Week 17 - November 28, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Hello everyone! How y'all doin? It's been a very rewarding/challenging week here in Gallipolis, Ohio! Fetch. It's getting so cold here every day now but it gets me excited for Christmas. It's chill (literally lolz). Our Thanksgiving dinners were FIRE!! I wanted to throw all over the walls but it was still great! No, I didn't eat anything too weird. I was actually hoping I would haha! But it's chill! It's good to hear that the family is doing well. How old is Annie again? Could you give her a message for me? "My cousin is less than yours." She'll know what that means haha. And I also forgot to tell you guys! My companion, Elder Christensen is the District Leader. So I guess that makes me Assistant District Leader...or the Assistant TO the District Leader. (Only people that watch The Office will get that reference so don't beat yourself up if you don't get it lolz). He's super dope! We get along great! 

I miss putting up Christmas decorations but it's awesome to see everone here do it! I love it here! It's so pretty. And YES I received my watch on Monday of last week actually, right after emailing you. I guess the mail comes super fast here lolz! Thank you so much! I needed a new watch so bad, goodnessss.

We are almost done with the Book of Mormon! How are all you doing with the Book of Mormon challenge?? Thank you to all those who took on this challenge and those who are planning to! I know you will be greatly blessed because of it and your relationship with Heavenly Father will increase and your Testimony of Jesus Christ will be strengthened as well! 

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Casey. She is so FIRE! She is progressing really well and we were going to set her on date for baptism last week but she got REALLY sick! Like it was bad. She couldn't even hold a 5 minute conversation without throwing up 3 times. So yesterday, I gave her a priesthood blessing with our Ward Mission Leader. It was an amazing experience and was such an honor. Hopefully she'll feel better so that she can continue to progress! Pray for her that she'll feel better and will still want to learn more! She's incredible! 

Donna. So I told you guys last week how we set her on date for baptism on January 14th. She's very committed! She's almost done with all the preparations for marriage! WAHOO! Yesterday she started crying because she was so excited to get married and then be baptized! Keep praying that she stays committed to that date and that everything goes well :)

Chance. So he's a new investigator we started teaching. He's 17 years old and lives with his mom who has cancer. Its just the two of them. He's going into the military but needs to take care of his mom first. We invited him to read the Book of Mormon and then we shared the message of the Restoration. Then in like 3 days, we went back and he said he was 1/4 of the way done with the Book of Mormon! Whaaaat?? GG (good game) Chance! It was awesome! He said he loved it and wanted to know more! We're seeing him today so pray that everything goes well with him this next week :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So did you guys watch the LIGHTtheWORLD video on mormon.org? It talks about different ways we can serve others throughout the month of December and bring Christ back into Christmas. Every day in December there's a new challenge or a new way to serve someone the way Christ served. I'll list them off in my emails every week so you guys can participate in it! It's awesome! 



A Christmas Message from Mormon.org #LIGHTtheWORLD ...

mormon.org

Jesus Christ is a perfect example of serving others. We invite you this Christmas season to #LIGHTtheWORLD and to serve others as Jesus did.


-December 1: WORLDWIDE DAY OF SERVICE


-December 2: Jesus Honored His parents and so can you! (call parents, write a letter to your parents, etc.)


-December 3: Jesus Helped others to see and so can you! (point out a virtue in someone they don't see in themselves)


-December 4: Jesus worshiped his Father and so can you! (pray day and night, attend church, etc.)



FUNNY MOMENT:



So last night, Elder Christensen was on the phone with the Zone Leaders and literally out of nowhere he asks them, "Hey Elder Hanson would LOVE to recite D&C 4 at Zone Meeting this week. Can he do that? He's begging." I literally threw almost everything on my desk at him and then the Zone Leaders were like, "Oh yeah sure! Thanks Elder Hanson!" Elder Christensen just laughed and my salt level was off the charts! But then I realized I have D&C 4 already memorized so it's chill. Haha!



Thank you all for your amazing examples! I love you guys so much and I KNOW Heavenly Father does too! Hope you all have a great week :)


James 1: 5-6

3 Nephi 9: 14


- Elder Hanson

Elder Christensen

Handing out "Light the World" cards

Gallipolis lights

Week 16 - November 21, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Hello everyone! Wow this has been one crazy week with transfers, getting a new companion, finding people to teach, and seeing the progress of our investigators! First off, it's hecka cold here now. I have to wear a sweater over my shirt and tie now and I look like a nooooob. Haha it's chill though and it snowed for 30 minutes the other day. I love the snow though! Literally lolz. ANYWAY, yeah this week was amazing!


Sooooo how's the Book of Mormon reading coming along?? It's crazy to think that we are almost done with it! The reason I challenged you all to do the 8.5 pages a day Book of Mormon challenge is that I know God wants us all to be unified as followers of Christ. He knows how happy reading the Book Of Mormon will make you and He will bless you more than you can possibly imagine! 

Also, I have a new companion! Elder Christensen! He's sooooo sik! Just these past few days, he has truly helped me realize my full potential as a missionary. It means a lot! He's a hard worker, he's obedient, and we get along great so no worries here! He's been out 16 months. And yes, we have 3 Thanksgiving meals scheduled on Thanksgiving day so I think we're good haha!!

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

D----. She's doing great! We committed her to her baptismal date on January 14th! I know it's a little ways away but we know she will be ready with the marriage thing by then and she says that she is "DETERMINED to be baptized in January!" So keep praying for her that she WILL be ready by that date! 


B----. We were only able to teach him once this week. We did get to read with him Alma 7 which talks about baptism and following Jesus Christ. But for some reason, it just didn't feel right to ask him to be baptized at that moment. So... we are pretty sure we'll ask him to be baptized this week because he wants to follow Jesus Christ and is willing to do anything! Again keep praying for him that he will keep having the desire to follow Jesus Christ!


C----. Okay. HOLY COW! She is truly incredible! She came to church yesterday and we've only taught her once and that was on Friday! She said she just wants a church she and her daughter can call home. And yesterday at church she said that she did. She found home. Also, during gospel principles class, everyone was sharing their conversion stories and she basically shared her conversion story! She told everyone how she met us and how she already knows that this is where she wants to be! AHH! And we're planning on inviting her to be baptized today so we hope that goes well! Keep praying for her that she will continue to progress :) she's awesome!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

Okay so I've kind of already done this one but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I would like you guys to write down a list of EVERYTHING you're grateful for. Literally anything you can think of. Then afterwards, share that list with a friend or family member and share why you're grateful for all those things! ALSO, on November 25th (friday), the new LDS Christmas initiative "LIGHT the World" video will be up on Mormon.org. I challenge you all to watch it! I've heard it's an incredible video!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So these past couple of days with Elder Christensen, I've been introducing him to investigators, members, etc. Literally every single time I introduced him to someone, they thought he looked like he was 18. Haha he's 19. And they would be like "And Elder Hanson, aren't you like 21?"  I would have to break the bad news to them every single time and say, "No. I'm a young one, 18." Elder Christensen got so frustrated at that and it was hilarious! This happened alot this week. Hahaha!

Thank you all for your amazing support! I love all of you so much! I am truly grateful for all of you in my life! I pray for you guys every single day and I can't thank you enough for your examples! Hope you guys have a great week and Happy Thanksgiving!

Helaman 3: 35
Helaman 5: 8-9

- Elder Hanson

Noah and Elder Christensen

Noah and his new companion Elder Christensen from Orem!

Week 15 - November 16, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

Herro everyone! Okay so this week was kind of a slow week for us. I got a little bit of a cold on Friday and Saturday. Then Elder Hallewell got sick on Sunday and all of Monday! And let me tell ya, being sick on the mission stinks! Literally lol. But yeah, so not a ton happened this week but it was still a week full of many miracles and cray cray events!

So TRANSFERS! Transfers are this week and I found out on Sunday that I'm staying here in Gallipolis, OH. But, sadly, Elder Hallewell is leaving. He's going to Flatwoods, West Virginia. I also found out who my new companion is going to be! Elder Christensen! From what I've heard, he sounds like a dope guy. It's going to be weird taking over the area. I don't really feel ready for it but I know it will help me stretch and grow! So I'm pretty hyped!

How is the Book of Mormon reading coming along? I literally just finished Alma this morning! Fetch! That section is long haha! But I loved every word of it! 

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

R----. Okay soooo on Wednesday, R---- texted us and said that she wanted a break from us teaching her for a while. We were kind of shocked to be honest. She was progressing so well and then she just randomly texted us that. I think she just needs time to figure it all out! I'm not too worried about her! Things will pick back up eventually :) just pray that she figures everything out so that we can continue to bring her closer to Christ!

D----. So she's pretty set for January. She says that she's 100% sure that it's going to take until January to figure this whole marriage thing out. We made a list for her of the things she needed to do in order to get married! She said that now that she had a list, it will be easier to be motivated to accomplish the things she needs to do! She is really hyped for her marriage AND her baptism so just keep praying for her :) she's doing amazing!

C----. So this is a potential investigator that we came across but I want to tell you a little about her. She's a single mom who has one daughter. She just moved into this house. She yelled at us to come and talk to her and so we did. She said that she really wants to find that "right church" for her and her daughter because she can't seem to find the right one. So we gave her a Restoration pamphlet and she seemed REALLY excited about it! Haha! It was awesome! So we're gonna be teaching her a lot more this week! So I'll give you guys more of the deets on how that goes on Monday!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So there's this Mormon message that I saw this week that really touched me. It's called "Because of Him". It talks about what Jesus Christ did and how literally everything is now possible because of him! It's truly amazing! I ask you guys to please watch it! It's so good! I promise it will lift your spirits if your feeling down or it will make you feel even better! 

FUNNY MOMENT: (not really funny more like traumatizing)

Haha okay so we met this kind lady this week and she lives in this tiny house. So Elder Hallewell and I stepped into her house and....oh my fetch. Bugs. Bugs literally EVERYWHERE! Roaches, spiders (of course), centipedes. You name it. But the traumatization doesn't stop there. I walk into her bedroom and I kid you not, two fetching spiders fall from the ceiling and onto my face. I SPRINTED out of that house. I just literally couldn't do it. I starting tearing up and my companion was pretty scarred too. She's a really sweet lady but MAN! Ugh okay I can't talk about this right now. I'm terrified just thinking about it.

Thank you all so much for your amazing support! Hope you all have a great week :) Love you all!

Alma 32: 16-18

- Elder Hanson

P.S. I think I can literally feel myself getting fatter. Ugghhhhhhhhhhhh. It's fine.

Methodists are funny about the election

Speedway is the BEST!

Beautiful OHIO sunset

Week 14 - November 7, 2016 - Gallipolis, OhioWest

Hey everyone! Whoa! It's crazy to think that I've been gone for 3 months now! There have been times where it's been really slow but looking back now, it's FLOWN by! Like what the what?? I have absolutely loved every second of it so far! Yes, there are tough times on the mission but when I look back, I don't think of those rough moments, I can really only remember the AMAZING moments! Gotta just look at the positive side of things! And it's November?? Like what the actual? Guys, it's 2017 in less than 2 months and I'm not ready because I'm so fetching used to writing '16 when I write the date on things. Ugh the struggle is real. Anyways, here are some highlights of the week!

How's the Book of Mormon reading coming along?? We'll be finishing it soon in less than 2 months! That's crazy! I hope you guys have seen the blessings that come from the Book of Mormon as you've been reading! Keep reading! I still have a lot of bookmarks and stickers for you guys if you want one! Just hit me up with an email loooolz.

D----. Sooooo okay here's what's up with her. So on Wednesday, she was very firm with us and said that she was SET on January being the month she gets married....:(:(. We're not sure what else to do other than set her on date FOR January. Please pray for her that she will figure out everything she needs to in order to get married and then baptized! She's still going to church and progressing but she is READY for baptism! I know it!

R----. She's flippin amazing! She's reading from the Book of Mormon and everything and she's really progressing! However, she needs to get married before her baptism. She told us that she would really really need to pray about this one. Then out of nowhere, she told us she had a problem with the word of wisdom. We were like, "You're actually kidding." So that's another thing we're gonna work on with her! But she said she REALLY wants to quit so we'll see what happens :) just keep praying for her that she'll be ready by the 26th of this month!

B----. Nothing's really new with him. He's still reading from the Book of Mormon and we were gonna set him on date for baptism last week but we couldn't ever contact him. He has a new job so it's REALLY difficult for us to contact him. He's doing great though! Just, again, keep praying for him and his amazing progression towards baptism and coming closer to Christ!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

Create a mormon.org profile!! Mormon.org is a website that members of the church can create a profile and bear there testimony on their profile page which can be seen by ANYONE IN THE WORLD! So by creating a mormon.org profile, your testimony can be read around the world! Does that not sound awesome?? I STRONGLY encourage you guys to do so! And you can read other people's testimonies on there and answer questions that people might have! 

Mormon.org | What is the Mormon Church and Religion?
mormon.org
Learn about the Mormon religion and meet members of the Mormon Church. Modern Mormons talk about their faith and answer common questions.


Also, I find out on Saturday if I'm getting transferred! So the next time I write you guys will be on Wednesday next week! Because apparently that's what they do on transfer week. Haha! Just FYI!

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers! You guys are truly amazing followers of Christ! Hope you guys have an amazing week :) love you all!

D&C 1: 38
Alma 32: 27

- Elder Hanson

WV Turtle

STOP Voldemort!

The West Virginia double

Another amazing Sunset!

Week 13 - October 31, 2016 - Gallipolis, Ohio

This week was very interesting to say the least haha! But it was also AWESOME as it always is! The weather is really starting to get colder and I'm struggling to type as we speak because my hands are shaking looolz. Anyway, the trees here are so pretty actually and they most definitely look like fruit loops! I'll send a sick pic of it later on. It's dope. Also, Halloween is so weird here. They trick or treat on the Thursday before Halloween, nobody is allowed to dress up as clowns (for obvious reasons), and people literally will just throw candy at you when you walk by their houses on trick or treating night. But hey, we got free candy and we didn't even have to ask for it so woot woot. Okay, so now the highlights of the week! 

First of all, how's the book of mormon reading been? UPDATE: I have bookmarks and stickers that have to do with the Book of Mormon challenge that President Salisbury gave all the missionaries! If you want me to send you one, hit me up with an email! Haha! They are really really cool :) 

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

R---. She's doing amazing! I don't remember if I said it in my last email but we set her baptism date for November 26th! We committed her to church last week but she got really sick and couldn't come on Sunday :( but we will invite her again this week! The only thing is, she needs to get married. But I'm sure she's totally down for that because she said she would literally do ANYTHING to be baptized on that date! So please pray for her that she will be able to do what's necessary to get married before that date :)

D----. So bad news about D---. She told us last week that she wasn't sure if she was going to get married by November 12th. She has A LOT financial concerns so she needs to sort things out first. She said she wants to get married in January.....uh yeah no. We really DON'T wanna push her date that far ahead! We are gonna try and sit down with her and ask her what she needs to do in order to be baptized by the end of the month AT LEAST! She's so ready to be baptized and Satan is literally doing EVERYTHING he can to stop her from doing so. So I ask again, please please please pray for her! She loves this gospel more than anything and wants to do what's right!

B----. He's doing awesome! He's still reading the Book of Mormon every day and he told us a couple of days ago that he KNOWS Joseph Smith was a prophet! WAHOO! We are really gonna try and set him on date TODAY! So please pray for him that everything will work out for him and that he will start preparing for baptism! We truly feel like he's ready to be invited to be baptized!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

What's your favorite Book of Mormon story? SHARE IT with someone! Share with them what your favorite Book of Mormon story is and WHY it's your favorite and how why it's important that we apply the story's principles to our lives! It will not only build someone else's testimony on that principle but it will also give you a greater love for that story and the Book of Mormon! :)

FUNNY MOMENT:

So on Thursday night, when the trick or treaters were out and about, we walked by this group of teenagers and they started laughing at us. We were like, "What the actual?". We didn't know why they were laughing at us. Then they said, "That's an awesome costume! Mormon missionaries! Hahahaha!" I was like, "Haha we actually ARE mormon missionaries!" Then they just went silent. And gave us candy and walked away without saying another word. Hahaha! Then like 4 more people said the same thing to us. It was AWESOME! Haha! We got a lot of candy lolz.

Our Halloween Costume! Mormon Missionaries!

Thank you all so much for your amazing examples in my life! You've all impacted my life one way or another, so THANK YOU! I love you all so much and hope you have an amazing week :)

Mosiah 24: 13-15
D&C 8: 8

- Elder Hanson

P.S. I hate that this whole clown thing is going down. We just received word that the clowns have REACHED GALLIPOLIS. Like fetch. Pray for me. Lolz. I hate clowns.

Ohio Fall

Amazing "Fruit Loops!"

More awesomeness

I love my apartment after a long day!

Yummy Pizza