Week 40 - May 8, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Hey y'all! So wow this week was full of crazy events because of transfers and all that good stuff. But I got to meet my trainee on Thursday! And guess what?? His name is Elder Christensen from West Jordan, Utah! I got ANOTHER Elder Christensen haha! That was like the first thing I said to him when I met him. "You're my second Elder Christensen!" Haha! He's adjusting to the missionary life pretty well so far! We're having a blast! Ever since we've met each other, we've been able to be really really diligent in the work and see the blessings that come from it! We got SIX potential investigators yesterday just by knocking on doors for an hour! It was awesome! And I am still the District Leader here.
Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PADRE tomorrow!! Love you!

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vanessa. She's on fire!! She passed her baptismal interview and she is getting baptized this Saturday!! Wahooo!!!! We still have some lessons to teach her but she's fully ready to make that sacred covenant :) thank you for all your prayers and support for her! Please continue to pray that all goes well with the baptism on Saturday :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So throughout my mission, I've been telling people, when I invite them to church, to bring a question in their mind and write it down before they come. Then I promise them that their question will always be answered! And it seems to work for a lot of the people that I ask to do that so I decided that I should try that this week. And oh man. It works!! I thought of a question that I've had for a while now and wrote it down and brought it to church with me. I got an answer almost right away during someone's talk. It was incredible! So my challenge is that each of you think of a question that's been weighing on your mind and write it down and pray about it. Then bring it to church. I promise you that that question WILL be answered! No doubt in my mind!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So during the first day with Elder Christensen, we went tracting (knocking on doors). And he was a little bit nervous, as was expected. But after the very first door that we knocked on, the lady slammed the door in our faces. Haha. I turned to Elder Christensen and said, "Your first rejection! How does it feel?" He paused..."IT WAS AWESOME! LET'S GO GET REJECTED AGAIN!" Hahaha! I died! We're having a blast together!

Thank you all for your love and support! I cannot thank you guys enough for your examples and for your testimonies each week! Love you so much! Have a great week!

2 Nephi 32: 8-9

Elder Noah Hanson

My old District before transfers

My new companion Elder Christensen from West Jordan, Utah!

Week 39 - May 3, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Ayyyy y'all! It's your boi Elder Hanson! Hope you guys haven't forgotten about me yet ;) okay so transfers are this week and it's been pretty crazy finding out who's leaving and who's staying. So Elder Roberts is leaving and I'm staying here in Princeton! And guess what?? I'M TRAINING!! Pretty crazy right? My new comp is gonna be coming fresh outta the MTC! I'm honestly so humbled and honored that the Lord and my mission president trust me enough to show the ropes of missionary work to another missionary. It's gonna be a great experience :)

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Christel....so I got some bad news. And y'all know I don't like sharing bad news but I just thought I'd update y'all. She dropped us. Her boyfriend didn't like the law of chastity lesson that we had with her and he told her that she couldn't visit with us anymore. She really really wants to live the law of chastity but she isn't in a good circumstance where she can do that on her own right now. She was sad to turn us away but I was weirdly not too sad about it. The spirit comforted me during that time and assured me that we had planted a good seed in her. Hopefully missionaries in the future will be able to teach her again :)

Vanessa. She's doing great! So we had to push her baptismal date to May 13th just so that we can be fully sure that she's ready! And she said that it worked better for her that way anyways so it all worked out :) Her baptismal interview is on Friday and I'm so excited for her! On Sunday at church, she asked me to baptize her. I'm, again, very humbled and honored that I get the privilege of baptizing her. She's been prepared for so long and now she finally gets the chance to do what she's been wanting to do for a while! Please please pray for her that everything will go well for her baptism :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

HOW DO I GET CLOSER TO GOD (part 3)? Service. Literally, you are CONSTANTLY serving other people on missions. There's a reason they say "Called to SERVE"! If you haven't started already, look for opportunities to serve other people! It doesn't even have to be a huge thing. Any act of service is great in God's eyes. Because, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Mosiah 2: 17.

FUNNY MOMENT:

Okay so we were walking into an appointment with this older lady who we hadn't seen in a while and she answers the door and says "HURRY! Come in!" So we walk in and she walking really fast to the other room for some reason. She yells, "My favorite movie is almost finished!" So I yell back, "Ok, we'll just chill here for a sec!" And right after I yelled that, I heard the familiar and wonderful theme of Harry Potter coming from the room she ran off to. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me tell ya. I've never fangirled so hard in my life than in that very moment. I was kinda freaking out but it's fine. But eventually it ended and we were able to sit with her and teach her haha!

Love you all so much :) I hope all y'all have a great week! Keep on keepin' on!

1 Nephi 13: 37

- Elder Hanson

On splits with the Zone Leaders

Elder Hunsaker and the Zone Leaders

Double Rainbow

Week 38 - April 24, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Heyy y'all! So first of all, just wanted to update you guys on how much weight I've gained so far on my mish haha! I've gained literally 21 pounds! Haha! I weighed myself this morning and I was like, "Ohhhhhhh crud." I work out and everything but I guess I just like food too much. Anyways, just thought I'd update y'all on that. You're welcome.

I wanna remind everyone about the loving plan our Father in heaven has for us. It's called the Plan of Salvation. This plan tells us where we came from, why we're here on earth, and where we go after we die. As I've come to know this plan since I've been on my mission, it has given me so much hope! Why? Because it's given me an eternal perspective on things when times get tough. There's a reason it's called the "plan of happiness". I invite all of you to study up on Heavenly Father's plan for us. I promise you that you will gain a stronger testimony of the Plan of Salvation and a greater understanding of God's love for each of His children.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Christel. So the other day, we taught her the law of chastity. Man, that was a very interesting lesson. Her neighbors walked in right in the middle of the lesson! She invited them all to sit down and listen to what we had to say.....I was like, "Dang." Haha. It was a good lesson though. She committed to living that commandment so that's good! We also gave her a priesthood blessing that she could live it and everything. It was a huge testimony builder for her and for me as well! She didn't come to church though :( please pray for her that she'll be able to make the date May 13th for her baptism!

Vanessa. She came to church again!! Her baptism is next week and that's so crazy! She's progressed A LOT these past few weeks! We're really excited for her :) just keep praying that she'll be able to overcome any obstacles the adversary throws at her! :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

HOW DO I GET CLOSER TO GOD (part 2)? Diligent Scripture study. Thomas S. Monson taught, "If you are not reading the Book of Mormon, please do so now!" There's so much peace that comes from that book. It testifies of Christ. My challenge is that we all start reading the Book of Mormon again right from the very beginning! Remember how I extended that challenge to y'all a couple months ago? I'm doing it again! Start from the very beginning and read 6 pages a day! You WILL feel closer to God I promise!

FUNNY MOMENT:

So the sister missionaries in my ward here brought an investigator to church yesterday and he's 18 years old. He came up to me and shook my hand and said, "Hi my name's Kris. Yours?" I replied, "Elder Hanson." He looks at me in shock and says, "Whooooaaaaa man. You have the lowest voice on the planet!" I just laughed haha mainly because I'm awkward and didn't know what to say. Then he asked, "How old are you?" I replied, "18". His eyes went wide open. He's like, "DUUUUDE NO WAY! YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE 25!" Hahahaha! I died! That's happened to me quite a bit actually on my mission haha. His reaction was the best by far though!

Anyways, love all of you so much! I cannot thank you all enough for the wonderful examples that you are to me. Keep being awesome and have a great week :)

Alma 26: 36-37

- Elder Hanson

The Slender Man Forest

West Virginia is GREEN

Green West Virginia

My Princeton/Bluefield District

Week 37 - April 17, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Heyyyy y'all! Hope you all had an amazing Easter! What a great time to remember the resurrection of our Savior and Redeemer. I'm so thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the true hope that it brings into my life. The knowledge that I have that someone knows EXACTLY what we have gone through, are currently going through, and will go through in the future brings me a sense of peace. He loves each of us so much! I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVES!

Holy cow. Okay, it's SO GREEN here! Haha! This is the first time I've been able to see West Virginia in it's "green" stages! My camera was being super weird this week so I haven't gotten a chance to take pictures of it but I will send some next week!! Literally it's so pretty! But if you're DYING to see what it looks like, just google it. Haha! 

Yes! I got mom's package :) (Easter Basket) it was awesome! Except a lot of the eggs broke and candy went everywhere! Haha! I thought it was funny :)
So transfers are on May 4th. So I'll skype for Mother's Day AFTER transfers. 
I'm glad to hear Easter was good :) I miss that tradition of going to grandma's house! Looks like it was fun :)

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Vanessa. So it's been a while since I've mentioned her. She kind of fell off the face of the earth for a little bit but now she's back! She came to church yesterday and her baptismal date is May 6th! It's really really soon so if y'all could pray for her that would be great! She is such an incredible person! 

Christel. (I spelled it wrong last week and said "Crystal" lolz). So she's still super awesome! Unfortunately, she didn't come to church yesterday :/ but she was in the emergency room so that's why. I don't know what exactly happened but as far as I know, she's okay! Haha! She is fully committed to being baptized though! Just keep praying for her that she'll make her baptismal date May 13th! :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So a lot of people have been emailing me and asking me, "How do you get closer to God? How come missionaries are so happy and so close to God?" So for the next couple of weeks, I'm gonna do a "HOW DO YOU GET CLOSER TO GOD?" sections of my email too haha! But to start it off, I'm gonna give a simple primary answer. Prayer. When was the last time that you truly felt a connection with heaven while you prayed? My challenge is that, during the good and the bad times, you KNEEL! "The distance between you and Heavenly Father is as close as your knees are to the ground." Pray to Him. He wants to hear you and what you're going through. Turn to him for EVERYTHING! I promise that you will feel his love surround you. 

FUNNY MOMENT: (more like a "gag me" moment)

So for those of you who don't know, I HATE mayonnaise. Like I hate it with a passion. Anyways, we were at our ward mission leader's house last week and they always feed us. This time, it was GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES. I was like, "Yes! Grilled cheese is so fire!" But as I'm eating the grilled cheese, I notice that it tastes a little funny. It tasted more creamy than cheesy. I looked at the sandwich and I noticed that they had just SHOWERED the grilled cheese sandwich with mayonnaise. I started gagging. I tried to hide it as best I could. I definitely think Heavenly Father helped me get through the meal. Cuz I have no clue how I did it haha!

Anyways I hope you guys have a great week :) remember that Heavenly Father loves each and every one of you, and so do I :)

2 Nephi 32: 8

- Elder Hanson

Week 36 - April 10, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Whattup y'all! I hope you've all had a great week! This week has probably been one of the most eventful weeks since I've been here in Princeton. And that's not a joke haha! Heavenly Father has blessed me and my companion so much this week I don't even know where to begin. I've also developed a very important Christ-like attribute this week that I will mention later on in this email lolz. But yeah this week has been, overall, pretty awesome.

I feel impressed right now to talk to all those who want to serve a mission but either cannot go for certain reasons or just feel that a mission is not for them. I saw a quote by Brigham Young this week and he said, "There is neither man or woman in this church who is not on a mission. That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and to prevail upon themselves and everybody around them to live those principles that they may obtain eternal life." We are ALL on a mission. Being on a mission doesn't mean you go somewhere in the world and wear a name-tag and preach the gospel. Your mission could be within the walls of your own homes and to lift those around you. Whatever the case may be, just know that Heavenly Father has a specific mission and plan for YOU.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Crystal. OH MY GOSH SHE'S SO FIRE!! We were able to teach her the Plan of Salvation this week and she said something after that lesson that has just made this week so amazing. She said, "As you guys were teaching me this, I felt as if I already knew it. But thing is, I haven't ever heard of this before. I feel that it's true. Thank you." We set her on date for baptism for May 13th!! Wahoo! We're really excited for her :) just please pray that she'll be able to have the desire to continue to read the Book of Mormon and make that date :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So as I mentioned in the beginning of the email I've really started to develop a Christ-like attribute. That attribute is forgiveness. I've had a really hard time these past few weeks with certain people on my mission and I've realized that I was holding on to so much needless pain and sorrow. I chose to forgive those people and I've never felt so light. It was as if a huge burden was lifted off my shoulders. I challenge all of you this week to please forgive others. Forgive those who have wronged you even if it's hard. Seek for forgiveness. Forgive yourself. You will be so much happier and you will begin to see others the way that God sees them. I promise.

FUNNY MOMENT:

So after district meeting last week, we played a game where we all had to bring a baby picture of ourselves and everyone had to guess who the baby was. Haha. So when my baby picture was shown to my district, one of the sister missionaries gasps and says, "WHOA! That is a CHUNKY baby!" I literally was like, "Are you kidding me?" But it's true. I was chunky. I'll send a pic of the baby picture in this email so y'all can see how big of a tub-o-lard I was. 

Thank you all soooo much for your love and support. I truly love all of you and I hope y'all have an incredible week! 

D&C 98: 1-4

- Elder Hanson

A younger Elder Hanson

Week 35 - April 3, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Hey y'all! Haha okay first of all, can I just say how much I love saying "y'all"?? I've gotten into the habit of saying y'all at the end of every lesson now! I can't help it! But I really love it at the same time. Literally, I don't think I'll be able to stop saying "y'all" for a long while now haha! Second of all, happy birthday Erik on the 8th!! Lol.

So as y'all know, General Conference was this weekend and OH MY GOSH! It was incredible! I hope y'all took that challenge I extended last week to heart about taking notes during conference! Because man! If that wasn't note-worthy I don't know WHAT is! One of my favorite talks was when our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson, talked about how "If ye have not charity, ye are nothing." As a missionary, you find that it's much easier to love the person that you're teaching if you look at them the way that God would see them. No matter the outward appearance or the mistakes they've made, as long as you look at the way God sees them, you'll love them. Without fail.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Michael W! Okay so y'all remember last week when I talked about how Michael left a note on our door? Well we were able to see him twice this week and even put him on date for baptism! We set him on date for April 29th! He is SO ready to get baptized! We still have to teach him quite a bit before that date obviously but he's incredible! Just pray that he makes that date and prepares himself to make that sacred covenant with God :)

Crystal. So she's another new investigator that we found this week :) She, like Michael, is AMAZING! We met her at the food bank that we volunteer at and she told us all about her trials that she was going through. Long story short, she invited us to come over and so we did! She loved the Restoration lesson and didn't want us to leave! She said "This is what I've been waiting for. This is what's going to help me! Thank you!" Ah! She's awesome! She also said that she wants to get baptized :)

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So I don't know if y'all are aware or not, but the church has come out with a new EASTER INITIATIVE! The initiative is #PrinceOfPeace. And there's a video, like the #LightTheWorld video, on mormon.org. The video talks about how everything that Christ did while he was on the earth, was to bring us peace. And my challenge to y'all this week is to watch that video and SHARE it with someone! Not just share it on social media (but you can do that too). But to tell share it with a specific person and then share your testimony on Jesus Christ and how he's brought peace into your life! It's an incredible video!


FUNNY MOMENT:

So on Tuesday, we had zone conference. And there was a part in zone conference when we all had to make a paper airplane and throw it as far as it would fly. I was pretty proud of the airplane that I made cuz I couldn't remember how to make one in the first place haha! But it looked pretty dang sweet and I was SURE mine would go the farthest. When it was time to throw it, I threw mine with full confidence and it, no joke, went straight up in the air and landed 5 inches in front of me. Needless to say, I was pretty salty for about two seconds. Then I died laughing! Haha!

Thank you ALL for your amazing support and love! I love all you so much and I KNOW that Heavenly Father does too! Have a great week :)

"Why should we love God?...God does not need us to love Him. But oh, how we need to love God! For what we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are--and who we will become." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

- Elder Hanson

Noah and Elder Crook at Zone Conference

The Sister Missionaries in our Ward

Love getting letters!

Hey someone finally spelled my name right

Greg Jensen and Noah at Zone Conference in Pembroke, Virginia

Elder Carlton and Noah

Week 34 - March 27, 2017 - Princeton, West Virginia

Whattup y'all! This week was a little crazy! Haha! Mainly just because of transfers and everything. I got a brand new sister missionary in my district and she's awesome. She's from Utah! Haha shocker. It's been another rough week though for finding new investigators. We just can't seem to find new people to teach! But I'm optimistic and I know that Heavenly Father has someone prepared for us out there somewhere! We just gotta keep working hard and find that person :)

So I learned something that really stuck out to me this week during my studies. It was about how we often look at Christ's life just full of misery and suffering for us, but how often do we realize the JOY that he must've felt while we endured so much for us? We always get a good feeling whenever we do something good for someone, so can you imagine the joy he must've felt after doing that? He had the ULTIMATE JOY. That's why I always say to look for different opportunities to serve other people so that you can feel just a little bit of that joy that Christ felt for us when he atoned for us. Something to think about.

UPDATE ON INVESTIGATORS:

Michael W. So he's a former investigator but there's an awesome story with him! So on Thursday, we pull up to our apartment and see a note on our door. And the note was from Michael. The note said that he wants to meet with us again and that he wants to be BAPTIZED in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!! We're teaching him today for the first time in a LONG time and he is fully committed to it! Miracles are real y'all! 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:

So General Conference is this weekend. My challenge to y'all (if you don't already) is to take diligent notes! That is something I regret not doing back home whenever I would watch it. But I took notes last general conference and I got SO MUCH MORE out of it than I did when I didn't take notes. The people that are speaking are called of God and are inspired by God. So it's extremely important that we take heed to the words that they say. And what good do their words mean to us if we don't take notes? 

FUNNY MOMENT:

So yesterday, we had dinner with that same elderly couple that wanted to tell the "clean version" story of how they met and we were talking about different TV shows. Then the wife randomly yells, "HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED THE WALKING DEAD!?" I was literally like, "Whoa, take it easy." She then said, "I love that show so much! It's on tonight and I literally cannot wait!" I was just sitting there in shock. I would've NEVER thought someone as old and innocent as her would watch the Walking Dead haha. I thought it was hilarious!

I love all of you so much! Thank you for your love and support towards me during this time on my mission. I cannot thank you enough! Have a great week!

John 16: 33

ELDER HANSON

Elder Wilson and Noah

My awesome Princeton District with pictures of our parents.

So Happy in West Virginia

My awesome Binky candy

Deathly Hallows!