC! I've said it before but it really has gone by so fast! It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life! I've loved my district, my companion, the food (obviously, because I've gained like 4 or 5 pounds since I've been here), my TRC's (investigators), the spirit, and getting to know more about the gospel and how to teach it! It's literally been the best! But I'm so ready to just get out there and teach the people of West Virginia about this AMAZING gospel! So excited!!

***Also yes, I got the white pants you sent me! And the sugar cookies like are you're kidding!? Where did you get them? So good! Thank you so much! (Noah's mom made them haha, but she only makes them on rare occasions, like going on a mission). Also, I might be able to call you while I'm in Georgia too! But I don't know how that will work with your schedule and everything! I'll let you know for sure when I call you guys Tuesday morning!  And should I just take everything out of my small bag and put it in my backpack when I go to the airport? If the answer is yes, then where should I put my small bag? K thanks bye.***

Okay so a lot happened this week! On Sunday, we had a devotional with Daniel K. Judd as the speaker (if you guys know who that is. I didn't but he did really good!) He talked about how our job as missionaries isn't to convert. That's the Spirit's job. It was truly an amazing/humbling talk! Then we ended the night by watching "17 Miracles"! SO GOOD!  Then we also had a devotional on Tuesday with Bonnie L. Oscarson! It was actually pretty funny because literally everyone thought Elder Holland was going to be the speaker for that devotional so as everyone finished dinner early and sprinted to choir practice so that we could get good seats.  Then we looked up at the screen and it said "Tuesday Devotional: Bonnie L. Oscarson". Hahaha! I felt bad though because when she got up to speak, she apologized for not being Elder Holland (laughing face emoji). But honestly, I think she gave one of the best talks I have ever heard in my life! She talked about how we need to be willing to seek and accept corrections from the Lord. Then she showed the Mormon Message about the gardener who cut down a bush while it was still growing! The bush wasn't very happy that he did that because it was growing so well and hen the gardener just cuts it down! The gardener then went on to explain how he had to cut it down to where it started because it wasn't growing the way he knew it could. It was a great analogy because it shows that we need to show gratitude towards God for being loving enough to cut us down because he knows what's best and sees the potential in all of us! I encourage you all to look up that Mormon Message because it's an amazing one and you learn a lot from it!

We also had In-Field Orientation yesterday. It's basically just an orientation where we learn how to approach people, use our planners, and how to work with members. It was good and really helpful in some parts but it went on for 8 or 9 hours. Like, you're kidding. On a happier note, I met so many amazing people throughout the whole thing so it was well worth it! :)

We also got new TRC's this week! Last week, we committed Sahara to be baptized!! YES! It was so cool! But we didn't ever get to see if Aaron wanted to be baptized because he went out of town the day after that amazing lesson I told you guys about last week! But it's okay! He was heading down the right path! Our new TRC this week is "Brooke". She is HILARIOUS! She wanted to know more about who God was and the nature of Him. Our first 2 lessons with her went really well. She had a lot of questions about God, the priesthood, and the Book of Mormon! She committed to praying about whether or not what we taught her was true. In our 3rd lesson with her yesterday, she told us that she felt something really good after she prayed. She said it was a feeling she hadn't ever felt before. We went on to explain to her that that was the Spirit. The Holy Ghost. We then went on to explain what the Holy Ghost was and what it does and how it can be your constant companion once you get baptized. After that, we asked her to be baptized. She said that she had to pray about it first but that she felt like baptism was the right path to- go down. AHH! Guys, this church is so true. Lolz.

Also, I encourage all of you to not only look up that gardener video, but also "Come Unto Christ: Mutual theme". It's not the current mutual theme for the year but I heard it playing in a classroom somewhere and it's just stuck with me ever since. I promise you won't regret looking it up!

FUNNY MOMENT OF THE WEEK:
On Tuesday, I heard someone singing "Me too" in the shower but they changed the lyrics so it applied to missionary work. Part of it was, "If I was you, I'd wanna serve Him too." Hahaha! It was so funny!

Anyways, I have absolutely loved it here! To answer your question mom, I'm feeling great! I thought I would feel really homesick but I haven't really. The crazy thing is, my entire district has had a day where they were SUPER homesick. I was able to comfort most of them because I know what it feels like to be homesick back in the day. I think that's why I haven't been homesick so far.  Because God knew that everyone in my district would get homesick so he kept me strong to comfort them. I hope that made sense. Haha! But its been on my mind a lot lately! I've had so many funny, difficult, humbling, and spiritual experiences here! But I'm so excited to get out there to West Virginia! It's crazy how fast this has gone! Thank you for all of the support you guys have given me! I truly love all of you so much and I know this church is true! 

I'm comin for ya West Virginia!:)

Alma 29: 9

Elder Hanson

Elder Hanson, Elder Wilson, Elder Carlton, Elder Sandlin

Henry, Judson, Noah (Viewmont Student Body Officers)

Noah and the MTC Choir

Week 2 - August 12, 2016 - MTC

Wow. I don't even know where to begin. This whole week just FLEW by! I literally feel like I just got dropped off yesterday. It's kinda crazy to think about! And, yes I got the packages you sent me! And the cookies (heart eye emoji)!! Literally so blessed. Thank you!! My Pday is on Friday (at least while i'm here in the MTC)! Just so everyone knows haha! But anyway, yeah it's been a pretty crazy week so get ready. Lolz.

So let me start off by saying that I thought I knew a lot about the gospel. But guuueessss what? I don't. I've had so many humbling lessons about The Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Book of Mormon, and The Atonement and how to teach them to investigators. The lessons were extremely humbling because all of them are more than just lessons. We need to help investigators relate to them by tying in the lessons to their needs so that it sticks with them. I mean, I kind of already knew that but it helped me find ways to relate each lesson to my specific investigators. Sorry that paragraph was kind of all over the place so hopefully that made sense! It's just hard to talk about each lesson because I learned SO much and ain't nobody got time to write about it all. (Also I'm extremely tired so please excuse my lame jokes as I type up this email. Thank you.)

We all go as a district to exercise time. We've kind of been switching off between basketball, soccer (which I can't play to save my life), volleyball, and four square. Okay, the people that play four square are INSANE! Like I don't even understand how you can be that good at that game. I only got to King once and that's just because I didn't touch the ball up until that point. So there you go.

Okay, SO I had my first Sunday here at the MTC and it was amazing!! To answer your question dad, yes. I joined the MTC choir. I was EXTREMELY hesitant at first but I decided to join because I wanted to help bring the spirit into devotionals and stuff like that. Also Elder Carlton convinced me to do it but that's beside the point. And people were saying that it's pretty cool actually so I just thought "Why not?".  For our devotional, we had Elder Holland's son, President Holland (president of UVU) talk to us about Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith went through so much in his life. This just helped build my testimony because even though he went through a lot, he never gave up. He seriously had so much faith and endured to the end. I know that I'm going to go through some hard times on my mission, but I know that if I put my faith in God, I can overcome any hard trial. I know that without a doubt in my mind that that's true.

We also have these things called "TRC's". I shouldn't say "things" because that's just rude. They're our INVESTIGATORS for the week. They're either people who are already members but are just acting like an investigator OR they're real investigators. So you never know. Lol. Elder Carlton and I have a girl named "Sahara" and an ex-buddhist named "Aaron". Sahara talks A LOT and she's really funny! Her fiance is a member so she decided to meet with the missionaries to get to know more about why this church is important to us. She's progressing and learning pretty well and yesterday we got her to commit to praying about baptism! Now Aaron. He was really difficult during our first lesson because he literally didn't know anything about God or the gospel in general. But we got him to commit to reading "The Gospel of Jesus Christ" pamphlet and taught him how to pray and why he should pray during the first lesson. And then our next lesson...HOLY COW! He had so many questions about the gospel and we were able to answer all of them in a way that he would understand. I know that it was the spirit talking. Not us. There was just no way we could answer all of those questions as well as we did without the spirit. We started talking about the Atonement and baptism and he was seriously considering getting baptized and it was just the most amazing experience! He said that he would pray about it but he already kind of knew that it's what he wanted to do! It was incredible! He also asked if he could say the closing prayer. YES! This whole TRC experience has reminded me of why I came out here. Why I'm serving a mission. And that's to see the gospel change lives for the better because I KNOW it can! Ahh! I love it here!

Guys. I KNOW this church is true. I know that Christ died for us and atoned for our sins. It is because he did that, we can return to live with Heavenly Father again if we live by Jesus Christ's example and keep his commandments. I challenge all of you to bear your testimony about the Savior to someone at least once this week! Because I know that one of the best ways we can build our testimonies, is by sharing them. I know that God lives. "Oh sweet, the joy this sentence gives. I know that my Redeemer lives!"

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers! Means so much! Love you all! 

John 3:16-17

- Elder Hanson

P.S. Fun fact! I've already gained 3 pounds here at the MTC because food is good. K thanks bye.

Noah and Elder Carlton at the Provo Temple

Fun with the Elders

 Noah and Judson!!!

Provo Temple

Advice from Elders gone by!