Week 47 - June 26, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Hey y'all! Wooooww I don't even feel like this week happened! It went by so fast it was nuts! But, like last week, we were able to see sooooo many miracles! Just goes to show you that when you do ALL you can for the Lord, miracles are bound to happen whether we see them or not! We also get a new mission president this week. That's also super super crazy. President and Sister Salisbury leave this Saturday and we get a new mission president! President Lindhardt. I'm truly gonna miss President and Sister Salisbury so much but I know that President and Sister Lindhardt are going to do a great job in leading the mission and are called of God!

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Andrew. Okay so get this. He's not quite an investigator yet but he WILL be! Yesterday, we got a call from some random number and so we answered it and he said, "Hi, I'm Andrew and I wanna learn more about your church. I just moved to Princeton and I want to find purpose in my life." I just sat there in silence for a little bit and I was just like, "Well, we definitely have the answer for you." He told us that he is gonna come to church this Sunday to see what the Mormons are like and he's super excited!! And so are we!!! Holy cow! Miracles are for real y'all! We now have about 5 investigators headed towards baptism!

Vicki. She's still on fire. She was able to get Sunday's off!!! So now she can come to church! She's so excited and so are we! Haha! We'll have to change her baptismal date but we're not worried about her at all :) just keep praying for her!

Lucia. So she's also still on FIRE! She's sooooo awesome! We set her baptismal date for July 22nd! And she's coming to church this Sunday and we could not be more stoked! We're gonna go over the Word of Wisdom with her this week and I don't think she'll have a problem with it! Just continue to pray for her as well!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So if y'all remember Ronald A. Rasband's talk at General Conference, he talked about following the first promptings of the spirit. Now this challenge is pretty general because it's different for everybody. But my challenge to y'all is whenever you get the feeling to do something good, ACT! And some of you might ask, "How do I know that it's the spirit talking to me and not just my own thoughts?" Well, to quote David A. Bednar, "Quit worrying about it." If it's a feeling to do good, it's the spirit. So my challenge for y'all is to ACT!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So I don't know if y'all know this but I am not the biggest fan of mustard. You know like the yellow stuff that people put on hot-dogs for some reason? Yeah that. Anyways, on Saturday, my companion poured mustard in this huge spoon and he put that spoon in his mouth like it was candy. I gagged hardcore. But when I gagged, it made him laugh and so he SPIT OUT the mustard and it got all over my pants and I was soooo low key salty (not happy). But I laughed too so it was all good! But yeah I hate mustard.

Anyways, love you guys so much! I hope y'all have the greatest week ever! Treat yo'self! Thanks for all the love and support :)

Helaman 5: 12

- Elder Hanson

Beautiful West Virginia Sunsets

It's is your birthday Elder Willis

My District is the BOMB!

Week 46 - June 19, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Whattup y'all! So these past 5 days have been just full of miracles! Seriously! It's crazy to see the progression of Princeton just skyrocket!! I'll let you in on one of the miracles that we saw this week here in a sec but yeah it's all goin' good over here! Also, Happy Father's Day yesterday to my Padre! Happy Father's day to all the dad's that do all they can to raise their children in the best way possible! Y'all are much appreciated :)

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vicki & Ed. Sooooo Ed got arrested. Yikes! That's the bad news. The good news is that Vicki said it's really likely that her boss will let her have Sunday off! So that she can come to church! Ed should be back later on but for right now it's just Vicki. Which is ok! Because her family will want to learn too sooner or later :) so I'm not worried! Just continue praying for her!

Lucia. Okay so here's the miracle. Lucia is the mother of a fairly recent convert and the grandma to a bunch of kids in the family! She's a hardcore catholic. She never really wanted anything to do with us whenever we went over. But the other night, I had the impression to just ask her if she wants to learn about the Book of Mormon. She said she would (pretty reluctantly). We had the lesson and it was great! She committed to reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. Then the next night we went back over and she had read the pamphlet we gave her and she told us that she KNOWS it's true. She asked to be baptized and wants to be baptized SOON! Truly a tender mercy from the Lord! The spirit was sooooo strong! It was incredible :) and my comp couldn't stop smiling the whole time haha! But who could blame him right? :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So this is a simple one. We all have SO MUCH to be grateful for! Except it's easy to say "Well if I had THIS, then I'd be happy." Take a moment to look at all the blessings in your life. It truly will surprise you what Heavenly Father has done to make you happy! Even if you can't see it at the moment. The challenge this week is to say a prayer full of THANKS! No requests. Just thanks. 

FUNNY MOMENT:

So I can't remember if I told y'all about this but a nickname that was given to me in the MTC was "Donkey Kong". My best friend Elder Wilson told me that I look like Donkey Kong when I smile haha. If you don't know what donkey kong looks like, look him up haha. Anyway, my entire district knows that that's the nickname I was given when I was in the MTC. The other night, I was calling a set of sister missionaries to ask them a question and one of the newer sister missionaries in the background asked, "Wait is this Donkey Kong speaking?" She's literally been out a week and she already knows about it. So that's cool. Hahaha! Hopefully that funny moment made sense. I kinda just said what came to my mind as I typed haha!

I love all y'all so much! Congratulations to all those who have received their mission calls and who are going to receive them! Y'all are great :) have a great week!

Alma 29: 9

- Elder Noah Hanson

Week 45 - June 14, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Hello y'all! Alright, so let me just start off by warning you: I've only had like 12 hours of sleep this whole week and a half so if there's anything in this email that's super weird and out of the ordinary, just remember that sleep hasn't been a thing for me this week haha! I'm fine though honestly. Just super hyper right now. You've been warned!! Also thank you all who wished me a happy birthday! You all mean so much to me :) truly THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! Love y'all :) I got some great packages and the zone leaders took us to the mall to dream about buying stuff. haha. Also, some members made me a cake so it was fun!

Also, transfers happened this week! Elder Christensen and I are both staying another 6 weeks here in Princeton! Wahoo! I mean I was kind of expecting it but still anything could've happened! This is also our Mission President's last transfer with us before he leaves! It's crazy! Lolz.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vanessa. (not an investigator anymore lolz) but I have exciting news! She got her temple recommend from our bishop on Sunday!! Wahoo!!! As of right now, we're just trying to schedule a time she can go to the temple with the relief society here! It's so exciting!! She's super hyped :) who can blame her right?

Vicki & Ed. Soooo good news and bad news. Bad news is that Ed kinda got scared to leave his catholic congregation because of some false things he heard so he backed out. He still wants to hear what we have to say and all that but he doesn't wanna commit :/ kinda sad but GOOD NEWS! Vicki is still strong! She's more nervous now that Ed's gone but she still wants to come to church and be baptized so that's good! Just please pray for both of them! Prayer is always good!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

What is your favorite Mormon message video? That's a tuffie isn't it? ;) but my challenge to all y'all is to share your favorite Mormon message on social media! You never know, somebody that comes across it may need it right at that moment! So don't be shy in sharing your favorite Mormon message! You will not regret it!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So the other night, I had the weirdest dream I've probably ever had. I don't remember most of it but I do remember that I was wearing tap dancing shoes while I was tracting. I remember waking up when our alarm went off and I was literally sweating. I must've tap danced or something in my sleep I don't know. I sat up and just said to my companion, "Ugh...I hate tap dancing." 

Anyways, hopefully this email wasn't too weird. I love all y'all so much! Thank you for always being there for me even though I'm like 1300 miles away! Haha! Have a great week!

"I knew it. And I knew that God knew it. And I could not deny it!" - Joseph Smith (restoration)

- Elder Hanson

My Awesome Princeton District

Week 44 - June 5, 2017 (Noah's Birthday!) - Princeton, West Virginia

Heyyyy y'all! It's your boi Elder Hanson! We've had yet another incredible week and I'll tell you why! Unless you don't want me to tell you why...well that sucks because I'm gonna say it anyway! It was a great week because I'm really starting to see this area progress now! Elder Christensen and I are truly gaining the TRUST that we need with investigators, members, and less actives! Gaining trust with your area is KEY to missionary work! And I know the reason why we're gaining this trust is because of DILIGENCE and OBEDIENCE! So for those of you who are planning on going on a mission, always remember that TRUST IS KEY to missionary work! I love my District. Each companionship has had a baptism this transfer. Also, I got your package you sent for my birthday! Everything was essential! The Lego Batman card was the best! haha.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vicki & Ed. So we had a lesson with them on the Plan of Salvation on Saturday and we were also able to pick up their son Gabriel as an investigator during that lesson! He had a lot of interesting questions which sparked his interest in the gospel! He's 13 years old! They didn't come to church yesterday but Vicki said that she's gonna ask her boss if she can get Sunday's off from now on so she can come to church! Please please pray that it all goes well for her and the family so that they can come to church and experience the blessings that come from it :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

Love one another. That's the challenge this week. If you feel that it's hard to love a specific person, stop thinking that way. Remember the Atonement of Jesus Christ and what He did for each and every one of us. He did it out of pure love, even for the people that despised Him. So how much need have we to love our neighbors, even our enemies. So if there's any feeling of hatred in you towards a person, let it go. You will feel so free! It feels better to love than to hate.

FUNNY MOMENT:

So last night, we were at a member's house and they wanted to give a spoonful of this INSANELY HOT hot sauce to Elder Christensen and me. I went first (I took one for the team) and I no joke started tearing up. Then I turned to the camera (my comp was recording me) and said "Man...that's straight fire." Keep in mind, I had a lisp at this point because it was so hot. So it sounded more like "Man...thath thraight fire." 

Thank you all for your amazing examples every week in your emails to me :) they mean a lot to me! I love y'all! Have a great week!

- Elder Hanson

P.S. I don't feel any older. But I guess I'm 19 now?

Week 43 - May 31, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Howdy y'all! So I'm sorry I'm the worst and didn't email on Monday or Tuesday. Let me explain. Monday was because of Memorial Day and everything was closed and all that good stuff. Tuesday, the internet in all of Princeton was closed down. I was like "Are you kidding???" But now it's up and running and everything is fine and dandy! Sorry for the scare lolz. What? There's a new Pirates movie? I wanna see it so bad. Ugh!

Okay wow so miracle after miracle happened this week! We found 6 new investigators this week and it was so fire! And they're all pretty solid investigators! We set 2 of them on date for July 8th. I'll let you know the details in a sec but yeah this week was pretty bomb to say the least!

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Bonnie. Okay so she is the definition of "someone prepared for the gospel"! Seriously though! She was a referral from church headquarters and we drove to her house which was like 15 miles away! It straight wrecked our miles on our car but it's fine. Then we get there and introduce her to the restoration and the Book of Mormon and she says, "Wow! This is great! I want my husband and daughter in on this!" And then the husband walked in and said he couldn't talk to us at the moment because he was heading out but he said he wants to meet with us on Saturday along with his wife! The miracles that come from diligence and obedience are fo' real!!

Vicki & Ed. So Vicki was a former investigator and we picked her back up along with her husband Ed! We went over the restoration with them and they loved it! We put them on date for baptism for July 8th and they're very committed to it! WAHOO! 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So y'all have heard me say this before but always remember that EVERY MEMBER OF THE CHURCH IS A MISSIONARY! Once you are baptized, you promise Heavenly Father that you will spread the gospel. In D&C 4: 3 it says, "If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work." Last week I challenged y'all to share your testimony in some way, shape, or form! I'm challenging all of y'all this week to share your testimony with a nonmember! It might be scary, but I promise you that you will be blessed and that you won't regret it! I know you can do it!

FUNNY MOMENT:

Okay so y'all know that I always say things like "That's so FIRE!" or "This tastes FIRE!" Meaning that it's really cool or it's really good! Haha! I'm dumb I know. But I just want to share that I've gotten almost our whole ward here saying "fire!" and majority of this ward are elderly people and it's the funniest thing I've ever seen! Haha! So just thought I'd update y'all on me spreading, not only the gospel, but my slang as well.

Anyways, I seriously love all of y'all! Thank you for your love and support and I'll talk to you on Monday :) have a grrrrreat week!

D&C 4: 5-7

- Elder Hanson

Camp Creek Falls West Virginia

Camp Creek Falls

Elder Christensen and Me at Camp Creek Falls

Awesome day!

Shots of the Ol' apartment

Kind of made my bed

Top side view

Awesome Family named the Sacketts from Layton took this photo of Noah and Elder Christensen in WV

Week 42 - May 22, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Whattup y'all! I hope you guys had an awesome week!! This week was a little rough on finding new people to teach but it was still a great week :). We were, however, able to find a lot of potential investigators this week so I'm pumped for that! Elder Christensen is doing great! We're just having a grand ol' time doing all we can for the Lord! Haha! 

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vanessa (okay yeah I know she's not an investigator anymore but this is pretty sik). So yesterday, she came to church (which is awesome) but she came in a DRESS for the very first time! Okay I know that sounds weird but hear me out. So she used to just come in just whatever she wanted because she didn't have a dress! And the fact that she went out and BOUGHT a dress for church just shows how committed she is! Hahaha wow as I'm typing this, i'm realizing how weird this is but it's just reassuring that she really is committed. Haha :)

Annette. So she's still doin great! However, she didn't come to church yesterday :( her mom had to go to the ER last minute and sooooo yeah. But she's still on date for June 17th :) so just keep prayin for her that she'll be able to make that date! :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So I've kind of done this one before but I always like to share that sharing your testimony is a GREAT way to strengthen it. So my challenge this week is to do just that. Share you testimony about the gospel either on social media, through text, call, or better yet, IN PERSON! It can be kinda scary to share it especially if you don't do it regularly. But I promise you that your faith in Jesus Christ will be strengthened as you share your testimony about what YOU know to be true with someone else!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So you might be wondering from my subject title, "what's Dew-Pong?" Let me tell ya. So I was on exchanges with my zone leader, Elder Prince and we decided that we wanted to play it. So it's where you bounce a ping pong ball into your opponent's cup that's filled with Mountain Dew. However, it's not just one cup, it's like TEN! And when it lands in your cup or your opponent's cup, that person needs to drink that whole cup in one sitting. I drank 9/10 cups. Elder Prince drank all ten. We shared a very tender moment as we both almost threw up on their balcony. Haha! I'll send pics. 

Anyways, thank you all for your wonderful examples to me every week! Y'all are amazing and I hope you know that :) have a great week! Love y'all!

"By no means am I perfect, but I am perfect in one thing. I am perfect in trying." - Meet the Mormons

- Elder Hanson

The Cascades with Elder Prince

The Cascades near Pembroke, Virginia

The Cascades

Dew Pong

Princeton District

Week 41 - May 15, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Hey y'all! Wow!! This week was awesome! I mean we had a baptism so I guess you could say this week ROCKED! Vanessa Cox got baptized on Saturday! WAHOOOOO!! I'll talk a little bit more about that here in a sec but yep! She's officially a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! Ayyo! Plus I got to Skype my family on Mother's Day! That was so fun but it went by too fast.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Annette. Okay so since you haven't ever seen this name before, obviously that means she's a brand new investigator! Haha! She is sooooo awesome! We tracted into her and apparently missionaries in the past had come by and taught her but they never gave her a Book of Mormon....?? Like what the heck? We sat down with her and taught the Restoration and she stopped us and was like, "I...already feel that this is all true. I need this." Miracles!!! We were able to set her on date for June 17th! Wahoo! So please pray that everything will work out for her to make that date! She's ready!

Vanessa. Soooooo she got baptized! Wahoo! The baptism went really well :) however, everything about the baptism program fell apart last minute! So many people couldn't make it that were supposed to give talks and bear testimonies and stuff like that! BUT it all worked out because we have awesome members that are always ready to do stuff last minute haha! Vanessa was really really nervous before the baptism holy cow. But I said a prayer with her and she seemed to calm down a little after that. She's happy as can be now haha! Now the next step is to get her to the temple! :) I baptized her and Elder Christensen did his first confirmation too!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

HOW DO I GET CLOSER TO GOD (part 4)? Speaking of temples, one of the greatest ways that you can feel truly close to God is by attending the temple frequently! I cannot tell you how much I miss the temple! When you attend the temple, you can hear the Lord so clearly. There's no distractions. Just you and the Lord. I strongly encourage all of y'all to attend the temple at least ONCE this week! You will feel so much closer to your Heavenly Father and you will learn so much more about his loving plan for each of us I promise!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So for district meeting, we played a game where I brought over "Harry Potter: Bertie Bott's every flavor beans" and there's a lot of nasty flavored jelly beans in that box. There's vomit, booger, rotten egg, dirt, etc. And so we all had to close our eyes and pick one out of the box and put it in our mouths right away no matter what the flavor was! When I popped it into my mouth....I realized I had rotten egg. I went to the closest trashcan and basically threw it up haha! Sorry it's kind of a gross funny moment but I guess that's what I get for trying to torture my district with this cruel game. 

Thank you all for your amazing support and love! I truly love all of you so so much! Hope you all have a great week and stay safe :)

"We must remember how much our Heavenly Father and His Son love us." - Vern P. Stanfill

1 Nephi 8: 11-12

- Elder Hanson

Noah on Skype!

Laughing with his brothers on Skype

Noah loves Harry Potter!

With Elder Aubrey

Vanessa's baptism

Skype with Elder Christensen and Noah