San Diego Temple Socks!

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one last thing!

ALSO!!

I do not know how I forgot to mention this because it was like the highlight of my week, but WHITEY WHITE SISTER HANNAH GOT HER VERY FIRST TAN LINE.  Yes, I sure did! It may be super light, but I have one! hahahahaah! I just thought I would share because it was the shock of the week! 

#ginger

have the greatest week! I love you all! :) 

Sister Hannah

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"We are NOT Jehovah's Witnesses!"

This week was slower than last week and I am so grateful. I absolutely LOVE the crazy busy weeks, but sometimes, Sister Jones and I just need a more laid back week.  We definitely had our prayers answered! I was actually able to collect my thoughts before this email too! YAY!! 

Some highlights from this week: 

-We helped Sister Bryner make mormal decorations! (everyone here just calls it mo-pro, or Mormon Prom) There theme was Alice in Wonderland and it was INCREDIBLE!! Sister Bryner did a stunning job and the pictures we got to see were breathtaking! She made a rabbit hole to enter in from... yeah... the cultural hall looked NOTHING like a cultural hall! Totally transformed! 

-Sister Jones and I had the worst day ever... literally.  EVERY SINGLE ONE of our SET appointments fell through, except two.  We had a set appointment every single hour that day.... we rode across town multiple times to get from appointment to appointment only to be completely devastated when the person wasn't home.  We also ran into two baptist preachers that day and they were just so confusing... the gospel of grace? WHAT? That literally makes NO SENSE whatsoever... but hopefully one day they will be humble enough to hear the true gospel and accept it into their lives.  Both of these men pretty much told us since Jesus Christ already paid the price, they can go on sinning, without repenting, and they will be fine.... Don't think so buds, but good luck! They were interesting fellas. 

That night, we ended with two incredible lessons, however.  IT WAS SO POWERFUL! We had two lessons with members present in a members home.  There is something so special about having a lesson in a members home because the spirit is so much more powerful!! Both Taylor and Johnny were uplifted and able to FEEL the truthfulness of the gospel!!

-I just love my district.  The Richmond district in the Lexington Zone is AWESOME.  Granted, I miss the old district we had and Elder Waite as the district leader, but Elder Davidson is just incredible! His training's are always so prepared and spirit led! This week we were able to go over our patriarchal blessings in detail and really recognize the blessings we are promised! I encourage EVERYONE to do this! Make a copy of your blessing and then take notes on it, add scripture references and recognize the blessings promised to you, FROM HEAVENLY FATHER, in it! It is so eye-opening! :)

-We had the most solid Friday! I love Fridays, most of the time! We planned and then had back to back SOLID appointments! They all went so well and were spirit led! Those are seriously the coolest lessons because words just fall out of my mouth... it is not me speaking, but I am just an instrument in Heavenly Fathers hands! It ended with Blake at the Marchant's house for diner.  It was so powerful.  They are so kind as to allow us in their home and participate in a lesson! The lesson was on eternal families and temples.  THE TEMPLE IS KEY!! If we get our investigators focused on the temple, the true end goal, they will be more converted! Blake is SO excited to go to the temple! He can't wait for his baptism on May 16th and he is running with the gospel! He is truly so prepared and humble! Please pray for Blake! :)

-We had another tornado warning this week! YAY for Kentucky tornadoes!!! Sister Jones and I were not nearly as terrified this time around.  We can home, planned and went to bed as normal.... hahaha we are becoming as Kentucky is.  We got to bike home in the pouring rain though... that was fun and COLD!! It passed and the next day was gorgeous! 

-ALL WEEK, I kid you not, we ran into so many hesitant people... and I always had this odd prompting to tell them that we are not Jehovah's Witnesses.... so bizarre right? Well I think what happened was the JW's tracted everywhere where we were going and so all of these people thought we were the JW's.  Every single time, without fail, as soon as the words came out of my mouth "We are NOT Jehovah's witnesses!!!" the people immediately opened up and allowed us in their homes.  WHATEVER GETS US IN THE DOOR!! :) I just thought it was hilarious that the JW's get us in the door! 

-This Sunday.  What a day.  Sister Jones and I were put on the spot in Gospel Principles because no teacher showed up.  The Elders backed out of teaching the lesson and so we took charge.  Spirit led lesson, for sure.  It went well though!!

THEN, here we go again with my dang bike!! SISTER HANNAH's BIKE BROKE!!

We are biking to an appointment and my pedals start to wobble... not the little black pedal part, but the WHOLE metal mechanism that connects the pedals to the chain and whatnot.... so I tell Sister Jones we need to pull over and then all of the sudden my chain FALLS OFF!! yes... in the middle of biking to an appointment..... so we lock up our bikes and walk the rest of the way... I am so bad with bikes!

sister hannah + bikes/bike knowledge= NO

the Elders saved our life.  They picked up our bikes and took them to a member in the ward who knows bikes because just my luck, the bike shop is closed Mondays.  They told me what was wrong and are going to fix it for me.  Members are absolutely incredible! They take care of us so well! I am so extremely grateful for the generosity of the members! I love them! Thank you thank you! :)

And that was our week! I loved every second of it! I know that everything we went through was for our benefit and progression.  Heavenly Father is SO AWARE of each and every one of us, individually! I know it! 

stay rad

stay righteous!

much love from the GKLM!

Sister Hannah

>>pictures on the blog

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the most beautiful hydrangea tree!

When I saw this, I thought of my mom first and then the primary song, POPCORN popping on the apricot tree! Hence, why I am eating it!

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thunder strom/ TORNADO round 2!

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the coolest temple socks!

Los Angeles Temple! Thank you mom and dad!! :) 

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Kentucky River!

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thw wacky ways of Sister Jones!

she was a little tired! Didn't even make it to her bed! 

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The door.

This door I have never understood... it is in the air and there are no steps! 

This is full missionary attire! Helemt and all!

isn't my bike so cutE!!

yes mom, this is a grandma dress and it is cute! 

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This. IS. Kentucky.

I am in LOVE!

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hard at work!

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semi completed fence

we painted the fence black! I sacrified my hand which is still covered in black paint! 

yay for oil based paint!

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baby cows 2

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Sister Jones first Ale8

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feeding baby cows!

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Remember the Substance of the Gospel!

This week was a whirlwind! (not literally, no more tornadoes! Don't worry!) I can barely remember this morning.  It seems like the days just fly by and the weeks go increasingly faster... I am not sure how I feel about that, but I guess it means we are working really hard here in Richmond! This week I just had the epiphany moment that I am in love with Richmond. I absolutely LOVE it here.  I love being a bike sister, I love being outside, even if it means being fried and I absolutely LOVE being a full time servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and my Father in Heaven.  Nothing brings me greater joy in the morning than being able to put my nametag on again!  

So here we go again! :) Another wonderful week in the GKLM! 

It rained all week here, except one day and that day was a HUGE blessing.  The water seems to just follow me... I move my desk to get away from it and it pours so hard that it floods all the way to my desk on the other side! It's all good though! I have mastered the art of sitting in my chair without my feet touching the ground because of the huge spider I saw.... between the bugs and the water, Sister Hannah was being attacked on all sides! I survived though.  Everything is so comical to me. It is all about your attitude.  If you can't laugh at yourself, how are you able to have fun? This day we also saw so many miracles! We met Marry, a single mom, who had been looking for a church to bring Colton too.  We showed up literally as she was talking to her friend on the phone about it! We have begun teaching her and she is awesome! She relates all of the scriptures to herself and she has a burning desire to learn more! She is so prepared! :) I love finding the prepared people! They are so humble and ready to hear the gospel! :) 

We also taught Blake the most incredible spirit led lesson.... it seriously jumped from commandments to law of chastity to reading Alma back to commandments.  At the end of our lesson he told us he has a friend he wants to introduce the gospel too! YEAH! So we go meet his friend and he says he wants to learn more because of the change he has seen in Blake! YES! HE HAS SEEN A NOTICEABLE CHANGE IN BLAKE! That is awesome! I don't know what Blake was like before, but if his friends are noticing, he is really taking everything to heart! Blake is absolutely incredible! He takes everything with stride and knows that the gospel is true.  As we sat there with his friend, Blake bore sweet and simple testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and the Book of Mormon.  It was so powerful!!  Walking home from that Sister Jones and I came to the conclusion that there are no drugs that can make us feel as high as the spirit makes us! The JOY of missionary work is so indescribable!! 

Man, as I am sitting here writing this I am trying to collect all of my thoughts and this week was seriously just so incredible. It feels like forever ago and my memories are all in my journal.  Bear with me! :) 

Thursday was by far the best day of the week.  We had every single appointment go through, district meeting and ward coordination.  The appointments were all so awesome and spirit led.  Sometimes I feel like all I do is bear my testimony, but sometimes, that is all the investigator needs because the spirit is there.  My favorite thing to tell everyone is "don't take my word for it, pray about it for YOURSELF." That is the most liberating thing ever.  People don't understand how strong the power of prayer really is! That night we had Mexican Lasagna! so delicious! Thank you Sister Bennett! We then had a super cool experience with a previous investigator, Wendall.  He suffers from schizophrenia and was reading in the Bible about Jesus casting out devils.  He called us and asked if he could receive a blessing! I was shocked because he dropped us! I was also just thrilled because he recognized that we have the priesthood power in our church, JUST AS JESUS CHRIST DID!! YES! It is true! 

Friday was another miracle day! We had 3 solid lessons in a row and they were all so powerful! My favorite was the lesson with Blake.  We taught him about following the prophet and missionary work! At first he was dead set on not serving a mission.  As we taught him about following the prophet his mind was changed.  We showed him the clip of the age change announcement and bore our testimonies as to why we chose to serve a mission.  (Both Sister Jones and I didn't think we would ever go).  We testified to Blake that if we hadn't come to Kentucky, if we hadn't decided to serve a mission, we would not have found him and he wouldn't have heard the gospel.  It totally clicked for him.  He knows the gospel is so true and he is thriving! By the end of the lesson he said that he has been thinking about serving a mission for a couple of weeks because of our examples.  It is him, it is these experiences that make every hard or rough day SO WORTH IT!

SERVICE IS SO FUN!! This Saturday was the only sunny day this week and we were privileged to go serve Marla on her farm! She had a barn fire and needed us to rebuild a fence and paint it.  The men built and the sister painted.  It was such a fun experience! We even got to feed baby cows! :) They are so precious! 

Sunday.  Oh how I love Sunday's.  Spiritual revival.  Yesterday I spoke in sacrament, Sister J and I taught Gospel Principles and sat in on Primary.  I loved it! I was most definitely spiritually fed! I believe that talks are meant for the person giving them because boy did I learn a lot! I spoke on what my mission has taught me about Jesus Christ and boy has it taught me a ton! The one thing I have truly learned about on my mission is the atonement of Jesus Christ.  It is real.  It is POWERFUL.  It is THERE for every single person to use.  USE IT! We also attended a fireside for recent converts and investigators and the testimonies born were so powerful! The most powerful statement that was said was "remember the substance of the gospel. It is not the missionaries, they will get transferred.  It is not the members, they will not always be as cool as your home ward.  The substance of the gospel is that it teaches the truth of the plan of happiness with the proper authority."  Oh man, how awesome is that? I just love it.  It is SO TRUE!! 

*Rookie moment of the week*

So I know nothing about bikes... as we are all very aware of.  (remember riding on flat tires for a week?) This was just the greatest.  We are biking up the busiest street in the city and my gears decided to change on me as I am standing up on my pedals to use my full body to make it up this hill.  My gears had been acting up for a while, but since I didn't know any better I thought nothing of it... typical Sister Hannah.  Well I am going up this hill and my feet lose their footing on my pedals and I hit the ground, bike still between my legs and moving full speed ahead as I attempt to wobble/run with it up the hill. Leave it to Sister Hannah.  Needless to say, the bike was dropped off a the bike shop and not picked up until it was fixed.  HAHA.  My life! 

Thank you for bearing with my as I collected my thoughts while I wrote! This week was one of the best weeks we have had! :)

I absolutely LOVE being a full time missionary! I love my Savior and His atonement.  I love being able to share the pure JOY of the gospel with every single person I see.  

This is the greatest time of my life! :) 

Much love from the GKLM,

Sister Hannah

pictures can be found here:

sistermadelinehannah.blogspot.com

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zone meeting ride home

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checkers anyone?

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Tornado shelter! :) in our bike closet

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warm and sunny days!

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warm and sunny days :)

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Corbin Sisters

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Sister Emily Holt

Sister Ashlynd Baker

Sister Katelyn Jones

Sister Madeline Hannah

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service!

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I love Kentucky!!

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Squad pic in Elder steadmans terms

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Zone Meeting

Lexington Font Trotters Zone

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Spring has SPRUNG!

WELCOME to Richmond in April.  One day Sister Jones and I walked outside and it literally hit us.  The trees POPPED, EVERYTHING is turning GREEN and everything is blooming now.  The tulips... don't even get me started.  THEY ARE INCREDIBLE.  Everyone has tulips in their yard too.  By far my favorite flower! :) They are just gorgeous!! 

This week can only be summed up in one word: FUN.

F is for friends who do stuff together! (YAY for missionary work!)

U is for you and meeeeeee. ( I love you Sister Jones!)

N is for anything, anytime at all down here in Richmond, Kentucky! 

I probably butchered that spongebob quote a littlebit, but that is truly how this week went. SPRING is the most wonderful time of the year! It feels like home right now.  Brisk California morning.  I can't stop smiling! 

Highlights from this week though, it was an eventful one!

-Last Monday we came home to NO CARPET.  All of it had been ripped out! GONE. See ya later! Remember that black mold? Yeah... the carpet had to go! BUT bow we are left wit ha cement floor. We have resorted to kneeling prayers on our chairs because the ground is just not good for our knees! Thankfully we still have carpet upstairs.  The leak is still not fixed so when the tornado came in this week our house did flood again... but no more black mold! HAHA.  LIFE :)

Oh yeah, there was a TORNADO! Let me just start with the west coast is the best coast.  I can handle an earthquake, a forest fire, a lightning storm, but a TORNADO!?!?!  yeah, these two west coast girls did NOT know what to do.  The sirens started to go off... the campus (Eastern Kentucky University) told people to seek shelter NOW and Sister Jones and I are worried.   We were on BIKES only a couple minutes from our house, but on bikes nonetheless.  It was an interesting night.  This was right around 6pm. We get home and it is STORMING like a BANSHEE. DOWNPOUR.  At this point, I am legitimately terrified for my life.  The wind is blowing so hard, the power is flickering and our district leader is calling us to make sure we are safe... I am terrified.  OK.  So we get our bikes out of our bike closet, sweep up all the dirt, throw a sheet down, throw a case of water in there, make some food, grabbed our scriptures, pillows and blankets and then hid in there for an hour... I seriously thought we would be sleeping in this bike room. Our next door neighbor and Kentucky native, Crystal comes over to ask us if we want to stand outside and watch the storm with her... HECK NO CRYSTAL!! She then told us to not sleep in the bike closet and move our couch into the corner of our exercise room and build a fort.  HAHA.  I love Crystal.  We ended up moving our couch because our carpet got ripped out and we found out it was a pull out couch!!! YES!!! We were both terrified to sleep upstairs because the storm hadn't cleared and we were scared the roof was going to be ripped off... clearly we are from the west coast.  CLEARLY.  We ended up both sleeping on the pull out couch and it was AWFUL.  I slept horrible.  (Sorry we made you sleep on the pull out couch on all of family vacations Jeff.  I now know why you complained so much about them!)  SO that was my tornado experience.  Turns out there were indeed two tornadoes but category 0....  It was exciting and terrifying! Hopefully the one and only tornado of my mission. 

Some really awesome experiences with investigators this week:

Averi// Averi is awesome, she just needs to up her commitment level! We went over to teach her and she watched the restoration video.  When she was done watching it, without even being prompted or asked, she looks at Sister Jones and I and says "I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that this church is true." I wanted to cry! I am so excited for her!! She is planning on being baptized! Pray for Averi! 

Blake// BLAKE. IS. AWESOME.  19 years old, golden investigator.  We found him walking to Averi's actually and he is EATING UP THE GOSPEL.  He is the most sober-minded, genuine, kind, shy 19 year old guy ever.  This week he literally told us "At this point, I am willing to do ANYTHING to get baptized."  My jaw pretty much hit the floor.  He is SO PREPARED and SO HUMBLE.  He is going to get baptized soon as well! He came to church yesterday also and LOVED it!! He is truly becoming converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is just incredible to watch him grow in the gospel and gain a testimony for himself! PRAY FOR BLAKE!!!

This week we also had a really fun adventure with Sister Brown.  We were on our way to her house for dinner at 6:30 and we made a wrong turn... well actually, we didn't turn was the problem.  We were supposed to go down RedHouse Road, and we ended up on some other random road.  Well in Kentucky, you never know if you are on the right road or not (at least on the back roads).  We drive and drive and drive, for about 30 minutes and we all decide this is not familiar and we need to GPS our way home. So GPS says keep going, it will take 30 more minutes to get home, all is well.  LIES.  We get halfway down the road and it DEAD ENDS.  HAHA, this was hysterical.  We all had a great laugh, and enjoyed the scenery and then headed back.  The GPS lied, the roads do end in Kentucky and we truly are in the most beautiful place on Earth.  EVERYTHING IS SO GREEN AND GORGEOUS!! <3 <3 

At church yesterday, we sang I believe in Christ.  I absolutely love this hymn and I reflected on the words as we sang yesterday.  I truly believe in Christ.  Whatever comes my way, I can handle is because Christ is my foundation.  Take a minute to ponder what Christ has done for you! :) 

1.  I believe in Christ; he is my King!
   With all my heart to him I'll sing;
   I'll raise my voice in praise and joy,
   In grand amens my tongue employ.
   I believe in Christ; he is God's Son.
   On earth to dwell his soul did come.
   He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
   Good works were his; his name be praised.
2.  I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
   As Mary's Son he came to reign
   'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
   To save them from the woes of sin.
   I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
   Who did gain all his Father hath,
   Who said to men: "Come, follow me,
   That ye, my friends, with God may be."
3. I believe in Christ--my Lord, my God!
   My feet he plants on gospel sod.
   I'll worship him with all my might;
   He is the source of truth and light.
   I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
   From Satan's grasp he sets me free,
   And I shall live with joy and love
   In his eternal courts above.
4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
   From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
   And while I strive through grief and pain,
   His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
   I believe in Christ; so come what may,
   With him I'll stand in that great day
   When on this earth he comes again
   To rule among the sons of men.

I love missionary work so much! There are people prepared EVERYWHERE we just have to find them!! The joy of sharing the gospel is something that is incomprehensible!! I love being a full time missionary! :)

MUCH love from the GKLM!

Sister Hannah

as always, pictures on the BLOG!!

http://sistermadelinehannah.blogspot.com/

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GKLM FAITH

my little faith plant is growing! :) 

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Black mold and NO CARPET!

black mold.

we came home to NO CARPET!

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Spring has SPRUNG!

WELCOME to Richmond in April.  One day Sister Jones and I walked outside and it literally hit us.  The trees POPPED, EVERYTHING is turning GREEN and everything is blooming now.  The tulips... don't even get me started.  THEY ARE INCREDIBLE.  Everyone has tulips in their yard too.  By far my favorite flower! :) They are just gorgeous!! 

This week can only be summed up in one word: FUN.

F is for friends who do stuff together! (YAY for missionary work!)

U is for you and meeeeeee. ( I love you Sister Jones!)

N is for anything, anytime at all down here in Richmond, Kentucky! 

I probably butchered that spongebob quote a littlebit, but that is truly how this week went. SPRING is the most wonderful time of the year! It feels like home right now.  Brisk California morning.  I can't stop smiling! 

Highlights from this week though, it was an eventful one!

-Last Monday we came home to NO CARPET.  All of it had been ripped out! GONE. See ya later! Remember that black mold? Yeah... the carpet had to go! BUT bow we are left wit ha cement floor. We have resorted to kneeling prayers on our chairs because the ground is just not good for our knees! Thankfully we still have carpet upstairs.  The leak is still not fixed so when the tornado came in this week our house did flood again... but no more black mold! HAHA.  LIFE :)

Oh yeah, there was a TORNADO! Let me just start with the west coast is the best coast.  I can handle an earthquake, a forest fire, a lightning storm, but a TORNADO!?!?!  yeah, these two west coast girls did NOT know what to do.  The sirens started to go off... the campus (Eastern Kentucky University) told people to seek shelter NOW and Sister Jones and I are worried.   We were on BIKES only a couple minutes from our house, but on bikes nonetheless.  It was an interesting night.  This was right around 6pm. We get home and it is STORMING like a BANSHEE. DOWNPOUR.  At this point, I am legitimately terrified for my life.  The wind is blowing so hard, the power is flickering and our district leader is calling us to make sure we are safe... I am terrified.  OK.  So we get our bikes out of our bike closet, sweep up all the dirt, throw a sheet down, throw a case of water in there, make some food, grabbed our scriptures, pillows and blankets and then hid in there for an hour... I seriously thought we would be sleeping in this bike room. Our next door neighbor and Kentucky native, Crystal comes over to ask us if we want to stand outside and watch the storm with her... HECK NO CRYSTAL!! She then told us to not sleep in the bike closet and move our couch into the corner of our exercise room and build a fort.  HAHA.  I love Crystal.  We ended up moving our couch because our carpet got ripped out and we found out it was a pull out couch!!! YES!!! We were both terrified to sleep upstairs because the storm hadn't cleared and we were scared the roof was going to be ripped off... clearly we are from the west coast.  CLEARLY.  We ended up both sleeping on the pull out couch and it was AWFUL.  I slept horrible.  (Sorry we made you sleep on the pull out couch on all of family vacations Jeff.  I now know why you complained so much about them!)  SO that was my tornado experience.  Turns out there were indeed two tornadoes but category 0....  It was exciting and terrifying! Hopefully the one and only tornado of my mission. 

Some really awesome experiences with investigators this week:

Averi// Averi is awesome, she just needs to up her commitment level! We went over to teach her and she watched the restoration video.  When she was done watching it, without even being prompted or asked, she looks at Sister Jones and I and says "I know the Book of Mormon is true.  I know that this church is true." I wanted to cry! I am so excited for her!! She is planning on being baptized! Pray for Averi! 

Blake// BLAKE. IS. AWESOME.  19 years old, golden investigator.  We found him walking to Averi's actually and he is EATING UP THE GOSPEL.  He is the most sober-minded, genuine, kind, shy 19 year old guy ever.  This week he literally told us "At this point, I am willing to do ANYTHING to get baptized."  My jaw pretty much hit the floor.  He is SO PREPARED and SO HUMBLE.  He is going to get baptized soon as well! He came to church yesterday also and LOVED it!! He is truly becoming converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is just incredible to watch him grow in the gospel and gain a testimony for himself! PRAY FOR BLAKE!!!

This week we also had a really fun adventure with Sister Brown.  We were on our way to her house for dinner at 6:30 and we made a wrong turn... well actually, we didn't turn was the problem.  We were supposed to go down RedHouse Road, and we ended up on some other random road.  Well in Kentucky, you never know if you are on the right road or not (at least on the back roads).  We drive and drive and drive, for about 30 minutes and we all decide this is not familiar and we need to GPS our way home. So GPS says keep going, it will take 30 more minutes to get home, all is well.  LIES.  We get halfway down the road and it DEAD ENDS.  HAHA, this was hysterical.  We all had a great laugh, and enjoyed the scenery and then headed back.  The GPS lied, the roads do end in Kentucky and we truly are in the most beautiful place on Earth.  EVERYTHING IS SO GREEN AND GORGEOUS!! <3 <3 

At church yesterday, we sang I believe in Christ.  I absolutely love this hymn and I reflected on the words as we sang yesterday.  I truly believe in Christ.  Whatever comes my way, I can handle is because Christ is my foundation.  Take a minute to ponder what Christ has done for you! :) 

1.  I believe in Christ; he is my King!
   With all my heart to him I'll sing;
   I'll raise my voice in praise and joy,
   In grand amens my tongue employ.
   I believe in Christ; he is God's Son.
   On earth to dwell his soul did come.
   He healed the sick; the dead he raised.
   Good works were his; his name be praised.
2.  I believe in Christ; oh blessed name!
   As Mary's Son he came to reign
   'Mid mortal men, his earthly kin,
   To save them from the woes of sin.
   I believe in Christ, who marked the path,
   Who did gain all his Father hath,
   Who said to men: "Come, follow me,
   That ye, my friends, with God may be."
3. I believe in Christ--my Lord, my God!
   My feet he plants on gospel sod.
   I'll worship him with all my might;
   He is the source of truth and light.
   I believe in Christ; he ransoms me.
   From Satan's grasp he sets me free,
   And I shall live with joy and love
   In his eternal courts above.
4. I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
   From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
   And while I strive through grief and pain,
   His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
   I believe in Christ; so come what may,
   With him I'll stand in that great day
   When on this earth he comes again
   To rule among the sons of men.

I love missionary work so much! There are people prepared EVERYWHERE we just have to find them!! The joy of sharing the gospel is something that is incomprehensible!! I love being a full time missionary! :)

MUCH love from the GKLM!

Sister Hannah

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Richmond Missionaries!

Elders Vanbeekum/Trost

Sister Jones/HAnnah

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Happy Easter!

What a wonderful week we had that lead up to the most incredible weekend.  Easter AND General Conference!!! 

Easter takes on a whole new meaning as a missionary! I LOVE THE ATONEMENT so much and I love teaching about it.  As Easter approached, it was just ANOTHER reason to bring it up to everyone! Everyone in Kentucky already believes in Jesus so the conversation starts easy.  People want to hear what we have to say because they already LOVE Jesus.  The #BecauseHELives video was a huge hit and I enjoyed sharing it with everyone. I can't wait to get iPad's so we can just show people right then and there on the street! Pray that they will come soon!! :) 

This week in Richmond was spring break for EKU and all of Madison County Schools.  EVERYONE it felt like was out of town! Nonetheless, the Lord still blessed Sister Jones and I! Not too much happened, but here are some cool experiences and funny stories from the week: 

-IT WAS in the low 70's and BREEZY this week! :) LOVE.  It seriously felt like a California day.  I was at home, in love.  Sunshine makes missionary work that much better.  People are in happier moods and are more receptive! 

-We taught a less active member, Lindsay, who is 18. After we finished her lesson, she asked if she could just "hang out" with us for the day... We told her that we would be working hard and laboring in the service of God and she was like "ok, I just want to get out of the house!" She ended up walking around with us for about 6 hours, teaching and testifying beautifully. She was a trooper. We walked everywhere that day and it was HOT. We went to go teach another less active girl, Destiny, who she didn't know and she bore such sweet, pure testimony! It was incredible! I love bringing less actives out to teach with us because it strengthens them so much more than us teaching them! It is the experience that allows them to grow and progress! :) While she was out with us, we also met Thomas! He is a really cool guy from Kenya and was immediately interested in the gospel! So much so that we taught a lesson right then and there with him on his porch! This was so cool because it had never happened to me before! I know that Heavenly Father gave us this miracle because we brought a member out with us! 

-We had planned on going to an appointment that was possibly going to fall through because of spring break. Ma'kayla wasn't answering her phone and neither was her grandma who lives with her, so Sister Jones and I prayed for guidance on what to do. We received the revelation that we needed to go see a recent convert who we had not been able to get a hold of in three weeks. When we showed up to his house, HE WAS HOME!! We were able to teach him and figure out why he had been MIA. It was such an incredible blessing because ward members had been calling us concerned about him as well. We found Willie and all is well! :) 

Sister Hannah's rookie mistake of the week: 

We walk into subway for dinner. There is a guy standing in line ordering sandwiches. He looks at us and goes "oh hi Sisters!"

so we respond "hey! How are you?"

"Do you recognize me?"

Me: "yeah, give me one second! I got this!" 

I proceed to wrack my brain about a guys name Sister Heiner and I met outside the Copper Still Bar a few blocks up the road and I couldn't remember so I say:

"YEAH! you're that guy Sister Heiner and I met outside of the Copper Still bar right? And you were smoking and were so respectful and put the cigarette out in front of us!"

He responds with a sly grin on his face: "no, not quite, but I have a calling in the Primary!"

YES.  HE IS A MEMBER. *insert foot in mouth.* 

It was quite the funny situation! I am just grateful he had a good sense of humor! That story is going to get passed around the Richmond ward! HAHA! Leave it to Sister Hannah.  The best part is that he SPOKE in Sacrament only a few weeks ago... yep. So I definitely should have recognized him.  From now on, assume everyone is a member that approaches us in public! 

General Conference.

OH how amazing conference is.  To hear from our Prophet and Apostles and General Authorites! It is incredible! This last conference was NO exception! I loved every minute of it! I love how BOLD the speakers were.  Some of the MAIN themes I got from conference was:

-families are ESSENTIAL to God's plan.  

-Marriage is between a MAN and a WOMAN.

-Casual faith is not acceptable.  We need to be ALL IN.

-We need to be aware of satan and his temptations.  The world is going one way and God is staying the same.  Stick to what we know, do not let one question unravel everything we KNOW to be true.  

When you get the chance, go back and reread or rewatch conference! IT was inspiring! I can't wait until October now! :) So much good stuff!!

All is well in Richmond, KY.  Sister Jones and I are having a BLAST.  Even though our shower doesn't drain and our house flooded from the rain (and we might have black mold), I KNOW that God is MINDFUL of ME. He knows me personally and all of His children personally.  He is in the details of our lives and He desires to bless us.  Look for Him, Come to Him.  Let Christ Change You! 

Hearken to it and DO IT.  #RichmondBikeMotto

Much Love, 

Sister Hannah

GKLM (GREAT Kentucky Louisville Mission)

Picture 1: Happy Easter!

Picture 2: everything is turning green!!!

Picture 3: Richmond Missionaries! Elder Trost, Sister Jones, Sister Hannah, Elder Vanbeekum

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